11 days left! I do love these countdowns.
Anthony Gonzalez first showed up on a Buckeye highlight reel when Ted Ginn Jr and Santonio Holmes were the star receivers at The Ohio State University. He could have easily faded into the background, but talent like AG doesn’t stay hidden long.
As a freshman, he quickly found Buckeye fans clamoring to own a #11 jersey (especially after a 68-yard TD catch against Michigan in the first two minutes of the 2004 game, pictured here).
But it was Gonzalez’ sophomore game against Michigan that OSU fans remember the best.
November 19, 2005 – With only 7 and a half minutes to play, Michigan fans were in celebration mode after their team took a commanding 21-12 lead over the Buckeyes. But Ohio State was prepared to show Wolverine fans that the party wasn’t started yet.
It took just 5 plays and barely over a minute of the game clock for QB Troy Smith to go down the field for a TD strike to Holmes, cutting the deficit down to 21-19. The ensuing Michigan drive stalled quickly, but a punt pinned Ohio State at their own 12 with just over 4 minutes left in the game.
The Buckeyes never even faced a third down on that winning drive, as Smth, Holmes and Ginn sliced through the defense in 6-to-11 yard chunks.
And then it happened.
At the Michigan 31 yard line, the Buckeyes lined up for first down. Ten seconds later, nobody could believe what they had just witnessed;
Smith dancing away from a tackle was a work of art, and Gonzalez’ catch was pure magic.
Being down two points and having a deadly placekicker, the game was all but over. But Tressel didn’t want to leave much time on the clock, so he ran Smith off right tackle to burn some clock (and force Michigan to use their final time out). With under 30 seconds to play, RB Antonio Pittman blasted through a demoralized Michigan squad for the winning score, and the celebration shifted from 105,000 fans in blue to the 5K wearing scarlet.
For that amazing catch, Anthony Gonzalez, enjoy your day!
Oh, and because I love countdowns…..
…..days until Michigan
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