Buckeye Rosters

Recap

Minneapolis, MN — Joe Germaine threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to David Boston, as eighth-ranked Ohio State kept its hopes for a Big Ten championship alive by defeating Minnesota for the 14th straight time, 31-3. Germaine was especially sharp, completing 17-of-21 passes and finding Boston with scoring tosses of six and four yards. He added a 25-yarder to tight end John Lumpkin with 32 seconds left in the first half as the Buckeyes built a 24-3 lead at the break. Stanley Jackson was 4-of-7 for 43 yards as the Buckeyes improved to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten.

The Ohio State defense continued its strong recent play by holding the Golden Gophers to 157 yards of offense. It sacked Minnesota quarterback Cory Sauter five times and recorded a pair of interceptions. In its last 15 quarters, the Buckeye defense has allowed just one touchdown. Andy Katzenmoyer had eight unassisted tackles.

Ohio State broke out on top 7-0 with 9:27 left in the opening quarter when Pepe Pearson broke loose for a nine-yard scoring run. Dan Stultz pushed the lead to 10-0 just over three minutes later with a 38-yard field goal. Minnesota (2-8, 0-6) got its lone points on a field goal by Adam Bailey 3:24 into the second quarter, making it 10-3. Boston’s six-yard catch, 6:21 into the second quarter, pushed the Buckeyes’ advantage to 17-3 before Germaine’s scoring strike to Lumpkin put the game out of reach. It was the second receiving touchdown of the season for Lumpkin, who had been held without a catch in his previous two games. After a scoreless third quarter, Ohio State tacked on a score when Germaine found Boston with a four-yard touchdown toss.

NOTES: Sophomore David Boston, who earlier this week was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top collegiate receiver, has 64 catches for 876 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He is now five catches shy of Cris Carter’s OSU single-season record of 69 receptions.

The game marked the second time in three weeks and fourth time in his career that Joe Germaine has thrown three scoring passes.

Ohio State has dominated the all-time series, 33-6, and has won 16 of the last 20 games played in Minneapolis. The Buckeyes have not lost there since 1981.

Joe Brown opened the game by sacking Cory Sauter on the first play. Na’il Diggs was also sack happy, recording three for losses totaling 12 yards. Winfield Garnett, Jim Bell and Kevin Johnson also registered sacks.