Buckeye Rosters

Recap

Morgantown, WV — The No.1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes proved on a national stage why they deserved the top billing in the country. In a much-anticipated season-opener, OSU won its border war over No.11 West Virginia by a decisive 34-17 score in front of 68,409 at Mountaineer Field and a prime time, national television audience courtesy of CBS Sports.

After winning the opening toss, WVU took an early 3-0 lead off an eight-play, 48-yard drive which was capped by a Jay Taylor, 47-yard field goal. It would turn out to be WVU’s only lead of the evening as OSU quickly tacked on 20 unanswered points. The barrage began immediately on the ensuing drive with Dan Stultz’s 35-yard field goal. With 5:23 remaining in the first quarter, tailback Michael Wiley put his name in the scorebook with an 18-yard scamper to give OSU a 10-3 lead. He set up his TD with a 37-yard dash the previous play. Wiley finished the evening with a career-high 140 yards rushing off 17 carries. It also was the second 100-yard plus rushing day of his career. With 10:49 remaining in the half, quarterback Joe Germaine and wide receiver Dee Miller hooked-up on a 14-yard scoring pass to increase the lead to 17-3.

West Virginia scored its first touchdown of the evening with 20 seconds remaining in the half off Marc Bulger’s 6-yard pass to Shawn Foreman. Ohio State led at halftime, 20-10. The second half saw OSU rally again with 14 more unanswered points. In the only score of the third quarter, Germaine connected on a 39-yard bomb with David Boston to increase the lead to 27-10. Germaine finished the game with 301 yards passing (18-for-32), the second 300-yard plus passing day of his career. He had 378 yards against Penn State, Oct. 11, 1997.

True freshman Jonathan Wells gave the Buckeyes their final exclamation point with his first career touchdown, a seven-yard run. The Mountaineers scored a touchdown with 13 seconds remaining in the contest to bring the final score to 34-17.

Antoine Winfield and Central McClellion topped the defenders with eight tackles apiece.

NOTES: After a first half showing of 13 carries for 80 yards, WVU All-American tailback Amos Zereoue was limited to seven carries for minus-3 yards in the second half.

For the first time since the 1980 season, Ohio State played a game as the No.1-ranked team in the country.

The game marked just the sixth ever meeting on the gridiron between Ohio State and West Virginia and only the second since the 1903 season. Ohio State now leads the all-time series, 5-1.

The crowd of 68,409 set a Mountaineer Field record for opening day attendance.

The game marked the first time in 23 seasons and only the seventh time in its storied history that OSU has opened a season on the road. Previously, OSU played a road opener in 1975 at Michigan State (a 21-0 Buckeye win). All-time, the Buckeyes have opened the season on the road in 1890, 1892, 1894, 1912, and 1974.

OSU offensive coordinator Mike Jacobs was on Don Nehlen’s WVU staff for 15 seasons prior to joining Ohio State’s staff in 1998, including his last seven seasons as offensive coordinator.