Buckeye Flashback: Buckeyes win clash of unbeatens

By foxsports
Published

Narrowing down Ohio State's top wins against Michigan was no easy task, but we managed to do it earlier this year.

One rose to the top in a vote of BuckeyeSports.com readers, and that was the contest that is the only one to feature the nation's top two teams on the same field.





2006
No. 1 Ohio State 42
No. 2 Michigan 39



Troy Smith was again the man of the match but he got plenty of help as Ohio State beat Michigan in the first meeting of the ancient foes as the nation’s two top-ranked teams.

Smith improved to 3-0 as a starting quarterback against the Wolverines as he completed 29 of 41 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns. The Buckeyes spread out and shredded the vaunted Michigan defense as Antonio Pittman ran for 139 yards and Chris Wells added 56 more. Each member of the Akron-born duo notched a long touchdown run, Pittman sprinting 56 yards on a version of the famous “Dave” play in the third quarter after Wells had brought the Ohio Stadium crowd to its feet with a stunning 52-yard draw-play touchdown run.

Tressel and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman had the Wolverines off balance all day, including on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Ted Ginn Jr. on which Ginn lined up as the team’s third tight end in a tight power set.

Ill-timed Ohio State turnovers helped keep Michigan in the game in the second half, and a late touchdown drive engineered by Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne cut the OSU lead to three. The Buckeyes recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock with a trio of Pittman runs, including a 6-yarder on the final play that converted a third-and-2 and put the Buckeyes over 500 total yards on the day.


If you liked that walk down memory lane, be sure to check out the rest of our nominees. You can still vote for your favorite, too, from a list that includes games from six different decades.