Cooper Finally Delivers Osu Wins Roses, Kos Devils’ Dream

John Cooper and Ohio State could finally exhale. Jake Plummer and Arizona State could do little more than gasp.

The fourth-ranked Buckeyes, seemingly doomed to their sixth bowl loss in eight tries since Cooper became coach, came from behind in the final minute of Wednesday’s Rose Bowl to beat Arizona State 20-17 and knock the second-ranked Sun Devils out of the national-title picture.

“It can’t get any better than this,” Cooper said, although it could have if his Buckeyes had not lost to Michigan in their final regular-season game. “I don’t think people respected us enough this week.

“You know, we lost to an outstanding football team in Michigan and you guys want to talk about the one we lost, not the 11 we won.”

The likelihood of getting that 11th win seemed remote with 1:40 left, when Plummer put ASU (11-1) ahead 17-14 by scoring on an 11-yard, run-for-your-life scramble that stunned all but the most jaded of the 100,635 in attendance.

What happened during the next 81 seconds was no less captivating.

Ohio State backup quarterback Joe Germaine, an Arizona native and former ASU season-ticket holder, threw the game-winning touchdown pass to David Boston with 19 seconds remaining. The 5-yard strike, set up by two pass-interference penalties against Arizona State, capped a 65-yard drive that began with 1:33 to play.

“It was a hell of a drive that late in the game,” ASU coach Bruce Snyder said. “It was big-time, and I admire Joe.”

The extra-point attempt was blocked, keeping the Sun Devils within a field goal, but Plummer ran out of time after guiding his team into Ohio State territory.

“We just ran out of time, but that’s why they have a clock,” said Plummer, a senior. “They played great in the fourth quarter and they won it.”

The Sun Devils had trouble covering Ohio State’s receivers all afternoon, but were not fully exposed because Germaine and starting quarterback Stanley Jackson were often forced into low-percentage passes.

They were sacked five times in all - one fewer than Plummer - and were mediocre on all but a handful of plays.

On the rare occasions when Ohio State’s passing attack struck, however, it made ASU cornerbacks Jason Simmons and Marcus Soward pay in full.

One such instance came with 8:23 left in the third quarter, when Simmons slipped and fell, allowing Dimitrious Stanley to break free for a 72-yard score that put Ohio State ahead 14-7.

Two more critical breakdowns came on the game’s final drive - Simmons and Soward were each flagged for pass interference, accounting for 30 of Ohio State’s final 65 yards.

The struggles of Simmons and Soward stood in contrast to the performance turned in by Ohio State corner Shawn Springs. The Big Ten Conference defensive player of the year helped hold Keith Poole, ASU’s all-Pac-10 receiver, to one catch for 10 yards.

“He was talking trash all week and he only caught one pass,” Springs said. “We got tired of them talking, being arrogant. They kept saying they couldn’t be stopped. They ran their mouths; we didn’t say anything all week long.”

ASU’s lone touchdown pass, a 25-yarder from Plummer to Ricky Bower that made it 7-7 in the second quarter, came despite excellent coverage from Ohio State backup corner Antoine Winfield.

In shutting down Poole, Springs at least partially atoned for his costly gaffe in the 13-9 loss to Michigan - a gaffe that allowed Tai Streets to break free for the game-turning 69-yard touchdown.

While Springs was steady, middle linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer was sensational. The freshman finished with three sacks, two more tackles for losses, two passes defensed and one interception.

ASU averaged 492.5 yards per game during the regular season, but managed a mere 276 against the Buckeyes.

“That was the best defense we played all year,” said Snyder, whose team also faced Washington and Nebraska. “They blitzed and they played with a lot of pressure. It was a long day offensively for us.”

Ohio St. 20, ASU 17

Ohio St. 7 0 7 6 - 20 Arizona St. 0 7 3 7 - 17

First quarter

OSU-Boston 9 pass from S.Jackson (Jo.Jackson kick), 9:56. Second quarter

ASU-R.Boyer 25 pass from Plummer (Nycz kick), 10:04. Third quarter

ASU-FG Nycz 37, 5:48.

OSU-Stanley 72 pass from Germaine (Jo.Jackson kick), 6:37. Fourth quarter

ASU-Plummer 11 run (Nycz kick), 13:20

OSU-Boston 5 pass from Germaine (kick blocked), 14:41.

A-100,645.

OSU ASU First downs 18 18 Rushes-yards 30-133 41-75 Passing 190 201 Comp-Att-Int 15-31-0 19-35-1 Return Yards 95 97 Punts-Avg. 8-44.9 8-43.0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 10-75 9-85 Time of Possession 26:43 33:17

Individual statistics

RUSHING-Ohio State, Pearson 13-111, Wiley 7-32, S.Jackson 5-6, Keller 2-4, Germaine 3-(minus 20). Arizona State, T.Battle 18-34, Redmond 8-26, Poole 1-13, Paulk 3-7, Plummer 11-(minus 5).

PASSING-Ohio State, Germaine 9-17-0-131, S.Jackson 6-14-0-59. Arizona State, Plummer 19-35-1-201.

RECEIVING-Ohio State, Stanley 5-124, Boston 4-20, Keller 3-24, D.Miller 2-18, Pearson 1-4. Arizona State, L.Jackson 5-71, T.Battle 5-30, Busch 3-41, R.Boyer 3-39, Poole 1-10, Kendall 1-7, Paulk 1-3.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo