2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team Totally Explained

Everything about The 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes Football Team totally explained

The 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team representing the Ohio State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach was Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 12 and 1, having been defeated by Florida in its final game, the BCS Championship game, and ended the year ranked second in Division I-A.

Previous seasons

Coming off a National Championship in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2002, Ohio State has had successful seasons in 2003, 2004, and 2005, finishing in the top ten in 2003 and 2005 and winning bowl games each year, in the Fiesta, Alamo Bowl, and back to the Fiesta Bowl in 2006, defeating Notre Dame 34-20. The Buckeyes earned a share of the Big Ten Conference title in 2005.
Following the season, starters A.J. Hawk, Donte Whitner, Bobby Carpenter, Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold (all first round), Ashton Youboty, Anthony Schlegel, Nate Salley, and Rob Sims, were drafted into the NFL.

Preseason

Head Coach Jim Tressel was signed to a contract extension through the 2012 season.
   In August, Ohio State was named the #1 team by the coaches' poll. Terry Bowden, a sports broadcaster and former coach, named Ohio State #1 in his preseason Sweet 16 rankings and stated Troy Smith and Ted Ginn, Jr. were Heisman Trophy hopefuls. Ohio State thus garnered pre-season number one from USA Today, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN The Magazine.
   On August 9, 2006, the OSU Athletic Department announced the season-long suspension of junior tight end Marcel Frost by Coach Tressel for unspecified violations of team rules. The suspension resulted in the elevation of sophomore Rory Nicol to the top of the depth chart as the only tight end with significant game experience. Nicol played as a true freshman but missed most of 2005 with a broken right foot. Sophomore Brandon Smith, a former linebacker moved to tight end as a freshman in 2005, moves to second on the depth chart. Frost subsequently announced his transfer to Jackson State, joining former Buckeye Erik Haw. Team captains were announced August 25, 2006. Defensive captains named were seniors Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson. Offensive captains were seniors Troy Smith and Doug Datish.
   On August 30, Jim Tressel announced the awarding of scholarships to four former walk-ons--senior WR Derek Harden, senior FB Ryan Franzinger, RS junior FB/wedgebuster Trever Robinson, and RS sophomore center Tyler "Tank" Whaley.
   These scholarships were freed due to the departures of Sirjo Welch (grades), Chad Hoobler (transferred to Ashland), Devon Jordan (injuries) and the aforementioned Marcel Frost. Mike Roberts (transferred to Indiana State) and Sian Cotton (grades) also left the program earlier in the year.
   On August 31, 2006, senior linebacker Mike D'Andrea underwent knee surgery and was declared out for the season.

Awards

National award winners

Troy Smith was awarded the Heisman Trophy for best college football player of the year
Troy Smith was named the Associated Press Player of the Year.
James Laurinaitis received the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for best defensive player
Troy Smith was awarded the Walter Camp Award for best college football player of the year, and the Davey O'Brien Award for top college quarterback
Troy Smith, Quinn Pitcock, and James Laurinaitis were named to the first team of both the Associated Press and Walter Camp All-Americans, and Ted Ginn Jr. was named to the second team.
Joel Penton was awarded the Wuerffel Trophy

Conference honors

Troy Smith was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year

Troy Smith was awarded Big Ten Silver Football

2006 team awards

Troy Smith — Most valuable player

Antonio Smith — Bo Rein Award (most inspirational player)

Stan White Jr. — John W. Galbreath Award (excellence in academics)

Quinn Pitcock — Bill Willis Award (most outstanding defensive player)

David Patterson — Jim Marshall Warrior Award

Ted Ginn Jr. — Archie Griffin Award (most outstanding offensive player)

Chris Wells — Most outstanding freshman offensive player

Donald Washington — Most outstanding freshman defensive player

Antonio Pittman — Rex Kern Offensive Back Award

James Laurinaitis — Randy Gradishar Linebacker Award

Drew Norman — Ike Kelley Special Teams Award

Brandon Mitchell — Arnie Chonko Defensive Back Award

Jay Richardson — Jack Stephenson Defensive Lineman Award

Anthony Gonzalez — Paul Warfield Outstanding Receiver Award

Doug Datish — Jim Parker Offensive Lineman Award (shared)

T. J. Downing — Jim Parker Offensive Lineman Award (shared)

Malcolm Jenkins — SAE Homecoming Award

Antonio Smith — Agonis Club Award

Schedule

2006 BCS

On November 16, 2006, Ohio State topped the BCS rankings of the 2006 season. (External Link

