Topic: what once was

[00mag12gaVa]

The team we once were......Yeah, it was a loss, and it freekin sucked, woulda, shoulda, coulda,..... But it was Ohio State...We were on a glide path to big things..Please read below and reminisce. Now were just floaters in the college football "stool"....I'm just all jacked for "directional school down south" Conference USA.........




After compiling a 25-2 record the previous two seasons, Ohio State was breaking in 13 new starters as they worked through the non-conference part of their 2004 slate.  Lydell Ross had romped for 141 yards and both Justin Zwick and Troy Smith had thrown touchdown passes as the Bucks cruised past Cincinnati 27-6 in their opener on September 4th.  Meanwhile Marshall QB Stan Hill had been sacked 8 times as the Thundering Herd dropped their first game to Troy.  104,622 fans packed the Shoe under absolutely gorgeous sunny skies for this first-ever clash between Marshall and Ohio State.
Later in the first quarter Zwick took Ohio State 85 yards to score, capping the drive with a 47-yard TD strike to Holmes once again.  The Bucks led 14-7 after one and Santonio already had 3 receptions for 146 yards.  But Marshall hung in and tied the game at 14 as Lydell Ross was stripped of the football and linebacker Jonathan Goddard rumbled 27 yards with the fumble for a Herd touchdown.  



OSU shook it off and moved 80 yards in 8 plays on their next possession.  Zwick and Holmes continued to play pitch-and-catch but it was Roy Hall that Zwick dialed up for the touchdown from 20 yards out.  The score was the first of Hall's career and gave the Buckeyes a 21-14 halftime lead.



In the third quarter Marshall, who had pretty much gone exclusively with a short-passing game in the first half, turned to their ground game and moved from their own 7 to the Buckeye 7 in 16 plays, 14 of which were runs.  Herd kicker Ian O'Connor came on to try a field goal but a fake was called.  Problem was a couple of Marshall offensive linemen didn't hear the audible down at the closed end of Ohio Stadium so O'Connor ran right up the middle into the arms of David Patterson.  The impressive drive was all for nothing and Herd coach Bob Pruett would be roundly second-guessed afterward.  



Santonio Holmes, who had finished the first half with 7 catches for 199 yards, fumbled after his first catch in the second half but Marshall could do nothing with the turnover.  However, OSU's next turnover, a Chris Royal interception of Justin Zwick, led to trouble.  A late hit on Nick Mangold during Royal's INT return gave the Herd a first down at the Buckeye 13.  Marshall was guilty of holding on 3rd-and-9 but Jim Tressel took the penalty, giving the Herd another 3rd-down shot from the 23.  Stan Hill drilled a pass to Brad Bates who got inside the pylon in the southeast corner for the score.  With 8:40 left the game was tied at 21, and things looked even bleaker as Chris Royal immediately picked off Zwick on the next play.  Royal's second pick of the game (and fourth of the young season so far) gave Marshall a golden opportunity, but with 3:17 to play Ian O'Connor missed a 35-yard field goal.  The Buckeyes could do nothing offensively and punted back to Marshall with 1:36 to go.  After 3 running plays OSU called their last timeout with :30 to go and overtime seemed imminent.  But from the Herd 29, O'Connor's less-than-stellar day continued as his punt only traveled 26 yards, setting OSU up at their own 45 with 25 seconds left.


