COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, Ohio State defensive tackle Daniel 'Big Daddy' Wilkinson stands out in a crowd. To Louisville quarterback Jeff Brohm, he must have looked like a runaway truck.
Louisville had just scored on a 2-yard run by Ralph Dawkins with 33 second left to pull to within 20-19 and Coach Howard Schnellenberger decided to go for the two-point conversion.
As Brohm rolled to his left to pass, Wilkinson -- a redshirt freshman playing his first collegiate game -- was in hot pursuit, forcing Brohm to throw sooner than he wanted. The pass, aimed at an open Dawkins cutting from right to left across the end zone, was just out of his reach as he dove for the ball.
'Big Daddy made a couple plays like that,' Ohio State Coach John Cooper said.'I don't know whether they broke an assignment or he whipped somebody, but it's obvious he put a lot of pressure on their quarterback.'
The Cardinals missed a second opportunity to pull the upset when a penalty nullified their recovery of an onside kick.
'We dodged a bullet,' Cooper said. 'I don't think there's any question. Any time a team is going for two points to win the game with 30 seconds left, you have to say you dodged a bullet.
Ohio State led 10-0 late in the second quarter after a 30-yard field goal by Tim Williams and a 50-yard TD run off a reverse by flanker Joey Galloway.
But Louisville, which missed a scoring opportunity on its first possession when a 26-yard field goal attempt by Ken Harnden sailed wide right, pulled within 10-7 on a 3-yard pass from Brohm to his brother Greg. Harnden's conversion attempt, however, was blocked by linebacker Steve Tovar.
Dawkins' first of two TDs gave Louisville a 13-10 lead with 2:54 left in the third quarter, but Jeff Cothran answered that 49 seconds later with a 9-yard TD run, setting the stage for the tense closing minutes.
'If there was a difference today, it may have been the kicking game, ' Cooper said. 'We have our ten commandments and one of them is a sound kicking game.'
The game marked the return of Robert Smith, the 1990 UPI freshman of the year, who sat out last season after getting into a disagreement with former assistant coach Elliot Uzelac over academics. Uzelac now is gone and Smith is back.
Smith, who ran for 1,126 yards as a freshman, had 47 yards in 11 tries Saturday and left the game in the third quarter with bruised ribs. He was listed as doubtful for next week's game against Bowling Green.
'I thought Robert Smith played a good game,' Cooper said. 'But he didn't do anything I didn't expect.'
Brohm, who also sat out last year after breaking his leg in Louisville's game against Tennessee, completed 22 of 30 passes for 230 yards, including a 58-yarder to Aaron Bailey that set up the Cardinals' first touchdown right before halftime. Dawkins, a sturdy and quick 5- foot-9, 195-pounder, rushed for 125 yards and the two touchdowns.
'I am certainly proud of my team,' said Schnellenberger, whose team also scared the Buckeyes a year ago before falling 23-15.
'Sure, I'm disappointed. You always hate to lose, but we made too many mistakes, particularly early in the game. But we played with them all the way. We went all-out for four quarters.'
