Pryor Scores 6x, Bucks Look To Conference Play

Ohio St put up a 73 spot last Saturday at The Shoe against the Emus of Eastern Michigan, the most of any Buckeye team in over 60 years. E-Mich was just simply outmatched as they watched Terrelle Pryor score six touchdowns in three different ways. The defense could have done better, giving up one more TD in this game than they did in the first three games combined, but I'm not going to nitpick about a 53-point victory.


Game Recap

OSU wasted no time getting on the board, as Pryor scrambled in the pocket then took off for a 53-yard touchdown run two minutes into the game. Six plays and two minutes later, Pryor was at it again, this time in the air, connecting with Dane Sanzenbacher for a 31-yard score. Eastern Michigan got their first first down of the game then promptly fumbled, which led to a Devin Barclay 42-yard field goal, his longest of the season. The next Buckeye drive was all Dan Herron, as he touched the ball seven times on a 10-play drive, capping it off himself with a TD. The first quarter was allll Bucks, leading 24-0.

The second quarter was where the Ohio St defense was pretty shaky. They were outgained by the Emus and let QB Alex Gillett throw all over them. In defense of the defense, Gillett was throwing some amazing passes right on the money, but I have come to expect perfection from this unit, and this wasn't it. Dwayne Priest put EMU on the board with his TD run, but TP answered right away when he hooked up with Sanzenbacher twice more for touchdowns within a 3 minute period. Gillett threw a TD late in the quarter to make it 38-14 at the break.

The teams continued trading touchdowns at the start of the second half, starting with a FOURTH Pryor-Sanz TD. Gillett came right back and hit Donald Scott for a 32-yard score to cut the lead to 25. On the next possession, Ohio St went three-and-out and punted for the only time in the game. After that, things went back to normal and the last quarter and a half was totally dominated by The Fighting Brutus'.

Still in the game late in the third quarter, Pryor hit the trifecta when he caught a touchdown pass from Jordan Hall on a halfback option. Not really sure how necessary this play was in a 45-20 game. After that score, Pryor and the other first-stringers finally hit the bench. That still didn't stop OSU from scoring, as backup QB Joe Bauserman threw his first TD of the season early in the 4th to Jordan Hall. Later in the quarter, fourth-string running back Jaamal Berry busted one 67 yards to pay dirt. Still not done, Ohio St scored again when 3rd QB Kenny Guiton made it look like Terrelle Pryor was back on the field, running one in from 15 yards out. Mercilessly for Eastern Michigan, this thing finally ended, 73-20.


Game Notes

Game Ball
I really don't just want to make this "The Terrelle Pryor Award," but I mean c'mon, dude had 348 total yards and accounted for six touchdowns. He played mistake-free ball, completing 20 of his 26 passes for 224 yards and 4 TDs without throwing a pick. He was again the game's leading rusher with 7 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown, and he also added the TD catch on the trick play. Dane Sanzenbacher's 9 catches for 108 yards and OSU record-tying 4 touchdowns certainly deserves recognition, but the GB has to go to Pryor.
Game Balls to date: Pryor (3), Moeller

Big Ten
I decided to add this weekly look at what the other schools in the conference did. Of course, this was a bad week to start this, during the Big Ten-MAC challenge. Eight teams took on colleges from the Mid-American conference, six coming up victorious, with Minnesota and Purdue laying eggs against Northern Illinois and Toledo. Wisconsin and Michigan St's competition was actually even worse than MAC teams, as they rolled against DII's Austin Peay and Northern Colorado. The only newsworthy story in the conference this week was the injury to michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, who by the way can't tie his own shoes. He left the game and didn't return, but he is cleared to play next week so it doesn't seem too serious.

Running It Up
What the hell happened to Tressel-ball? Not only was Terrelle Pryor in the game late in the third quarter when they were up by 25 points, but he was throwing and running a hurry-up offense. Then to top it off, they run a trick play and have Hall throw it back to TP. What possible purpose does this play serve? They really tipped their hand to other teams if they wanted to try this later against better competition, and if they had no intention of running it again then why run it at all in this scenario? Then when Terrelle finally comes out in the 4th, Bauserman is STILL throwing and running a hurry-up. Personally, I don't really give a care about running up the score, the more points the better. It just didn't seem like a Jim Tressel move.

Quick Hits
- Brandon Saine was once again an afterthought in the run game, getting only three carries. It was the first time he has not made it to the end zone in nine games. The few times he has seen the ball go his way the past few weeks, he certainly has not been making the most of it. Hopefully he becomes more involved and effective when conference play starts.
- OSU actually ran the option a few times this game...twice with Bauserman and twice with Guiton. PLEASE Tressel, I beg you, let Pryor and Saine run this against Big Ten foes.
- Speaking of Kenny Guiton, he impressed me with that late touchdown run. He will most likely be the starter next year, as his ceiling is much higher than Bauserman's. I hope we get to see a little more of him this year.


Up Next: @Illinois, 12:00, Big Ten Network
The Buckeyes go on the road for the first time this season to take on Illinois (2-1). The Fighting Zookers are 113th in the nation in passing and will certainly be looking to keep the ball in the hands of their star running back Mikel Leshoure. Despite being favored by over 40 points the past two weeks, Ohio St is 4-0 ATS this year. Expect that to continue as they come into this one -17.5
Prediction: Ohio St 36 Illinois 10


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