Ohio State Dynasty Year #1 -- What a start! - EvanRG's Blog

EvanRG's Blog

Ohio State Dynasty Year #1 -- What a start!

Posted on August 8, 2009 at 11:36 PM.

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Coach Evan Graening walks into the press conference with a large smile and an exhausted look on his face. It is 12:48AM on Saturday, September 12, 2009 and Ohio State has just completed an improbable comeback to beat the Trojans of USC, 31-27 after trailing 27-10 in the 3rd Quarter.

Box Score:

Code:

#4 USC Trojans (1-0) @ #7 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) |
____________________________________________________
___________________________                  |
USC | 10 | 3 | 14 |  0 | 27                  |
OSU |  0 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 31                  |
___________________________                  |
                                             |
_______    USC         |     OSU             |
Score  |    27         |      31             |
1st Dn |    10         |      20             |
TotOff |    325        |     408             |
Rush   |  23-121-0     |   45-238-4          |
Pass   |  14-28-2      |   14-32-0           |
PassYd |    204        |     170             |
3rd Dn |  5-13 (38%)   |    7-15 (46%)       |
4th Dn |   0-1 (0%)    |     1-2 (50%)       |
2ptCon |   0-0 (0%)    |     0-0 (0%)        |
RedZn  |  1-1-0 (100%) |   4-3-0 (75%)       |
Turn   |     2         |       1             |
Fumble |     0         |       0             |
INT    |     2         |       1             |
PR Yd  |    30         |       3             |
KR Yd  |    141        |      140            |
Tot Yd |     496       |      551            |
PuntAvg|   4-47.8      |      4-49.8         |
Pen    |   5-41        |      1-5            |
TOP    |   10:51       |      17:09          |
_____________________________________________

The Press conference begins with Chuck Dreary from the Columbus Dispatch, "Coach, take us back to that final drive -- what was your philosophy in attacking the USC defense?"

"Well, you saw it for yourself, tonight, Terrell Pryor became a man... it was about giving him the ball and letting him use his God given abilities.

Another person speaks out, "Coach, what were you telling the guys after you went down 27-10?"

"What every coach would be saying to their team, screw your heads on straight, we've still got a quarter and a half of football to play... I just didn't expect them to respond so quickly."

A representative for the coach steps in front to announce something, "We have time for one more question."

After brief period moment of hustle and jumbling for notes a reporter from the Akron Beacon Journal sneaks in the last question -- one that everyone from the state of Ohio has on their mind -- "

"Coach, you've got 10 games left, and this was quite possibly the hardest team you will face all season besides a trip to Penn State later in the season -- were do you think your team will be playing
in January?"

Evan simply laughs and shakes his head, "IF we didn't decide the games on the field then I don't think we'd be standing here at 2-0, so with that being said, how the heck would I know? This system is a tricky one, so all we can do is win one at a time... Good night fellas -- time to sleep and then get ready for Toledo."

-----------------

COLUMBUS, OH. Sept. 12, 2009 -- The Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Trojans of USC 31-27 last night despite trailing 27-10 late in the 3rd Quarter.

In what will be considered a keystone win for the Buckeyes, Terrell Pryor went off for 171 yards rushing on 23 attempts and also threw for 170 yards. No play was bigger though than his 21 yard scramble into the endzone late in the 3rd Quarter to keep it close at 27-24.

Ohio State's defense answered the bell in the 4th quarter, holding the Trojans scoreless, including crucial stops late in the 4th to give Terrell Pryor and the Buckeye Offense one more shot at the endzone. The winning touchdown for the Buckeyes came with just 5 seconds remaining on the clock as Terrell Pryor snuck it in from just inside the 2 yard line.

The Buckeyes improve to 2-0 on the season with wins over Army (40-10) and the Trojans. USC drops to 1-1 and has slipped to #10 in the rankings, while Ohio State has improved to #4 in the Nation.