OSU's Coleman soaks in victory

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Ohio State players Nate Oliver (15), Kurt Coleman (4), Doug Worthington (84), and Ray Small (82) celebrate their 20-10 win over Michigan in an NCAA football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009.

AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Ohio State players Nate Oliver (15), Kurt Coleman (4), Doug Worthington (84), and Ray Small (82) celebrate their 20-10 win over Michigan in an NCAA football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009.

By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 10:38 AM Sunday, November 22, 2009

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The final sheet of statistics from this one will show Kurt Coleman had two interceptions, but in truth, he had three.

Thanks in part to his two picks, the Ohio State football team pushed aside Michigan 21-10 on Saturday, Nov. 21, at Michigan Stadium.

As soon as the game ended — before he and his teammates began the traditional serenade of their followers with “Carmen Ohio” — the senior safety and team captain out of Northmont High School hurried to the south end of the stadium.

He pulled himself over the blue grandstand railing and made his way up into the small knot of red-clad fans among the mostly blue-and-maize minions in this crowd of 110,922.

“I knew where my family was — I’d seen them all during warm-ups — and I just wanted to be with them,” Coleman said. “It meant a lot that my dad and mom, my brother and two sisters were all here to see me play my final game in the Big House and then to have it come out so good.”

His dad — Ron Coleman — a Stebbins High assistant principal, just beamed: “What a way to go out. He made us so proud ... Again.”

In the stands, that pride, Kurt said, translated into “a bunch of hugs and kisses and I-love-yous.”

Actually, there was a little more than that. He gave his folks the red rose someone had handed him — a fragrant reminder of the team’s upcoming Rose Bowl — and then he made his last big pick of the day.

He snatched the scarlet newsboy cap his dad was wearing and plopped it backwards on his own head.

Uniform change

He calls his dad “Pops,” and their special bond was accentuated Saturday when the Bucks took the field in uniforms that resembled those of the 1954 team — except each bore a small patch that included the initials S.S. in black.

It was a remembrance of Stefanie Spielman, the wife of former OSU great Chris Spielman, who died of breast cancer Thursday.

“It’s a close subject to me because my dad had breast cancer,” Kurt said. “I spoke to Chris a lot about it.”

Before finally heading out the stadium tunnel to the dressing room, Coleman lingered a bit on the field. In four OSU seasons, he’d never lost to Michigan.

“We had a great speaker last night. (Author) John Maxwell told us to basically make every play our masterpiece, and that’s what I did today.”

He intercepted his first Tate Forcier pass in the second quarter and then picked the Michigan quarterback again — this time with an acrobatic, backwards leap alongside a lunging receiver on the sideline — in the fourth quarter.

Although part of a five-turnover game by Michigan, the undercurrent was about neither team giving any quarter.

“The Michigan game is a season in itself,” Coleman said. “You could feel that going out for the coin toss. We didn’t want to shake each other’s hand and a lot of words were being flown. And as the game wore on, little fights were breaking out. It’s that intense.

“That’s why I wanted to make a lasting imprint here. I wanted to leave this game with a little legacy of my own.”

Wearing that jaunty red cap, he was leaving with that ... and a lot more.

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Rudy, I agree that Shaw acted like a punk, but let's not try to believe that Tressel didn't want him at OSU. Tressel recruited him just as hard as anyone else, Shaw just chose to play with his buddies in college. Tressel has definitely brought in his share of shaky characters to Columbus.

Willy
8:30 AM, 11/24/2009

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I thought Michael Shaw really showed his true worth during the game. 8 touches with only 1 positive yard. Another thug that thinks he's good. I read that he cried after the game. If I played that horribly after acting like a jacka$$ during pre-game, I would probably cry too. My hats off to Coach Tress for not recruiting this no good punk.

Rudy
12:18 PM, 11/23/2009

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Noticed Michael Shaw kept his sorryass away from the Dayton guys when he was doing that pregame sh**. Probably a smart move because one them might find him and whip his worthlessass on break. Most of Dayton area kids at OSU and Michigan are class acts. Maybe Shaw will get his shi* together, but doubt it.

Boss Kettering
5:07 PM, 11/22/2009

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Hey ... Kurt Coleman from Northmont HS , Jake Ballard from Springboro HS , Andre Amos from Middletown Middies HS , Austin Spitler from BellBrook HS , Brandon Saine from Piqua HS , Donnie Evege from Wayne HS and Todd Denlinger from Troy HS all are headed to the 2010 Rose Bowl on Jan 1st and are Big Ten Champions ( Again ) ... Go Buckeyes !

Hank
1:56 PM, 11/22/2009

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