Noisy crowd doesn't bother Ohio State
No. 1 Buckeyes quiet Mountaineer crowd very quickly
Posted: Sunday September 06, 1998 09:50 PM
| |
Andy Katzenmoyer helped limit West Virginia to 78 yards on the ground Ezra O Shaw/Allsport |
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (AP) -- It was a hostile environment for only a half.
Top-ranked Ohio State stared down a rowdy crowd of 68,409 Saturday night, then shut down 20th-ranked West Virginia and star running back Amos Zereoue en route to a 34-17 victory.
"I thought there would be more stuff thrown at us, but the verbal abuse was enough," Ohio State offensive guard Rob Murphy said. "We took care of business and they were very quiet.
"I was blowing them kisses on the way out and telling them to have a safe ride home."
The third-largest crowd ever at Mountaineer Field was left virtually silent after Ohio State's offense amassed 549 yards and the Buckeyes' defense, led by Butkus Award winner Andy Katzenmoyer, limited West Virginia to 78 yards on the ground -- with eight second-half rushes netting 1 yard. Katzenmoyer was declared academically eligible Thursday.
Stepping out after two years as a backup, Joe Germaine passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Wiley ran for 140 yards and one score.
Cornerback Antoine Winfield led a defensive unit that throttled the high-powered West Virginia attack, which totaled 310 yards.
"I'm a happy 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."
Germaine, a senior who had lost his only previous start, completed 18-of-32 without an interception.
"It was a first game. You could tell," Germaine said. "We did some good things and we made some mistakes."
The Buckeyes had four fumbles, none costly.
Wiley, a fill-in for Pepe Pearson the past two seasons, carried 17 times and upstaged Zereoue in the tailback showdown.
"True, but we have the better defense, and we all knew that," Wiley said.
Zereoue, 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season, had 77 yards on 20 carries -- but lost three yards on his seven second-half carries. He did set a Mountaineers career rushing record, reaching 2,701 yards in his three seasons to eclipse the previous record of 2,648 set by Artie Owens (1972-75).
"They have a lot of weapons to defense," Nehlen said. "But their defense is something special."
David Boston had an important 20-yard punt return that set up the go-ahead touchdown and caught a 39-yard scoring pass from Germaine. Boston had seven catches for 129 yards and Dee Miller had six catches for 110 yards and a score.
"I was worried to death coming in here," Cooper said. "The fans were after us good. It's good to come here and win like that.
"We can really play better than that. And we will have to play better than that."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
MULTIMEDIA
