In a game that was never remotely close, the Buckeyes handed the Eagles of EMU a 73-20 loss that displayed plenty of offensive flash, and a couple defensive question marks. Terrelle Pryor was the star of the day with 6 total touchdowns including 4 passing touchdowns to Dane Sanzenbacher (9 rec 108 yards), a 53 yard rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown thrown by former High School teammate Jordan Hall. The Buckeyes put the majority of their effort in the passing game and it paid off as they hit 13 different receivers for 303 total yards in the game.
The 73 points scored in the game were the most in the Jim Tressel era, topping the 58 points scored on Northwestern on September 22nd, 2007. The previous time OSU had scored more than 70 points in a game were the first two games in 1996, 70 points against Rice, and 72 against Pittsburgh. This game also saw the most points scored by OSU since October 28th 1950, when the Bucks scored 83 on a 3-5-1 Iowa team.
The Buckeye offense was near unstoppable in the game today. The Buckeyes wracked up 645 total yards of offense with 342 rushing yards to go with their 303 passing yards. The only turnover the Bucks gave up was a fumble late in the game when walk-on Tight End Ricky Crawford dropped a pass from Joe Bauserman after bobbling the reception. The Buckeyes managed to have 11 players run the football for positive yardage, including Terrelle Pryor’s game leading 104 on 7 attempts. The longest run of the day went to Jaamal Berry with a 67 yard touchdown scamper late in the game giving him 74 total yards for the day. Dan Herron appeared to be the primary running back during the game – unsurprising with Saine’s injury from practice – collecting 12 carries for 55 yards and an early touchdown.
The Buckeye defense was solid and steady all game, but there was some concern with the play of the Secondary. Chimdi Chekwa was forced to leave early with an injury (though he returned later) leaving the Buckeyes without 2 of their top 3 corners. The injuries showed as the Buckeyes gave up 208 passing yards to Eastern Michigan while only yielding 40 yards on the ground. EMU’s leading receiver was Ben Thayer with 5 receptions for 75 yards. Alex Gillett showed his poise making tough throws all game long against the Buckeye defense, hitting 13/22 for 200 yards and 2 Touchdowns with no turnovers – though there were a couple close calls that hit Tyler Moeller in the hand. The 1 turnover given up by EMU was the lowest total for an OSU opponent all season. Ohio State currently stands at +10 overall in turnovers which is highest in the nation.
Many younger players managed to see the game today. Jaamal Berry’s touchdown was already mentioned. Jordan Hall continued to impress with his elusiveness and speed with the football in his hands. Corey “Philly” Brown caught a nice pass for a first down, and Kenny Guiton notched his first collegiate TD. On the defensive side, “Big Hank” Jonathen Hankins notched his first sack with an impressive push up the middle where he simply blew up the Center and simply was not to be denied.
The Buckeyes will next face the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign next week. That game will be on the Big Ten Network; as always, we’ve got the Illibuck livechat right here.
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