Justin Zwick immediately looked to his money-man Santonio Holmes, and the two made a nine-yard hookup to Marshall's 46 with :20 remaining as Holmes got out-of-bounds.  It was Zwick-to-Holmes once more for 7 and a first down at the Herd 39.  Now with 17 seconds left Marshall called their last timeout.  On the next play Zwick threw to tight end Ryan Hamby over the middle but Hamby could only get 8 and now the Bucks were in hurry-up mode.  A Marshall defender had pinned Hamby down after the reception and as the clock drained to 2 seconds Zwick had to snap the ball even though Hamby wasn't set.  Zwick was able to spike the ball but Hamby's late arrival cost OSU five yards and now the line of scrimmage was the Marshall 38, necessitating a 55-yard field goal try.  To most other college teams in 2004 this would have been a problem.  But not when you've got "Nuge" on your s
Mike Nugent's 55-yard game winner was the longest field goal ever in Ohio Stadium and the second-longest in school history.  Nuge would end up nailing 8 of 9 field goals from 50 yards or more in his OSU career, and among the boatload of records he would own by year's end would be his lofty perch as Ohio State's all-time leading scorer.  He would also cap off 2004 by winning the Lou Groza Award as the nation's finest kicker.
The Buckeyes drew first blood on the opening play of their second offensive series.  Justin Zwick(left) threw arguably his finest pass to date to Santonio Holmes, hitting the sophomore flanker in stride for an 80-yard touchdown pass to give OSU a 7-0 lead.  Stan Hill then completed 7 of 8 passes on a 12-play drive capped by Earl Charles' 2-yard touchdown run.  Not only did the 80-yard march tie the game, but the Buckeye defense suffered a huge blow as senior cornerback Dustin Fox, starting his 30th-straight game, broke his forearm in a collision and would be lost for a month.
OSU's senior All-American kicker trotted out as the shouts of "NUUUUUGE" rolled out of the stands.  For a brief moment it appeared he would get a closer shot as Marshall coach Bob Pruett came off his sideline and the officials stopped play.  Had he pulled a Chris Webber and called a timeout he didn't have?  No, apparently he just wanted a clarification of the time, and the officials confirmed that even without the motion penalty Zwick had spiked the ball with 2 seconds left.  Moments later it didn't matter- kicking into the closed end, Nugent(right) drilled home the game winner which would've been good from 65.  The roar from the 104,000-plus quickly turned to chants of NUUUUGE that could probably be heard back in Huntington, West Virginia as the Bucks won it 24-21.
 
 
OHIO STATE'S GREATEST DRIVE  #27
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#25 Ohio State 24

Marshall 21
By Joe-S-U
VS
Ohio Stadium - Columbus, Ohio
September 11, 2004
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[BuyNtelos4]

Ohh what a great great day tha was, right up until that record setting field goal!!! Oh what could have been, and was absolutely so so so close we could all taste it.  Sad part is, I think every Ohio State fan in that stadium thought he was going to miss that field goal, and could taste defeat, and I know myself, and I think nearly every Marshall fan in that stadium, and there were a lot of us, knew he was going to make that damn kick!! Sure enough, right through the uprights.  May be the sickest I have been after any Marshall game of my life, at least tied for the worst with 2 or 3 other similarly ending games.  None, however, Hirt quite as much as that one.  Well WVU coming back from 2 scores behind in like 4 minutes in our own stadium definitely hurts more, but in a completely different way.  It was a great day to be a Herd fan the day of that Ohio State game, as is every day, but goodness, it could have been much much greater.  I would love to play them that close on more time, and have a totally different ending.  I wish a team similar to OSU was on the schedule for Cato's senior year. 

I really think we have a great shot at getting VMI this year at there place.  We definitely have the offense to do it, From the looks of spring ball, I think we may even have the defense to do t, and most importantly, although there is. I evidence to support my theory, I think Doc has developed a staff, and grown enough as a head coach himself, that we also have the coaching to do it.  VMI is no Ohio State, but defeating them in their house is going to be a great great thing. 

With their recent struggles against Boise State and Herd alum led James Madison, and after we get through with them this season, I think it may be safe to label them, along with Loserville, and mid major shipping boys:):). Sure hole we are able to be a Contributor in giving them that title. I should add Cincy when they were still in Conference USA, and also Temple, although the were in the Big Easy, they have always and always will just be Temple, regardless of conference affiliation.  I'm telling ya I just feel like this is our year.  Win that one and we could be staring down the barrel of a potiential one loss season.  However, with our. Last decade of bad luck, I could see us beating them by 3 scores, and still going in to the ECU game at 5-6!! What a sick joke that will be!!

One thing I think I know for sure (does that make any since? Lol) is that VMI will. It be overlooking us for that game, due to all of their losses to midmajors.  However, for the most part this will be a new group of guys, so they very well make the same mistake again.  I have often said lately about a variety of topics on this board, that history usually has a strange way of repeating itself!!!

