Ohio State takes the belt, 24–7, on the road at Texas.
AP poll, week 2: Ohio State No. 1 at Texas No. 2 · No. 1 that week: Iowa. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Ohio State took the belt here, ending Texas’ run of 248 days and 1 defense (reign #259) and starting reign #260. It lasted 122 days and 10 defenses, until Florida took it on January 9, 2007.
For Ohio State this was its 15th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 6 times before — and it took it back here.
This is the only time Ohio State and Texas have met with the belt on the line.
Recap
Ohio State claimed the College Football Belt with a 24-7 victory over Texas in Austin, dominating through the air with Troy Smith's efficient passing attack. The Buckeyes struck first with a quick touchdown drive capped by Smith's 14-yard scoring pass to Anthony Gonzalez early in the first quarter, then added another touchdown just before halftime on Smith's 29-yard connection with Ginn Jr. to take a 21-7 lead into the break. Texas managed only one touchdown in response, a 2-yard pass from Colt McCoy to Billy Pittman in the second quarter, and the Longhorns' defense couldn't generate enough pressure on Smith, who completed passes at will. Ohio State put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter with Antonio Pittman's 2-yard rushing touchdown, while Texas's offense struggled with only 3 third-down conversions and two turnovers including an interception in the third quarter. The Belt changed hands on the strength of Ohio State's balanced attack and Texas's inability to contain the Buckeye passing game.
- Troy Smith's 14-yard TD pass to Anthony Gonzalez (Q1 1:04) -- Ohio State's opening touchdown drive established early momentum
- Colt McCoy's interception returned 23 yards by Joe Gantz (Q3 12:30) -- critical turnover that led to Ohio State's field goal and stalled Texas momentum
- Troy Smith's 29-yard TD pass to Ted Ginn Jr. (Q2 0:16) -- extended Ohio State's lead to 21-7 and essentially decided the game before halftime
- Antonio Pittman's 2-yard rushing TD (Q4 6:33) -- sealed the Belt for Ohio State with the final touchdown
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 13:45 | Ohio State | +46 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Ted Ginn Jr. for 46 yards to the Texas 31 for a 1ST down. |
| Q1 10:59 | Ohio State | +28 yd | Aaron Pettrey 28 yard field goal MISSED. |
| Q1 2:19 | Ohio State | +26 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 26 yards to the Texas 24 for a 1ST down. |
| Q1 1:04 | Ohio State | +14 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 14 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 1:04 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 0:18 | Texas | +30 yd | Selvin Young rush for 30 yards to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 6:36 | Texas | +30 yd | Colt McCoy pass complete to Selvin Young for 30 yards to the OSU 37 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 1:55 | Texas | +2 yd | Colt McCoy pass complete to Billy Pittman for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 1:55 | Texas | +0 yd | Greg Johnson extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 0:16 | Ohio State | +29 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Ted Ginn Jr. for 29 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 0:22 | Ohio State | +24 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 24 yards to the Texas 29 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 0:16 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 12:30 | Texas | +23 yd | Colt McCoy pass intercepted by Joe Gantz at the Texas 44, returned for 23 yards to the Texas 21. |
| Q3 11:03 | Ohio State | +31 yd | Aaron Pettrey 31 yard field goal GOOD. |
| Q4 12:18 | Texas | +45 yd | Greg Johnson 45 yard field goal MISSED. |
| Q4 10:47 | Ohio State | +21 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 21 yards to the Texas 34 for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 6:33 | Ohio State | +2 yd | Antonio Pittman rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 6:33 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Texas
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colt McCoy | 19/32 | 154 | 4.8 | 1 | 1 | 29.8 |
Ohio State
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy Smith | 17/26 | 269 | 10.3 | 2 | 0 | 58.6 |
Rushing
Texas
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaal Charles | 16 | 70 | 4.4 | 0 | 13 |
| Colt McCoy | 4 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 12 |
Ohio State
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Pittman | 16 | 74 | 4.6 | 1 | 12 |
| Chris Wells | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | 0 | 6 |
| Maurice Wells | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Troy Smith | 7 | -13 | -1.9 | 0 | 3 |
Receiving
Texas
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaal Charles | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 0 | 16 |
| Limas Sweed | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 0 | 18 |
| Quan Cosby | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | 10 |
| Billy Pittman | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 1 | 5 |
Ohio State
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Gonzalez | 8 | 142 | 17.8 | 1 | 26 |
| Ted Ginn Jr. | 5 | 97 | 19.4 | 1 | 46 |
| Brian Robiskie | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 0 | 12 |
| Rory Nicol | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
Show more stats (4 more categories)
Interceptions
Texas
No recorded stats in this category.
Ohio State
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Laurinaitis | 1 | 25 | 0 |
Kicking
Texas
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Johnson | 0/1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1/1 | 1 |
Ohio State
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Pettrey | 1/2 | 50.0 | 31 | 3/3 | 6 |
Punt Returns
Texas
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Ross | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 15 | 0 |
Ohio State
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Ginn Jr. | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 8 | 0 |
Punting
Texas
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Johnson | 6 | 253 | 42.2 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
Ohio State
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Trapasso | 6 | 305 | 50.8 | 0 | 0 | 59 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 262520251) · This game in the downloadable dataset