Ohio State’s Pryor, defense throttle host Rockets 38-0

Amongst a sea of red in Toledo's own temporary home field, Ohio State held the high-powered Rockets' offense scoreless as the Buckeyes rolled to a 38-0 victory in Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday.

OSU's (2-1) offense racked up 522 total yards, most of which came from sophomore quarterback Terelle Pryor, who had a career day against UT. Pryor set new career-highs in both rushing and passing yards, completing 17-of-28 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing 12 times for 111 yards and one score.

"We tried to control him," Toledo Head Coach Tim Beckman said. "I thought he threw the ball much better than he has in previous weeks. I thought he had a good football game and he's a good, good football player."

Despite averaging 585.5 yards through the first two weeks, Toledo (1-2) managed just 210 yards of total offense against the Buckeyes. Back-to-back Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week Aaron Opelt was leading the nation in total offense at 437 yards per game before the matchup, but the senior quarterback completed just 22-of-45 passes for 197 yards and one interception on Saturday.

"It's very disappointing," Opelt said. "We're better offensively than we showed today. We've got to come back and get back at it and get that spark again. We'll be back after it next week for sure."

Freshman receiver Eric Page had a team-high six catches for 54 yards in the loss, including a lost fumble at Ohio State's goal line in the fourth quarter. Senior wide receiver Stephen Williams caught three passes for 30 yards in his return to the starting lineup after a shoulder injury sidelined him for most of last week's game against Colorado. Sophomore Danny Noble grabbed five catches for 35 yards.

"They've been real good but it's not their defense it was our offense not making plays and just stepping up and taking advantage," Williams said. "It wasn't really what they were doing it was what we weren't doing.

"We know we can go out there and compete with them. It was a question of others making plays and mental mistakes. That killed us a lot, that's what hurt the most. You know that they weren't outmatching you; they weren't [more] physical than you. You can play and stand toe-to-toe with them but you didn't."

Toledo had relatively no success on the ground, with senior DaJuane Collins rushing seven times for a season-low 27 yards. Sophomore running back Morgan Williams saw limited action after returning from a suspension this week, rushing for eight yards on just three carries, and catching two passes for 14 yards.

The Rockets were able to make Pryor pay for throwing the ball on a career-high 28 occasions, intercepting the sophomore twice in the game. Sophomore Mark Singer caught his first interception of the season in the second quarter and freshman Andreas Ashwood grabbed his first career pick late in the third quarter.

Junior linebacker Archie Donald led the Rockets with a season-high 16 tackles, while senior safety Barry Church had 12 in a losing effort.

"Real disappointing," Church said. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. To just go out there and get shut out, it really hurts."

The Buckeyes jumped on the scoreboard early with touchdowns on their first two possessions. After forcing Ohio State into an early third-and-long play, Pryor completed a 76-yard pass to junior Dane Sanzenbacher, who was left wide-open after a busted coverage.

After a quick three-and-out for UT, the Buckeyes capitalized with a 12 play, 68-yard scoring drive capped off with another touchdown for Sanzenbacher, this one from 18-yards out.

Sanzenbacher, a Toledo native, had a career-high five catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns against the Rockets.

On Ohio State's third possession, Pryor threw towards the end zone from his own 41-yard line but was intercepted by Singer at the UT nine. After their third three-and-out of four possessions in the first quarter, the Rockets punted again. The Buckeyes would follow by making up for their turnover with another scoring drive, this one ending with a four-yard touchdown run by sophomore Dan Herron, bringing the OSU lead to 21-0.

After adding a 47-yard field goal by senior Aaron Pettrey as the half ended, Ohio State would strike again early in the third quarter after Pryor would score from one-yard out after a 43-yard run on a long third down earlier in the drive.

"Yeah he's a good guy with a lot of speed," Donald said. "He's a big guy too. I give him his props on that. He's a good player."

The Rockets would finally cross into Ohio State territory with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter after Ashwood's interception of Pryor, but Toledo would lose five yards in the first three plays and be forced to punt.

Toledo's best scoring opportunity came early in the fourth quarter after the Rockets drove 71 yards in 10 plays, but saw Page fumble as he was crossing the goal line. Ohio State junior linebacker Ross Homan jumped on the loose ball in the end zone, and the Buckeyes drove 80 yards for their final touchdown as Pryor hit sophomore receiver DeVier Posey from four-yards out for the final score of 38-0.

"This should be the last time we ever get beat like this," Williams said. "I feel like there's a lot we left on the field, a lot we could do more of and didn't take advantage of the opportunities."

The Rockets will try to bounce back this weekend as they travel to Miami, Fla. to take on Florida International (0-2) in their final non-conference game of the season.