Sep 15, 2007, 23:57 GMT
Seattle, WA - Chris Wells gained 138 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown, and the 10th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes came back from a rough first half to cruise to a 33-14 defeat of upstart Washington.
Todd Boeckman completed 14-of-25 passes for 218 yards and two scores for the Buckeyes (3-0), who have won 21 consecutive regular season games, tying a school record. Brian Robiskie had four catches for 107 yards, highlighted by a 68-yard score, and Brian Hartline gained 88 yards on six catches with a score.
'He's excellent,' said Ohio State. head coach Jim Tressel of his quarterback. 'The sky's the limit for Jake. He's young and this is going to be a good learning experience for him. He faced a pretty fair defense. I'm sure he's going to learn a lot from this experience.'
The Buckeyes defense allowed it's first two offensive touchdowns of the season, but did pick off three passes to fuel the rout, two of them by linebacker James Laurinaitis.
Jake Locker completed 16-of-33 passes for 153 yards, with one touchdown but three interceptions. Locker also gained 109 yards on the ground on 14 rushes. Louis Rankin added 46 yards on 14 carries on the ground, and Anthony Russo had four grabs for 48 yards and a score for the Huskies (2-1).
'We played a darn good football team. That was a top-ten caliber football team,' said Huskies head coach Tyrone Willingham. 'We had opportunities. We just didn't take advantage.'
A roughing the kicker penalty, with the Buckeyes stalled at their own 39-yard- line, kept an OSU drive alive late in the first quarter. The Buckeyes eventually stalled again, but had moved into the red zone, and Ryan Pretorius converted a 28-yard field goal, putting the Buckeyes on the board with 13:48 left in the first half.
Pretorius had a chance to extend the lead late in the half, but his 32-yard attempt was blocked by Jordan Reffet, and the Huskies took over at their own 20. The Washington offense then came to life, with Locker rushing for 19 yards early in the drive, and connecting with Russo for 16 yards. Two plays later the two hooked up again, this time for a 23-yard score with only three seconds left in the half.
The Buckeyes returned the special teams favor early in the third quarter, with Kurt Coleman blocking a 46-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Perkins. The Buckeyes struck quickly, with Boeckman finding Robiskie for 68 yards, a 10- point swing that gave the Buckeyes a 10-7 lead with 9:36 left in the third.
Curtis Shaw fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting the Buckeyes back up at the Washington 25-yard-line. Wells needed only two carries to put the ball in the end zone, gaining 11 yards before breaking through for a 14-yard scoring run, and Ohio State took a 17-7 lead with 8:57 left in the third.
The Huskies drove down into Buckeyes territory late in the third, but Locker was picked off by Laurinaitis at the OSU 22, and the Buckeyes LB ran it back 14 yards. The Buckeyes took advantage of the turnover, driving 58 yards on 11 plays, setting up a 23-yard field goal by Pretorius, and OSU began to pull away, taking a 20-7 lead with 14:05 left.
Boeckman locked up the rout with a 36-yard strike to Hartline, pushing the Buckeyes ahead 27-7 with just 3:30 left. Rankins' two-yard scoring run made it 27-14 with just under a minute left in the game, but Brandon Saine put the exclamation point on the win with his 37-yard scoring run as time expired.
Game Notes
Ohio State ended a two-game losing streak at Washington, where it lost in 1986 and 1994...The Buckeyes piled up 263 yards on the ground...Ohio State outgained Washington, 481-346...The Buckeyes were penalized 10 times for 80 yards.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
Your Talkback on this Story