Buckeye Rosters

Recap

Columbus, OH — In a nearly flawless performance on both sides of the ball, Ohio State launched its Big Ten season with a 45-6 win over Penn State. It was the Buckeyes’ largest margin of victory against the Nittany Lions.

The Buckeyes opened the game with a 10-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard plunge by fullback Jamar Martin. They never looked back, scoring on the next two possessions and leading 17-0 at the half. The Buckeyes had a 215 to 109 edge in total yards at intermission and would go on to roll up 397 yards, compared to 213 for Penn State.

The Nittany Lions did manage to score with 9:56 to play in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by Eric McCoo. But all that seemed to do was infuriate the Buckeyes, who responded with three successive touchdowns before the end of the quarter.

Defensive tackle Mike Collins scored the last of those TDs, scooping up a fumble and rumbling 11 yards for his second career touchdown. Defensive end Brent Johnson forced the fumble – one of three Penn State turnovers on the day.

The game was delayed nearly 30 minutes because of weather, but still attracted an Ohio Stadium record crowd of 98,144.