Ohio University was 15 minutes away from pulling off a massive upset but the Bobcats couldn’t hold on and fell to No. 3 Ohio State 26-14. The Buckeyes played without Heisman candidate Chris “Beanie” Wells, who was resting a leg injury. Wells could be ready to play next week at USC.

It was over when… Ray Small returned a punt 69 yards to lift the Buckeyes lead to 26-14 late in the fourth quarter.
Gameball goes to… Ohio: Cinderella almost found a slipper in the Shoe. The Bobcats gave the Buckeyes a very big scare.
Stat of the game… 9-17: Ohio converted nine of 17 third downs against Ohio State. OSU D will have to improve that stat vs. USC.

Not having Wells certainly didn’t help the Buckeyes, but his absence wasn’t the main reason the game was so close. Ohio State still rushed for 162 total yards, but the Bobcats just flat out came to play. Ohio produced a couple of big plays, including a sack and fumble recovery of OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman in the end zone that gave them a 14-6 lead in the third quarter, as well as moved the ball effectively on the ground against the Buckeyes’ usually stingy defense. But in the end the OSU defense stepped up and Small’s punt return allowed the Buckeyes to avoid a huge embarrassment.