Ohio St. 18
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Plate shatters Buckeyes' bid
Ohio State falls to Michigan 28-18 as Wolverines DB steals
the show
by Tim May
ANN ARBOR, Mich.-- The game was Ohio State-Michigan. The subplot, from an Ohio State standpoint, was attack Todd Plate.
"That guy rose up and made a great play, give him credit," Ohio State coach John Cooper said.
A former walk-on, a defensive back who might as well have been wearing a target, Plate literally snatched the 28-18 victory for the third-ranked Wolverines yesterday.
In front of the fourth-largest crowd (106,137) in Michigan Stadium history and a national television audience, he grabbed two interceptions-- the last the clincher with 2:48 to go-- and broke up a would-be touchdown pass in the end zone.
Those plays helped Michigan (10-1, 8-0) claim a second straight Big Ten championship and another trip to the Rose Bowl.
"He made several great plays, which is ironic because he is a substitute himself," Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said. "Todd Plate is a tremendous achiever for a kid who is a walk-on. He played with all his heart."
He wasn't the only one. Among the others who put it on the line on the breezy, mild, gray day, were:
The 20th ranked Buckeyes (8-3, 6-2), who finished tied with Northwestern for 7th last year, Cooper's first, tied Michigan State for third this season and are headed for the Hall of Fame Bowl Jan. 1 in Tampa, Florida.
But neither that, nor the six-game winning streak the Buckeyes put together going into yesterday, soothed all.
"Right now, I feel like those last six weeks were for nothing," junior free safety Mark Pelini said. "Losing to Michigan two years in a row, it's tough to take."
It might have been easier had the Wolverines not fumbled away two scoring chances in the first half. Hoard lost one at the OSU 16 on their first possession. Quarterback Michael Taylor lost the other at the OSU 22 in the second quarter.
So Michigan, despite running through the OSU defense to the tune of 272 yards in the first half, settled for a 14-3 halftime lead.
Already the Plate scenario was taking shape. He had knocked away a lob pass from Greg Frey to Jeff Graham in the left corner of the end zone just before halftime, causing the Buckeyes to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Pat O'Morrow.
Jeff Graham had been one-on-one with Plate and said, "that's what we practiced for all week."
It would come back to haunt the Buckeyes, but not before they jumped back into the game by:
After the OSU defense held the Wolverines to three plays on the next seriesfor the only time in the game, Ohio State forced a short punt by Chris Stapleton.
Taking over at the Michigan 40, the Buckeyes drove to their first TD, a 3-yard blast by Scottie Graham. A try for two fialed, however, when Frey couldn't handle center Dan Beatty's snap.
But the Buckeyes had cut the lead to 14-12.
When OSU immediately forced another Michigan punt, the pendulum seemed to have swung.
"When we got to the fourth quarter trailing by only two points, I thought we were going to win the game," Cooper said.
They just couldn't break Plate.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Frey threw toward Jeff Graham on a deep out cut to the right. The Buckeyes had flooded Plate's zone with Greg Beatty, too.
Except as Frey released the ball, he was hit and the pass fluttered short, into the hands of Plate at the Michigan 47.
Six plays later, Taylor threw a swing pass to fullback Jarrod Bunch for the touchdown, upping the lead to 21-12 with 12:22 to play.
Ohio State retaliated with an 80-yard drive, with Frey mixing it up, then finally handing off to Scottie Graham for a 4-yard TD blast with 5:18 to go.
The extra point would have put the Buckeyes in position to win it with a field goal, too, except Tripp Welborne leaped high over the middle-- like Murray had-- to block the kick.
"That was a key play right there," Cooper said, "because we weren't going to play for a tie."
When OSU got the ball back with 3:42 left, Cooper said, "I told them the offense, 'Hey guys, we've got them right where we want them. Let's go out there and win this game."
Taking over at the OSU 34, Scottie Graham was knocked down for a 2-yard loss on first down. One the next play, Frey fired a pass up the middle toward Greg Beatty, who had run a post pattern.
Plate, reading post all the way, beat Beatty to the ball by inches and snatched it away.
Two plays that followed made sure of the Buckeyes' fate.
Clark was called for pass interference on a third-down pass intended for Desmond Howard. Clearly there was contact on the play "and that wasn't what I was objecting to," said Cooper, who slapped his cap and railed at the officials. "I thought it was an uncatchable ball."
With a first down at the OSU 40, it was only five more plays until Bunch put the game away with his second TD, a 23-yard blast up the middle.
Cooper complained about the pass interference call. "But don't get me wrong," he said. "The officials didn't lose this game for us. Michigan is a great football team. They'd be number 1 in the country right now if it wasn't for that five-point loss to Notre Dame. Give them credit. They made the plays."