First Class

It was the younger Laurinaitis, a former high school hockey player from Hamel, Minn. , and one of nine new starters on Ohio State's defense, who punched the ball from the grasp of Pittman near the Buckeyes' goal line late in the first quarter of a scoreless game. The fumble was gathered in by cornerback Donald Washington , who returned it to midfield.

Smith needed only five plays to get his team in the end zone and complete the momentum-turning 14-point swing. Notable about that sequence: Every one of the 57 yards gained on the possession was through the air--by Gonzalez, whose third catch of the drive was a 14-yard touchdown reception. To shake cornerback Brandon Foster, Gonzo used what is known as a double-move: one fake followed by another. He didn't need the second move to beat Foster, who was having a tough day at the office.

Beyond the east side of the stadium, visible from the bleachers, is an elevated freeway. It is I-35, the very artery upon which deputies from the Travis County sheriff's department had made three noteworthy arrests earlier in the week. Just shy of three in the morning on Labor Day, deputies observed a white 2003 Mercury "swerving from lane to lane," according to the affidavit filed by one of the arresting officers. After pulling the car over, officers observed that one of its passengers was asleep in the backseat with a gun in his lap.

That slumbering individual allegedly packing heat was Tarell Brown , who happens to be the Longhorns' best cover corner--the guy who was slated to spend Saturday night matched up against Ginn. Instead, he was, in order: 1) Tasered by the deputies, who were put on edge by the presence of that 9-mm; 2) charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and possession of marijuana (officers found what was described as a "marijuana 'blunt' cigar" in the car); and 3) suspended from the Ohio State game by coach Mack Brown , along with fellow passenger and backup safety Tyrell Gatewood.

Both players passed drug tests, and the marijuana charges were dropped four days later. (The dope, it turned out, belonged to the driver, former Texas linebacker Aaron Harris, who is being charged.) But the handgun charge against Brown was left standing, as was Brown's suspension from the Longhorns' biggest game of the regular season. (Brown and Gatewood were reinstated on Monday.)

While it's impossible to say how much the senior's absence hurt Texas , it certainly didn't help. Lining up across from Ginn was cornerback Aaron Ross . Chizik usually rolled a safety to that side, giving Ross deep help. Without that same help, the cornerback on the other side of the field--Foster, normally a backup--was forced to give Gonzo a massive cushion. "I had free rein to do things for about 10 yards," said Gonzalez, who finished with eight catches for 142 yards. "That makes things a lot easier."

Beloved by Buckeyes fans for his clutch catches in Ohio State's victories over Michigan in '04 and '05, Gonzo was nonetheless overshadowed by Ginn and Santonio Holmes , a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers last spring. It was a familiar role: Gonzalez's older brothers, Nick and Joe, were also star athletes. Nick played baseball at UNC-Greensboro ; Joe was a defensive back at Indiana .

"We played baseball in the backyard every day," recalls Joe, who made the trip from the family's hometown of Avon Lake, Ohio , to Austin along with the youngest Gonzalez sibling, Cristina. "Anthony would beg to play. We would let him, but we wouldn't count his hits or runs."

Anthony was philosophical about those injustices; he is now a junior majoring in philosophy and prelaw. Joe calls him "a brainiac"--a description that squares with the performance Gonzo put on in the post-game interview area, where he pointed out that the depth of the safeties "allowed our [pass] routes to mature"; and shared with reporters his ambition to be accepted into Stanford Law School.

While his siblings sometimes tease their cerebral brother, they also appreciate him. "He makes you think a different way," says Cristina.