) Following their victory over arch-rival Michigan, Ohio State became the first team ever to score a perfect 1.000 in the BCS composite score. (External Link

) 2006 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Game notes

Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12

All-time record against NIU: 1-0-0 (first meeting) Ohio State’s offense scored the first four times it had the ball, rolling up 28 points in the first 15:05 of the game. After moving out to a big lead, the Buckeyes rotated many players in and out of the game on both offense and defense en route to an easy 35-12 opening game victory.
   NIU running back Garrett Wolfe, as predicted, was the dominant force for the Huskies, amassing 285 of the Huskies’ 343 total yards, including 171 yards rushing, while touching the ball on half of Northern Illinois’s offensive plays. Except for Wolfe, the Huskies were totally ineffective on offense, converting only one out of thirteen third downs. The Buckeye defense, which featured five first-time starters, sacked Huskie quarterbacks Phil Horvath and Dan Nicholson four times and intercepted Horvath once.
   On offense, captain Troy Smith effectively directed the offense, completing 18 of 25 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. His completions were well-distributed, with Ted Ginn catching four for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 58-yard score; and Anthony Gonzalez making four receptions for 53 yards and a score. Running back Antonio Pittman carried the ball 19 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, while true freshman Chris Wells, in his first game as a Buckeye, carried the ball 10 times for 50 yards and a touchdown. The Buckeyes’ 488 yards of total offense were marred by two fumbles lost inside the Huskie ten-yard line and a pair of missed field goal attempts by Buckeye kickers.
   Smith was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Ohio State 24, Texas 7

All-time record against Texas: 1-1-0 Ohio State employed an effective vertical passing game in the first half and a relentless ball control offense in the second half, coupled with a defense that improved in both efficiency and stamina as the game progressed, to beat 2nd-ranked Texas 24-7 in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin. Quarterback Troy Smith, well protected by the Buckeye offensive line, threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, directing a 10-play 72-yard drive in the fourth quarter that took 5:47 off the clock and secured the win. Although the teams were nearly equal in yardage (348 Ohio State to 326 Texas) and first downs (20-17 in favor of Texas), Ohio State didn't turn the ball over and converted a recovered fumble and a Colt McCoy interception, both forced by linebacker James Laurinaitis, into 10 points.
Standouts for Ohio State were Anthony Gonzalez, who made eight catches for 142 yards and a touchdown, and Ted Ginn, who caught five for 97 yards including a 29-yard touchdown late in the first half that countered the lone score by the Longhorns. Antonio Pittman rushed for 74 yards on 16 carries and scored the final touchdown. Punter A. J. Trapasso was particularly effective; his six punts averaged 50.8 yards a kick and won Ohio State the battle for field position. Texas had two streaks ended by the loss: a 12-game streak in which it had scored at least 40 points a game (and averaged 52), and a 21-game winning streak.
Laurinaitis and Trapasso were named Big Ten Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively. Laurinaitis also received national recognition for Player of the Week honors from the Walter Camp Foundation and as the Football Writers Association of America-Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