GO HERD!!  I apologize if I high jacked your thread, or strayed it away from a direction in which you were hoping it would go.

[goherd24]

I forgot how much I hated O'Connor til I read that thread.... sigh.  :-\

Lets hope we can go into VT 3-0 and with some swagger. I dont want to get hyped up, becaise I do every year and for the last decade, it has just been hype. But somehow I cant help myself.

[MarshallGrad]

Absolutely great game. One thing often written on boards is a reference to the an OSU loss had the kick not made it. For example, one of many like it:

I think every Ohio State fan in that stadium thought he was going to miss that field goal, and could taste defeat.....

It would have been tied and no sure bet of anything. This was not like at Clemson. At tOSU, a miss would not have ended the game with a win for the Herd, only a chance to win it.

I'd like to think we would have gone on to win. But there are no what ifs in sports, there is only what happened. A miss could have easily ended up in a later fumble, or an interception, or a missed interference, or any number of unknowns. What we do know is that it was a heck of a game. A missed field goal would not have come close to assuring a win. No matter, we played to win in those days and the effort almost paid off.

[herdfan429]

Being on the sidelines that was the quietest 104k people I've ever heard right up until Nugent made that kick.

[00mag12gaVa]

GO HERD!!  I apologize if I high jacked your thread, or strayed it away from a direction in which you were hoping it would go.

No apology required. Its a forum. No direction of flow intended. I believe you intend to say "VPI", I don't believe VMI is back on our schedule. JMU beating VT was more than a struggle. (although with help from the pollsters did rebound nicely that year) Like App St. beating Mich., that is a BIG no no, from a so called  "Big Time" Div 1 program pre FCS. Our first six opponent's excluding SoMiss has pretty much owned us, a couple, VT and WVU, has never gave us the opportunity to drink the nectar of victory. So really, if it should not already be the gameplan, it had best be that every possesion of the pigskin MUST be productive and numbers must go on the scoreboard. And defense be just that, defend the goal. If the plan is to "try to just hang" or "keep it close until the second half", whatever coach speak you want to use other than "cram the ball down their throats", we are donesky. Lets start with six points against Monongalia Tech and build from there..GO HERD!!!!

[goherd24]

Ohio hasshardly "owned us" in recent years. We are something like 7-3 or 8-2 im the last 10 games. Miami OH same story. Gsrdner webb..... enough said.

Vt yes, we could have beat them at the Joan had our offense been able to do anything that day. We got s great shot beating them this year if our O shows up and defense plays decent.

[iherdya]

No apology required. Its a forum. No direction of flow intended. I believe you intend to say "VPI", I don't believe VMI is back on our schedule. JMU beating VT was more than a struggle. (although with help from the pollsters did rebound nicely that year) Like App St. beating Mich., that is a BIG no no, from a so called  "Big Time" Div 1 program pre FCS. Our first six opponent's excluding SoMiss has pretty much owned us, a couple, VT and WVU, has never gave us the opportunity to drink the nectar of victory. So really, if it should not already be the gameplan, it had best be that every possesion of the pigskin MUST be productive and numbers must go on the scoreboard. And defense be just that, defend the goal. If the plan is to "try to just hang" or "keep it close until the second half", whatever coach speak you want to use other than "cram the ball down their throats", we are donesky. Lets start with six points against Monongalia Tech and build from there..GO HERD!!!!

vs 2013 opponents since moving up:
miami - 6-2
gw 0-0
ohio u 9-3
vt 0-4
utsa 0-0
fau 0-0
mtsu 0-0
usm 3-5
uab 6-1
tulsa 0-4
fiu 1-0
ecu 3-6

VT has owned us, at 0-4 you could say Tulsa has too but of 3 of those 4 games were decided by a single score, we have losing records to USM and ECU since moving up, but in 11 losses they've beaten us by more than 10 points in only 4 of those games, the rest have all been within a score.

[W0lfman]

I was there and a good friend of mine was arguing with buckeye fans telling them "we aint Michigan!  We're gonna beat your ass!"  Good times that day except for the loss of course.

