Ohio State in Overtime
11/19/2009
Coach Tressel has been in command for every overtime game in the history of Ohio State football. After Saturday's win over Iowa, he and the program are 5-1 all-time in games requiring extra time.
In his 2002 National Championship season, Illinois took OSU to its first ever overtime. Like last week, this game was one game before MIchigan but unlike last week, the Buckeyes went first - scoring a touchdown on their opening posession and then holding the opposition to nothing. The 23-16 victory, followed by a 14-9 win over no. 12 Michigan, sent undefeated OSU to the National Championship game.
That Fiesta Bowl doubled the amount of overtimes OSU had seen in 2002 (and ever, for that matter) so it made sense that it was a double-overtime. In the second period, the Buckeyes scored on their opening posession and then held no. 1 Miami to a 4th-down nothing. Final score 31-24, crystal football, National Championship, Jim Tressel legacy.
Coach Tressel's third game beyond regulation went, of course, into triple overtime. The 44-38 win was in 2003 against no. 24 North Carolina State. In the third period, once again, OSU scored a touchdown on their opening possession and then won with a defensive stop.
Also in 2003, making for back-to-back seasons with two overtime games, OSU won 16-13 against Purdue. Like last week, this game was one before Michigan against the 11th-ranked team in the country. Like last week a conference crown was hanging in the balance and OSU won by a field goal.
Ohio State's only overtime loss came at Northwestern in 2004 but that's nothing to be ashamed of as the Wildcats are easily the best overtime team in college football history. Northwestern has 10 overtime wins, while no other teams can boast of nine and only three have won eight times. With only one overtime loss, Northwestern's .909 overtime winning percentage is miles ahead of the rest.
Since 1996, there have been just over 400 overtime games played in college football and there are only a handful of teams that can compete with Ohio State's .833 overtime win percentage. The University of South Florida is 6-0, UCLA is 6-1, and Army, Louisiana-Monroe, and Nebraska are all tied with OSU at 5-1. Arkansas is 8-1, including two seven-overtime games.
In the Big Ten, there are just three teams other than Northwestern and Ohio State with winning overtime records. With their loss last week, Iowa is now 4-2 all-time. Wisconsin is also 4-2, including a double-overtime win over Fresno State this season. Michigan is 5-2 in overtimes, including a 20-26 overtime loss at Michigan State in the first conference game of this season. For the last conference game of the season, the Wolverines host the Buckeyes Saturday.
Go Bucks!
By Ben Brown, an OSU senior majoring in journalism