Ohio State 42, Michigan 39

All-time record against Michigan: 40-57-6 Troy Smith played his last game in Columbus against archrival Michigan, in what was billed by some as The Game of the Century. He led the Buckeyes to a victory that won Ohio State the outright Big Ten championship, an undefeated season, and a berth in the BCS Championship Game on January 8, 2007.
   Michigan took an early 7-0 lead on its opening drive, driving 80 yards and keeping the Buckeye defense completely off-balance. Michigan quarterback Chad Henne set up a 1-yard run for Mike Hart with an effective passing attack to Mario Manningham. Ohio State immediately replied, however, tying the score when Smith hooked up with senior wideout Roy Hall for a 1-yard touchdown pass.
   In the second quarter, freshman Chris Wells used a spin move and a hurdle of a tackler to break away for a 52-yard run that put the Buckeyes up 14-7. After a Wolverine punt, Smith used a superb play action fake on a 2^nd and short to hit Ted Ginn in the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown pass. However, Henne drove the Wolverines 65 yards in 2 minutes for a touchdown to Adrian Arrington and appeared to take back the momentum of the game. The Buckeyes patiently drove the length of the field in the final two minutes of the half, and Smith completed his third touchdown pass, finding Anthony Gonzalez for the score.
   In the second half, Ohio State gave up the ball on a three-and-out when Smith was ineffective on three passes. Michigan again appeared to take back the momentum with a scoring drive and a field goal following an interception thrown by Smith at the Ohio State 25, but Antonio Pittman found a wide gap in the Michigan defensive line and ran away from the Wolverine secondary for a 56-yard touchdown that gave Ohio State an 11-point lead again. With seconds left in the quarter, a bad snap by injured captain and center Doug Datish in the shotgun caused the ball to go over Smith’s head for a fumble recovered by Michigan at the Ohio State 9. Hart scored his third touchdown after the recovery nineteen seconds into the 4^th quarter and the lead was again down to 4.
   Later in the 4^th quarter, Datish again turned over the ball on a bad snap after Ohio State had driven deep into Michigan territory, but Michigan was forced to punt. Sophomore wide receiver Brian Robiskie, who had made a key long gain in the 2^nd quarter, then agilely kept his balance in the front corner of the end zone for Smith’s fourth touchdown pass—a thirteen yarder—with only 5:38 remaining.
   Michigan moved the ball on a long drive, but were stopped at midfield. On 4^th down, Henne threw deep downfield for an incomplete pass; however, pass interference was called on safety Jamario O’Neal, and the Wolverines were still alive. Henne passed for a 16-yard score and a two-point conversion, providing the final margin. Their onside kick attempt was recovered by Ted Ginn, Jr. on the fly and retained after a hard hit by the Wolverine “hands” team. With Michigan out of timeouts, Pittman carried the ball for a first down on third and one, and the clock expired.
   For Troy Smith, the victory was his third over Michigan, making him the first Ohio State quarterback to win three consecutive games over Michigan since Tippy Dye (who attended the 2006 game) (1934-1936). Smith completed 29 of 41 passes for 316 yards and 4 touchdowns, hitting eight different receivers, and was sacked only once. Ginn caught 8 for 104 yards, Robiskie 7 for 89 yards, Gonzalez 4 for 50 yards, and Hall 3 for 38 yards, all four scoring touchdowns. Against Michigan’s top-rated rushing defense, Pittman carried the ball 18 times for 139 yards and Wells 5 times for 56. Overall, Ohio State riddled the highly-touted Wolverine defense for 503 total yards (187 on the ground), and against its top-ranked third-down average (25%), converted six out of eleven (54.5%). The 42 points scored by Ohio State is the most it has scored against Michigan since 1968, when Woody Hayes’s “Super Sophomores” (Rex Kern, John Brockington, Jack Tatum, Jim Stillwagon, et al) led Ohio State to a 50-14 blowout of the Wolverines.
   Although giving up points far in excess of its season average, and being hard-pressed at times, the Buckeye defense sacked Henne four times, held Michigan to four conversions on thirteen 3^rd down attempts, and forced 5 punts and a turnover on downs.
   Troy Smith received his fifth Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award for the 2006 season, setting a new conference record for most received in a single season. This honor was the sixth of his career.

BCS National Championship Game - Florida 41, Ohio State 14

With Ohio State securing a spot in the BCS National Championship game at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, they faced the Florida Gators. It was the first meeting between the schools in football.
Florida defeated Arkansas in the SEC Championship Game 38-28 to secure the number two position in the final BCS standings over the Michigan Wolverines, and finished the regular season at 12-1. Florida's only defeat during 2006 came on the road at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium in the seventh week of the season.
Ohio State scored on the opening play of the game with a kickoff return by Ted Ginn Jr, but it would be the last play of the game for him as he left the game with a foot injury sustained during his touchdown celebration. Under relentless pressure from the Gator's defensive line, QB Troy Smith posted the worst game of his career being sacked 5 times and completing only 4 passes (on 14 throws for 35 yards), 1 interception, 1 fumble and -29 yards on sacks.

Player personnel

Final Depth Chart

Roster

Coaching Staff

Jim Tressel - Head Coach - 6th year

Jim Bollman - Offensive Coordinator/Offensive line - 5th year

Jim Heacock - Defensive Coordinator/Defensive line - 10th year

Joe Daniels - Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks - 5th year

Darrell Hazell - Asst. Head Coach/Wide Receivers - 1st year

John Peterson - Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends - 2nd year

Dick Tressel - Running Backs - 5th year

Luke Fickell - Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers - 4th year

Tim Beckman - Defensive Backs - 1st year

Paul Haynes - Defensive Backs - 1st yearFurther Information

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