Sunday, April 28, 2002
Defense rules OSU spring game
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — With what they said was a limited playbook, Ohio State's offensive players did some very limited things.
Mike Nugent kicked two field goals, including the game-winner with 4:37 left Saturday as the Gray beat the Scarlet 6-3 in an Ohio State spring game as dreary as the weather.
Injuries and paper-thin depth on the offensive line gave the defenses a chance to pile up statistics.
Asked how hard it was to tackle the quarterback, Scarlet defensive end Will Smith said, “It wasn't that difficult.”
He finished with four sacks for 25 yards in losses.
Overcast skies and a late-afternoon rainstorm weren't enough to keep 37,783 from buying tickets for the first intrasquad game at Ohio Stadium in four years.
Second-year head coach Jim Tressel struggled to put a good spin on the outcome.
“We're not going to go into a depression about” the lack of offense, Tressel said. “We didn't pretend to think it would be 40-35 or some thing like that. We knew we were struggling a little bit up front because we didn't have two of our veteran guys.”
He conceded, however, “We would have liked to see some touchdowns.”
Nugent kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the first half and then converted a 41-yard kick for the deciding points. A year ago as a freshman, he struggled off and on all season, making just half of his 14 field goal attempts as the Buckeyes waded through a 7-5 season.
“I think everyone, even the fans, are kind of mad the score was 6-3,” Nugent said. “But the two most excited people on the field were the kickers, because they got some clutch situations.”
The only other points came on walk-on Jeremy Uhlenhake's 32-yard field goal in the first quarter.
Neither Craig Krenzel nor Scott McMullen distinguished themselves at quarterback. Both were victimized by numerous drops by their receivers — supposedly one of the team's strengths. Krenzel completed 14 of 26 passes for 155 yards with one interception; the Gray's McMullen was 10-for-23 for 113 yards without an interception.
Gray ....... 0 3 0 3— 6
Scarlet ....... 3 0 0 0— 3
First Quarter
Scar—FG 32 Uhlenhake, 3:34
Second Quarter
Gray—FG 37 Nugent, 1:51
Fourth Quarter
Gray—FG 41 Nugent, 4:37
A—37,783
RUSHING—Gray, Clarett 5-17, O'Neill 1-(minus 1), Gray 1-(minus 2), Ross 5-(minus 6), McMullen 4-(minus 25). Scarlet, hall 6-12, Krenzel 7-2, Riley 2-1, Otis 1-(minus 9).
PASSING—Gray, McMullen 10-23-0-113. Scarlet, Krenzel 14-26-1-155, Scarlet 0-1-0-0, Otis 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Gray, Jenkins 3-52, Clarett 3-25, Chattams 2-17, Vance 1-18, Ross 1-1. Scarlet, Riley 6-50, Gamble 3-53, Carter 2-33, Childress 1-8, Hall 1-8, Tucker 1-3.
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Defense rules OSU spring game
