November 26, 2012

Page 1

Monday November 26, 2012 year: 132 No. 137

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Undefeated

CODY COUSINO / Multimedia editor

OSU senior linebacker Zach Boren (44) stands over Michigan junior quarterback Devin Gardner (12) after making a sack Saturday. OSU won the game 26-21.

Seniors lead Buckeyes to perfect season

Ohio State 26 PAT BRENNAN Sports editor brennan.164@osu.edu

For all intents and purposes, the 2012 Ohio State football senior class is gone, never to wear scarlet and gray in meaningful competition again. “It’s almost like you’re losing some of your children when they go away to college,� said first-year OSU coach Urban Meyer after the team’s season-ending win against Michigan on Saturday. “Our house is going to be empty.� Gone? Perhaps, but not forgotten. After all, it was their contributions that made the team’s run at perfection a possibility. Behind the strength of many of those 21 departing seniors, the No. 4-ranked Buckeyes (12-0, 8-0 Big Ten) clinched the sixth undefeated and untied season in program history and the first since 2002 Saturday with a 26-21 win against archrival Michigan (8-4, 6-2 Big Ten) at Ohio Stadium. The 109th edition of The Game saw OSU, the Big Ten’s Leaders Division champions, claim its 44th win against the Wolverines. UM, eliminated from Big Ten title contention after Nebraska beat Iowa on Friday, still owns the all-time series advantage with a 58-44-6 record. With Saturday being the final game of the season due to the NCAAimposed postseason ban, one thing was evident within minutes of the final whistle following victory against UM — no more seniors.

Michigan 21

Meyer handed out several “thank you’s� during his postgame remarks, but the biggest thank you went out to those whose eligibility is up, players like Zach Boren, Etienne Sabino and John Simon. Theirs was an effort worthy of remembrance, Meyer said, and he plans to ensure that their memory doesn’t fade away. “I’m going to see to it when you walk into that Woody Hayes (Athletic Center) this team will never be forgotten, because they deserve that,� he said. It’s not hard to imagine why Meyer feels so strongly. Boren switched positions midseason, jumping from offense to defense when he left the fullback position to join a depleted line backing corps. Boren hadn’t played linebacker since high school but, in just six games, he tallied 50 tackles, including a team-high nine in the win against UM. One of those tackles was a bone-jarring sack of Wolverines junior quarterback Devin Gardner. Boren stood above Gardner after the hit, shouting and rattling his face mask just above Gardner’s. Sabino broke his leg during OSU’s Oct. 6 win against Nebraska but returned in time to join the team for its divisional-clinching win against Wisconsin on Nov. 17, as well as the game against the Wolverines. The redshirt senior linebacker said the 2012 season was indeed a dream. “I wouldn’t want it to end any other way,� he said. And there was Simon, a defensive end and the team’s emotional leader throughout the perfect campaign. Simon missed Saturday’s

continued as Football on 3A

ANDREW HOLLERAN / Photo editor

OSU coach Urban Meyer salutes senior defensive end John Simon (54) during the Senior Day ceremony Saturday. OSU beat Michigan 26-21, but Simon missed the game with a leg injury.

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