Staying on top
Ohio State cruises to easy win over West Virginia
Posted: Sunday September 06, 1998 12:22 PM
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Bend but don't break: Katzenmoyer (45) and the Ohio State defense allowed Zereoue (20) to rush for 77 yards on 20 carries AP |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - It was a display so impressive that
West Virginia coach Don Nehlen could only shudder.
"I hope that team is No. 1," he said while shaking his head
moments after top-ranked Ohio State slammed the door on Nehlen's
11th-ranked Mountaineers, 34-17.
Stepping out after two years as backups, Joe Germaine passed for
301 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Wiley ran for 140 yards
and another score.
On defense, cornerback Antoine Winfield, Andy Katzenmoyer and
crew throttled the high-powered West Virginia attack, limiting it
to just 78 yards on the ground and 310 yards overall.
"They have a lot of weapons to defense," Nehlen said. "But
their defense is really something special. Their offense is darn
good, but we weren't able to sustain anything and got behind.
Defensively they kept wearing us down."
Germaine, a senior who had lost his only previous start,
completed 18-of-32 passes without an interception, doing his best
to quiet a rowdy crowd of 68,409.
"I'm a happy football coach," Ohio State's John Cooper said
after his 11th straight opening-game victory. "We walked into a
great hostile crowd and we won the game."
Wiley, a fill-in for Pepe Pearson the past two seasons, carried
17 times for his 140 yards and upstaged West Virginia's Amos
Zereoue in the tailback showdown.
Zereoue, 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season,
finished with 77 yards on 20 attempts -- but lost three yards on his
seven second-half carries. He set a Mountaineer career rushing
record, but it was Ohio State's offense which dictated the game.
"Zereoue's a great football player," Cooper said. "We did a
good job of stopping him in the second half."
David Boston added a critical 20-yard punt return that set up
the go-ahead touchdown and also caught a 39-yard scoring pass from
Germaine. Boston had seven catches for 129 yards, while his fellow
Buckeye wideout, Dee Miller, had six catches for 110 yards.
It had been 101 years since Ohio State had crossed the border to
meet West Virginia. It was also the first time Ohio State had
opened on an opponent's home field in 23 years.
"I guarantee you I was worried to death coming in here,"
Cooper said. "The fans were after us pretty good. It's good to
come here and win like that. It'll be good to be back home next
week."
With the score tied at 3 midway through the second quarter, Ohio
State -- which lost its last two games during a 10-3 season last
year -- relied on Wiley's speed and Germaine's accurate arm to pull
away.
After Boston took a Jay Taylor punt and returned it 20 yards to
the Buckeye 45, Wiley went off right tackle for 37 yards before he
was pushed out of bounds at the West Virginia 18.
On the very next play, he went the other way, racing off left
tackle and then cutting to the corner for the touchdown and a 10-3
Ohio State lead.
Zereoue gained 5 yards and the West Virginia career rushing
record on the next play from scrimmage. His 77 yards gave him 2,701
in his three seasons to eclipse the previous school record of 2,648
set by Artie Owens (1972-75).
In a span of little more than 2 minutes of the second quarter,
the Buckeyes added 10 more points and put the game out of reach.
Taking over at his own 20, Germaine led them on a five-place
drive that melted just 1:15 off the clock. After Wiley picked up
five yards on first down, Germaine threw deep along the right
sideline for Miller who caught the ball over his shoulder -- almost
pulling it off the helmet of defender Perlo Bastien -- for a 42-yard
gain.
Germaine scrambled for 2 yards before Wiley gained 17 more. On
first down at the 14, Germaine hit Miller -- again beating Bastien --
on a slant pattern for the touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ohio State backup defensive back Joe
Cooper leveled Jerry Porter on the return, knocking the ball loose.
The Buckeyes' Tim Cheatwood recovered and Ohio State was right back
in business at the WVU 29.
Five plays later, Dan Stultz kicked his second field goal, this
one from 36 yards, to make it 20-3.
After the Mountaineers cut the gap to 20-10 with a score late in
the first half, the Buckeyes countered with a 96-yard march early
in the third quarter.
Germaine found Boston for a 29-yard gain on second and 12 at
Ohio State's 9, then later lofted a perfectly thrown pass to Boston
on the post pattern for the 39-yard touchdown.
The Buckeyes capped their scoring on a 7-yard run by freshman
Jonathan Wells.
West Virginia, coming off a 7-5 season, picked up their points
with time running out in the second and fourth quarters.
Marc Bulger, who completed 23-of-37 for 232 yards with one
interception, passed into the end zone from the Ohio State 6, just
past the outstretched hands of Winfield to flanker Shawn Foreman.
Foreman then wrestled the ball away from defender Central
McClellion for the touchdown.
With just 13 seconds left in the game, Bulger hit Foreman with a
3-yard scoring toss.
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