[00mag12gaVa]

I stand corrected. I was off base on the "owned" statement, but with Vt I will stand on that one.

[MUther]

Absolutely great game. One thing often written on boards is a reference to the an OSU loss had the kick not made it. For example, one of many like it:

It would have been tied and no sure bet of anything. This was not like at Clemson. At tOSU, a miss would not have ended the game with a win for the Herd, only a chance to win it.

I'd like to think we would have gone on to win. But there are no what ifs in sports, there is only what happened. A miss could have easily ended up in a later fumble, or an interception, or a missed interference, or any number of unknowns. What we do know is that it was a heck of a game. A missed field goal would not have come close to assuring a win. No matter, we played to win in those days and the effort almost paid off.

I think we win in overtime.  Bradshaw had wiped out their entire defense.  He was getting yards by the dozen and it seemed like they didn't have enough gas left to stop him in OT.  We were in much better physical shape then the Buckeyes by the end of regulation.  But we'll never know.

[MarshallGrad]

I think we win in overtime.  Bradshaw had wiped out their entire defense.  He was getting yards by the dozen and it seemed like they didn't have enough gas left to stop him in OT.  We were in much better physical shape then the Buckeyes by the end of regulation.  But we'll never know.

Ahmad wasn't so much wiping out their D with net 77 yards total for the game and 12 net rushing yards in the 4th qtr. Stan was 65% completion percentage in that game. Marshall's defense took a fumble and an int from them which were both important and the D also limited OSU to 79 net yards rushing. You limit a Big 10 team to 79 yards rushing and have your QB make 65% of his passes and force two turnovers to your favor and you put yourself in a good position to do good things. Ahmad had some good runs towards a 77 yard performance. The D kept it competitive.

[MUther]

I guess they just seemed gassed.  I was on the field for that game and they looked really tired.  It may have been his pass-blocking but I distinctly remembering him just running over their D.  Whether he had the ball or not is a different animal.   ;D

[W0lfman]

I remember the 95 yard drive we had where we ran it straight down their throat. I thought Earl Charles was our main back for that game though.

[2xBison]

Charles was key but they got a dose of he and Bradshaw

[BHFIOHIO]

Conda predicted early that yr that Ahmad would be the man late in the yr and maybe the OSU game was where he passed by Charles.

[extragreen]

I remember the commentators in that game mentioning that the buckeyes appeared to be gassed.

[backontrack]

It was almost like the Sanctimonious Senator was embarrassed by throwing for the two long TD's and had to win it by playing Woodyball...

[mubowhunter]

I remember the 95 yard drive we had where we ran it straight down their throat. I thought Earl Charles was our main back for that game though.

I remember we had a coach as well!  Really don't remember his name but seemed to be pretty good.

[BuyNtelos4]

Ohio hasshardly "owned us" in recent years. We are something like 7-3 or 8-2 im the last 10 games. Miami OH same story. Gsrdner webb..... enough said.

Vt yes, we could have beat them at the Joan had our offense been able to do anything that day. We got s great shot beating them this year if our O shows up and defense plays decent.

When he said owned us in recent years, I took it as the past 2-3, not past decade, and I know Ohio has gotten the past 2, and the 3 wins we accumulated in a row before that, were by a combined total of 8 points.  We have had it rough the past 5-7 years against pretty much every formidable opponent we have played....

[clovenhoof]

Conda predicted early that yr that Ahmad would be the man late in the yr and maybe the OSU game was where he passed by Charles.

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[W0lfman]

I swear watching that team it could have been one of our best ever had Stan Hill not gotten hurt or if it had been lead by a Chad Pennington type QB.  We were stacked that year only thing missing was a QB.

[goherd24]

When he said owned us in recent years, I took it as the past 2-3, not past decade, and I know Ohio has gotten the past 2, and the 3 wins we accumulated in a row before that, were by a combined total of 8 points.  We have had it rough the past 5-7 years against pretty much every formidable opponent we have played....

2 of 3 isn't owning in recent years. Saying they owned us 2 years ago is accurate. Its a non issue, either way. Both of us were sharing an opinion.