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Buckeyes hold off UT upset bid |
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Saturday, September 10 2011 |
 COLUMBUS, OH - Toledo stood toe-to-toe with Ohio State Saturday, but in the end, the Rockets came up one play short of upsetting the heavily-favored Buckeyes. Ohio State prevailed, 27-22, holding on as Toledo failed to complete a fourth-down pass on OSU's 16-yard line with just 48 seconds to play.
The Rockets got a final opportunity to pull out the win when senior defensive lineman Johnathan Lamb recovered an OSU fumble on the Toledo 28-yard line with 3:08 to play in the game. Sophomore QB Terrance Owens then drove the Rockets down the field before a crowd of 105,016 in Ohio Stadium. On fourth-and-5, Owens' pass to senior WR Kenny Stafford toward the sideline was off the mark.
INJURIES AND PENALTIES
Toledo was in a position to become the first Mid-American Conference school to beat Ohio State thanks to some big plays and in spite of numerous injuries to the defense and key penalties. UT entered the game without injured All-MAC linebacker Dan Molls, while junior linebacker Robert Bell and senior cornerback Desmond Marrow both left the game with injuries.
The Rockets were also hurt by 14 penalties for 102 yards, while Ohio State had two for just 13 yards.
Despite the injuries, Toledo's defense yielded just 301 yards, including 112 yards rushing. Senior cornerback Taikwon Paige had seven tackles, as did Bell before he left the game in the third quarter. Senior LB Terrell Anderson, subbing for Molls, had five tackles and one tackle for loss.
PAGE IN ON 16 POINTS
Junior wide receiver Eric Page lived up to his billing as a big-time playmaker, scoring on pass plays of six and 66 yards. For the game, he caught 12 passes for 145 yards. He also had a kickoff return of 42 yards and threw for a two-point conversion in the first quarter.
Ohio State got on the board first on the second possession of the game with a 26-yard pass from Joe Bauserman to tight end Jake Stoneburner. Toledo countered, thanks to a blocked punt by freshman Kishon Wilcher that was picked up and returned to the OSU one-yard line. Following a five-yard penalty, Eric Page took a short pass from Austin Dantin and weaved into the end zone. The Rockets went for two and took the lead, 8-7, when Page hit Hank Keighley with a pass.
Toledo upped its advantage to 15-7, with 2:18 to play in the first quarter when Page took a short pass from sophomore QB Terrance Owens and bolted 66 yards down the sidelines for the score.
The second quarter belonged to the Buckeyes, however, as Toledo could only muster 32 yards of offense while OSU scored twice. Carlos Hyde ran 36 yards for a TD with 8:02 to play in the first half to pull the Buckeyes to within a point, 15-14. Then with just 46 seconds left in the half, Chris Fields took a line-drive punt and ran 69 yards for the go-ahead score.
THOMAS PUTS ROCKETS BACK OUT FRONT
Toledo regained the lead in the third quarter when senior running back Adonis Thomas took a direct snap on fourth down and plowed in the end zone from four yards out. Thomas set up the score a few plays earlier on a 44-yard pass reception.
Ohio State scored the game-winning touchdown on a seven-play, 55-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard run by Carlos Hyde. Toledo did not threaten to score again until its final drive.
The Rockets (1-1, 0-0 MAC) have six days to prepare for No. 4 Boise State at the Glass Bowl next Friday.
Courtesy of Toledo Athletics
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