Buckeyes' offense explodes in Big Ten opener vs. Northwestern
Buckeyes Roll Over Northwestern 58-7
It was over when... Northwestern lost to Duke. When you lose to a team that hadn't won in years, it's tough to bounce back with an upset of a top 10 team.
Gameball goes to... Brian Robiskie. The Buckeyes junior wide receiver was a 100 percent on catches-for-touchdowns, taking all three of his catches for scores.
Stat of the game... -5. Ohio State boasts one of the toughest defenses in the country, and the Wildcats found that out the hard way -- they were held to -5 rushing yards.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It took 85 years for Ohio State to play 500 games at Ohio Stadium -- and less than two quarters to put up 45 points against Northwestern.
Todd Boeckman tossed three touchdown passes to Brian Robiskie in the first half to lead the eighth-ranked Buckeyes past the Wildcats 58-7 on Saturday.
Just about everything went wrong for the Wildcats (2-2) in the first half. The Buckeyes (4-0) could've had their starters leave at halftime for some tailgating outside the Horseshoe. They've won 15 straight at home.
Robiskie, son of former NFL player Terry Robiskie, scored on all three of his receptions, which covered 42, 28 and 19 yards. Boeckman finished 11-for-14 for 179 yards and four scores, also throwing a 48-yard TD pass to Ray Small.
Chris Wells gained 100 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown and Maurice Wells, who had scored twice in 25 career games, matched that with touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards.
On top of that, the Buckeyes defense, which came in ranked third nationally in total defense (197 yards a game) and fifth in points allowed (7.3 a game), surrendered just 120 yards and forced three turnovers. Northwestern rushed 33 times for 0 yards.
The Buckeyes ran their record to 376-104-20 since the old gray stadium on the banks of the Olentangy River opened in 1922.
The game was all but over midway through the first quarter with Ohio State breaking out to a 28-0 lead in the opening 9:34.
The Buckeyes' 45-0 lead at the half marked their most points in the opening two quarters since scoring 52 in a 70-0 win over Pittsburgh in 1996. The record is 56 points against Iowa in 1995.
The Buckeyes took the opening kickoff and on the third play Boeckman lobbed a deep pass that seemed to hang in the air forever before Robiskie pulled it in at the goal line.
Northwestern lost two yards on three plays and then had an 18-yard punt, giving the Buckeyes the ball back at the Wildcats 36. Three more plays and Boeckman hit Robiskie in the opposite corner on a 28-yard scoring strike.
After moving four yards in three plays followed by another shanked Northwestern punt, Ohio State was back in business at the Northwestern 31. This time it took five plays before Maurice Wells vaulted the line on a 3-yard score.
The Wildcats mustered a first down on their next possession but on second-and-8 at their own 30, quarterback C.J. Bacher was hit by blitzing free safety Anderson Russell and the ball squirted free, with defensive tackle Vernon Gholston scooping it up and rumbling 25 yards for the score and a 28-0 lead.
While Northwestern continued to have difficulty moving the ball -- they netted only 20 yards on 35 first-half plays -- the Buckeyes ran off 17 more points in the second quarter.
On the third play of the quarter, Boeckman froze the defense with play-action and hit Robiskie on another fluttering pass for a 19-yard touchdown.
Chris Wells added a 36-yard score, going untouched up the middle, and Ryan Pretorius kicked a 40-yard field goal for a 45-0 lead.
Despite scoring early and often, the Buckeyes even went for it twice on fourth-down plays deep in Northwestern territory, with Boeckman getting sacked by John Gill on one attempt and a penalty leading to Pretorius' kick.
The small block of Northwestern fans in the crowd of 105,178 got a chance to cheer for the first time on the opening kickoff of the second half when Stephen Simmons returned it 99 yards for a TD.
The Wildcats came in averaging 26 points and 451 yards a game, although standout tailback Tyrell Sutton saw very little action because of a nagging right ankle sprain,
Ohio State set a record with its 22nd consecutive regular-season win.
other Northwestern Wildcats NCAA college football DVDs
other Ohio St. Buckeyes NCAA college football DVDs
NFL football DVDs /
NCAA college football DVDs /
NBA basketball DVDs /
Major League Baseball DVDs /
NFL Europe DVDs /
XFL football DVDs /
Super Bowl DVDs /
NFL draft DVDs /
Canadian football CFL DVDs /
USFL football DVDs /
Arena football AFL DVDs /
World Leage WLAF football DVDs /
Japanese baseball DVDs /
NCAA college basketball DVDs /
NHL hockey DVDs /
Olympics hockey DVDs /
other DVDs /
contact
this site does not support or condone the sale of sports telecasts in any form