Rolle's Return Redeems Restlessness

Ohio State and Navy met for their first regular season game since 1931 on Saturday afternoon. The college football season kicked off at the Horseshoe and ended with what OSU head coach, Jim Tressel, termed a “dazzling” fourth quarter. Navy quarterback, Ricky Dobbs trimmed the Ohio State lead to two with 2:23 remaining in the game. Dobbs ran up the middle for a 24 yard touchdown to put the Midshipmen in position to tie the game on a two-point conversion. The Buckeyes led 29-27 when Brian Rolle intercepted a potential game-tying two-point conversion in the closing minutes. Rolle returned for two points the other way to preserve the Buckeye lead. The Bucks weathered the storm against a pesky Navy team in their 2009 home opener. An estimated crowd of 105,000 fans turned out at Ohio Stadium, the largest ever to see the Buckeyes open a season.
Rolle’s pick at the one-yard line was the game-saving play, but the contest featured other notable highlights from both sides. OSU’s second year quarterback, Terrelle Pryor was a respectable 14 of 21 for 174 yards. Pryor ran for a touchdown and passed for another to help Ohio State slip past the Midshipmen 31-27. Dan Herron led the Buckeye rushers with 72 yards and a touchdown, and Brandon Saine pounded out 53 yards in the backfield. Ohio State established an early 7-0 lead on their opening drive. The Buckeyes held the ball for just under seven minutes on a 15 play first quarter scoring drive. Pryor swiftly spiraled a 38 yard pass to Dane Sanzenbacher for the first OSU touchdown. Navy scored on the ensuing possession after converting four third downs. The Buckeyes evidently were troubled by the diverse and complicated Navy offensive formation. Dobbs rushed for 16 yards up the middle on a third and two to even the score. OSU place kicker, Aaron Pettry added a 23 yard field goal late in the quarter to put the Buckeyes back on top by three points.
The second quarter began sloppily for both teams. Ohio State overcame a few penalties and a fumble. The Midshipmen also fumbled, but were unable to recover their own ball. Instead, the stalwart OSU defense returned in time and the Buckeyes capitalized on the turnover. Kurt Coleman viciously knocked the ball from Mario Washington, and Ross Horman fell on the loose object. The splendid subsequent drive resulted in a touchdown for the scarlet and gray. Pryor scrambled to the left side of the endzone for the six points. Backup quarterback, Joe Bauserman completed three passes just before the half for Ohio State. He rushed for six yards to the Navy eight yard line before Tressel called their final timeout. Pettry footed a 25-yarder with .58 ticks on the clock to give his team a 20-8 halftime lead. Although not commanding, the Buckeyes did a good job handling Navy in the first half.
The only scoring in the third quarter was from the visiting team. Navy scored just before the end of the quarter on a 15-play drive that set up Marcus Curry’s 16 yard touchdown reception. The slim Ohio State lead was increased by three on Pettry’s third field goal of the game. This time, the slick kicker planted a long 52 yarder between the posts for a 23-14 Buckeye lead. Herron ran six yards for a touchdown on a quick but effective Ohio State drive. Pettry missed the point-after as the ball bounced off the right upright. The PAT wasn’t good, but Ohio State still held the advantage. The 29-14 home team lead would remain for just five minutes, however. Dobbs completed an unfathomable 85 yard pass to Curry on the one play for the Midshipmen. The noxious Navy pair was thorough through the air, but it was Navy’s defense that made this opener a game. Navy never folded, and their flexbone triple option offense rocked the Horseshoe in the second half. Curry beat the one-on-one coverage of OSU safety, Anderson Russell and outran him to the endzone. Dobbs lofted the perfect spiral to Curry, and in doing so completed the third longest pass play in Navy history. The Horseshoe crowd stunningly saw Dobbs throw for 156 yards and two scores. The Navy signal-caller completed 9 of 13 passes on the day. Curry finished with just over 100 total yards.
Ohio State limped through the remainder of the fourth quarter. The lowlight came on Pryor’s intercepted pass by Navy safety, Emmett Merchant. Merchant returned the ball 28 yards to the OSU 33 yard line with four minutes left in the game. Dobbs faked a handoff on third down and sprinted straight up the middle for another Midshipmen score. This is where the missed PAT could come back to haunt the Buckeyes. Navy went for the two-point conversion and the tie. The attempt was fruitless. The junior Buckeye, Rolle, thundered up the Navy sideline 99 yards to give the home crowd something to cheer about again: a 31-27 Buckeyes lead. OSU recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to notch their first victory of the year. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for my beloved Buckeyes. They welcome their Hollywood opponents, the Pete Carroll-led USC Trojans on September 12th. The game is sure to rate, but will the actual product on the field show value?

Parting points: Does this game bring new meaning to the term “pick and roll(e)?” Gosh, I love this game. Is there anything better than college football?