COLUMBUS, Ohio — All the elements were in place for an epic upset of No. 6 Ohio State by Navy.
“If Ohio State comes in totally focused on us, we had no chance,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We felt like we had them in the perfect storm.”
The Buckeyes weathered that storm with the help of a college football rarity.
Brian Rolle intercepted a potential tying two-point conversion in the closing minutes and returned it for two points the other way, helping the Buckeyes hold off pesky Navy 31-27 on Saturday.
“It wasn’t a dazzling fourth quarter for us, by any means,” coach Jim Tressel said in the understatement of the day.
A crowd of 105,092 — the largest ever to see the Buckeyes open a season — sat in stunned silence after the 21-point underdog Midshipmen scored twice in 4 minutes to cut a 29-14 deficit to two points with 2:23 left.
Navy went for the tie, but Rolle stepped in front of Ricky Dobbs’ pass and rumbled up the sideline to preserve the win in the Midshipmen’s first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1931.
Navy turned the game around with a defensive stand. The Buckeyes passed on the field-goal attempt and went for it on fourth-and-2 at Navy’s 15 with 6:30 left, but linebacker Tyler Simmons surged forward to stop Herron for no gain.
On the next snap, Dobbs lofted a perfect spiral over the middle to Curry, who had a step on safety Anderson Russell. Curry then outran everybody to the end zone, completing the third-longest pass play in Navy history. The 85-yard score narrowed the lead to 29-21.
Terrelle Pryor then overthrew a receiver and Navy safety Emmett Merchant intercepted and returned it 28 yards to the Ohio State 33 with just under 4 minutes left.
On third-and-1 at the 24, Dobbs faked a handoff and sprinted straight up the middle for the touchdown.
Navy called timeout to set up for the two-point try. Dobbs then took the snap and dropped back, passing over the middle. Rolle was the only player close and the junior thundered up the Navy sideline 99 yards.
