The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2006 season / Reign #260 · Game 1,377 of 1,643
November 18, 2006 Week 12 · Regular Season Belt defended

Ohio State defends the belt, 42–39, at home over Michigan.

Home · Defending Holder
Ohio StateAP No. 1 42
AT
Away · Challenger
MichiganAP No. 2 39

AP poll, week 12: Michigan No. 2 at Ohio State No. 1 · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Ohio State came in 70 days into reign #260, which began with a win over Texas, with 9 defenses already behind it; this was its 10th defense. It was the last defense: Florida took the belt in the very next belt game, on January 9, 2007.

For Michigan this was its 26th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 8 times before.

It was the 9th of 11 belt games between the two; going in, Ohio State led the belt series 5–3; all-time Ohio State leads 8–3. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Michigan struck first with Mike Hart punching in a 1-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, but Ohio State answered immediately with Troy Smith connecting with Roy Hall for a 2-yard score. The Buckeyes seized control in the second quarter with Chris Wells bursting through for a 52-yard touchdown run, then Smith found Ted Ginn Jr. in the end zone on a 39-yard bomb to push the lead to 21-7. Michigan refused to quit, with Chad Henne leading a scoring drive capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Arrington, but Ohio State's Smith found Anthony Gonzalez for an 8-yard touchdown with just 20 seconds left in the half to extend the advantage to 28-14. The Wolverines scored again early in the third quarter when Hart added his second touchdown on a 2-yard run and Garrett Rivas added a 39-yard field goal, but it proved too little too late as the Buckeyes held on for a 42-39 victory to keep the belt.

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 Ohio StateMichigan
Total yards503397
Rushing yards187130
Passing yards321300
First downs2417
3rd down conv.6/114/13
Turnovers30
Penalties–yards4–505–45
Time of possession17:3518:09

Full 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.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 12:44Michigan+25 ydChad Henne pass complete to Mario Manningham for 25 yards to the OSU 1 for a 1ST down.
Q1 13:55Michigan+24 ydChad Henne pass complete to Mario Manningham for 24 yards to the Mich 47 for a 1ST down.
Q1 12:32Michigan+1 ydMike Hart rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 12:32Michigan+0 ydGarrett Rivas extra point GOOD.
Q1 12:23Michigan+24 ydGarrett Rivas kickoff for 58 yards returned by Ted Ginn Jr. for 24 yards to the OSU 31.
Q1 6:03Ohio State+2 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Roy Hall for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 9:01Ohio State+27 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Roy Hall for 27 yards to the Mich 24 for a 1ST down.
Q1 6:03Ohio State+0 ydAaron Pettrey extra point GOOD.
Q2 12:29Ohio State+52 ydChris Wells rush for 52 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 12:29Ohio State+0 ydAaron Pettrey extra point GOOD.
Q2 6:11Ohio State+39 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Ted Ginn Jr. for 39 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 6:53Ohio State+40 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Brian Robiskie for 40 yards to the Mich 48 for a 1ST down.
Q2 6:01Ohio State+20 ydAaron Pettrey kickoff for 65 yards returned by Steve Breaston for 20 yards to the Mich 20.
Q2 6:11Ohio State+0 ydAaron Pettrey extra point GOOD.
Q2 2:33Michigan+37 ydChad Henne pass complete to Adrian Arrington for 37 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 2:33Michigan+0 ydGarrett Rivas extra point GOOD.
Q2 5:33Michigan+30 ydMike Hart rush for 30 yards to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:20Ohio State+8 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 0:20Ohio State+0 ydAaron Pettrey extra point GOOD.
Q3 14:50Michigan+26 ydGarrett Rivas kickoff for 62 yards returned by Ted Ginn Jr. for 26 yards to the OSU 29.
Q3 12:12Michigan+2 ydMike Hart rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 12:12Michigan+0 ydGarrett Rivas extra point GOOD.
Q3 12:40Michigan+32 ydMike Hart rush for 32 yards to the OSU 19 for a 1ST down.
Q3 10:48Ohio State+0 ydTroy Smith pass intercepted by Alan Branch at the OSU 25, returned for no gain to the OSU 25.
Q3 8:41Michigan+39 ydGarrett Rivas 39 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 8:25Michigan+20 ydGarrett Rivas kickoff for 65 yards returned by Ted Ginn Jr. for 20 yards to the OSU 20, Michigan penalty 15 yard personal foul accepted.
Q3 8:04Ohio State+56 ydAntonio Pittman rush for 56 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 8:04Ohio State+0 ydAaron Pettrey extra point GOOD.
Q3 5:38Michigan+26 ydChad Henne pass complete to Adrian Arrington for 26 yards to the OSU 33 for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:41Michigan+1 ydMike Hart rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:41Michigan+0 ydGarrett Rivas extra point GOOD.
Q4 12:55Ohio State+21 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Ted Ginn Jr. for 21 yards to the Mich 38 for a 1ST down.
Q4 5:38Ohio State+13 ydTroy Smith pass complete to Brian Robiskie for 13 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 9:35Ohio State+26 ydAntonio Pittman rush for 26 yards to the Mich 46 for a 1ST down.
Q4 5:38Ohio State+0 ydAaron Pettrey extra point GOOD.
Q4 2:16Michigan+16 ydChad Henne pass complete to Tyler Ecker for 16 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 2:16Michigan+0 ydTwo-point conversion attempt, Chad Henne pass to Steve Breaston 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).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Ohio State

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Troy Smith29/413167.74190.5

Michigan

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Chad Henne21/352677.62046.2

Rushing

Ohio State

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Antonio Pittman181397.7156
Chris Wells55611.2152
Troy Smith4123.009

Michigan

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Mike Hart231426.2333
Mario Manningham2136.5012
Steve Breaston188.008
Chad Henne4-33-8.300

Receiving

Ohio State

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Ted Ginn Jr.810413.0139
Brian Robiskie78912.7139
Anthony Gonzalez45012.5116
Roy Hall33812.7127
Brian Hartline3217.008
Rory Nicol284.006
Stan White Jr.177.007
Antonio Pittman1-1-1.000

Michigan

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Adrian Arrington59018.0137
Mario Manningham68614.3025
Tyler Ecker23015.0116
Mike Massey11919.0019
Carson Butler2199.5010
Steve Breaston3186.007
Mike Hart252.503
Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

Ohio State

No recorded stats in this category.

Michigan

PlayerINTYDSTD
Alan Branch100

Kicking

Ohio State

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Aaron Pettrey0/00.006/66

Michigan

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Garrett Rivas1/1100.0394/47

Punt Returns

Ohio State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Anthony Gonzalez100.000
Ted Ginn Jr.300.000

Michigan

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Steve Breaston100.000

Punting

Ohio State

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
AJ Trapasso311438.00044

Michigan

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Zoltan Mesko522244.40057

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 263220194) · This game in the downloadable dataset