9 - 2 - 10 vs. Marshall W, 45 - 7 1 - 0
On opening night at the Shoe, the Ohio State Buckeyes took a small step toward a national championship. The Bucks were clicking on all cylinders, and they thoroughly overwhelmed the Thundering Herd.
Terrelle Pryor built on his Rose Bowl performance with a brilliant 17 of 25 effort that accounted for 247 yards and a trio of touchdown tosses. This game was also billed as the beginning of Pryor's Heisman Trophy candidacy.
Pryor, however, was not alone in the offensive backfield, not by a long shot.
Brandon Saine ran for two scores and he compiled over 100 yards on the ground as the o - line gave him some great running lanes through which he continually exploded.
The feel - good story of the night came from Tyler Moeller, who was making his return to football after sustaining a serious head injury in an off - the - field incident. Moeller turned in six tackles, two of those for loss, and a forced fumble. In just this one contest, Moeller established himself as the hardest hitter on the Silver Bullets' defense.
If the game wasn't over before it started, it was soon afterward.
Andre Booker fumbled the opening kickoff, and Nate Oliver made a brilliant, diving recovery deep in Herd territory. Four plays later, the Buckeyes were in the end zone courtesy of a six yard scoring toss from Pryor to his favorite target, Devier Posey.
Upon regaining possession, OSU went right back to work behind the legs of Brandon Saine. The junior from Piqua, Ohio, ripped off gains of 40 and 4 yards, with the latter putting Ohio State up by two touchdowns.
Following B - Saine's run to paydirt, the Buckeyes began having problems on special teams. First, they allowed Booker to break a 62 yard return that fortunately led to a missed field goal. Then, the interior line gave up an inordinate amount of pressure that resulted in a blocked field goal. To make matters worse, Ahmed Shakoor caught the ball on the fly and raced 60 yards for a score.
All of the sudden, the Bucks had a fight on their hands.
That fight did not last very long, however, because of what Pryor did next. He spotted Dane Sanzenbacher running free over the middle, and the OSU QB hit him in stride for a 65 yard scoring play.
After Saine rumbled in from 45 yards out a few minutes later, Marshall began to panic. Brian Anderson rushed a throw over the middle of the field, and it was picked off by Brian Rolle. Rolle shedded one tackle and then racked to the end zone, completing a 30 yard pick six that sealed the deal in Columbus.
Pryor offered the fans one last highlight early in the 3rd quarter. T.P. delivered a perfect pass to Posey, who was being blanketed in the front corner of the end zone. The throw was so good, though, that Posey was still able to make the grab, and the Buckeyes had crossed the 40 point plateau.
Prior to final whistle, the Bucks did get a fumble recovery from Garret Goebel and a 34 yard field goal off the foot of Devin Barclay.
Aside from the special teams struggles, the Buckeyes had about as good a season opener as Jim Tressel could ask for. Now, Ohio State can prepare for Miami in what will be OSU's first premier game of the campaign.
Player of the Game
Terrelle Pryor: 17 - 25 (completions - attempts), 247 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 8 carries, 17 yards, 0 touchdowns
The stats speak for themselves. Pryor had an absolutely spectacular first game, and it was the perfect encore for a young man coming off the Rose Bowl effort that he put together a season ago.
Play of the Game
Terrelle Pryor 65 yard touchdown pass to Dane Sanzenbacher in the 2nd quarter.
After Marshall's special teams TD reduced the Buckeyes' lead to seven, Pryor and Sanzenbacher connected on a beautifully drawn up play. The Bucks never looked back as instead they looked ahead to the big showdown with the Hurricanes.
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