Final
Buckeyes bounce back with rout of Kent State
Sep 14, 2014 - 5:37 AM Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - J.T. Barrett matched a school record with six touchdown passes, as 22nd-ranked Ohio State bounced back from its first regular-season loss in three years with a 66-0 rout of Kent State on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.Barrett finished 23-of-30 passing for 312 yards with one interception and Curtis Samuel ran for 100 yards with two scores for Ohio State (2-1), which had its 25-game regular-season winning streak and a 15-game home winning streak stopped with last week's 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech.
"I feel like I'm progressing each week. I'm just trying to get better each week. I definitely feel more comfortable every week as I get more reps. Things are starting to slow down for me in the game," Barrett said.
The Buckeyes rolled up 628 total yards against the overmatched Golden Flashes (0-3) and have now won 39 straight games against in-state opponents. Their last loss to a school from the state of Ohio was a 7-6 setback to Oberlin in 1921.
Kent State, which lost to Ohio University and South Alabama to start the season, managed just 10 first downs and 126 yards of total offense. Colin Reardon threw for 76 yards on 14-of-27 passing with three interceptions in defeat.
"We knew we had to play our best football to beat them, and we didn't do that," Golden Flashes head coach Paul Haynes said.
Ohio State faced little resistance in a dominant opening 15 minutes. The Buckeyes scored 21 points on four possessions, while limiting Kent State to just a pair of first downs.
Barrett threw a 14-yard TD pass to Michael Thomas to cap the first series, a 58-yard drive aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty. He then finished a 65-yard set with an 8-yard scoring strike to Rod Smith.
The third Ohio State possession ended in an interception at the Kent State goal line, but the Buckeyes quickly got the ball back and marched 54 yards for another score when Smith crashed into the end zone from a yard away.
A 22-yard punt return by Dontre Wilson set up the Ohio State offense at the Kent State 31 in the final minute of the first quarter, leading to a 41-yard Sean Nuernberger field goal in the first minute of the second for a 24-0 edge.
Barrett then found Thomas with a 63-yard catch-and-run score on a two-play possession and the Buckeyes followed with a 13-play touchdown march on their next series. Barrett converted a pair of third downs during the 94-yard set and completed it with a 2-yard score to Marcus Baugh.
After Joshua Perry came up with an interception at midfield for Ohio State, Barrett hit Devin Smith for a 50-yard score on the very next play to send the Buckeyes into the break with a 45-0 cushion.
Barrett added a 3-yard TD pass to Jalin Marshall to cap the quarterback's lone series in the third quarter. Samuel ran three yards for another score later in the period and also scored from a yard away early in the fourth to account for the final margin.
Game Notes
Barrett tied Kenny Guiton's record of six TD passes, set last September in a 76-0 romp over Florida A&M. Barrett became the first Ohio State quarterback with 300 yards passing since Troy Smith had 316 against Michigan in his Heisman season of 2006 ... The Buckeyes rushed for 284 yards ... Devin Smith has 20 career touchdown catches, surpassing Joey Galloway and Dane Sanzenbacher for sole possession of fifth on Ohio State's all-time list ... The Buckeyes improved to 3-0 all-time against Kent State and are 30-1 against current members of the Mid-American Conference ... Ohio State has a bye next week before hosting Cincinnati.
- Sean Nuernberger extra point is good.
Sep 13 3:30 PM - KENT STATE: 0
OHIO STATE: 66
End of Regulation
Sep 13 3:30 PM - KENT STATE: 0
OHIO STATE: 59
End of 3rd
Sep 13 2:49 PM - J.T. Barrett pass to Jalin Marshall for 3 yards.
Kent State 0, Ohio State(22) 51 3rd - 9:20Sep 13 2:24 PM - KENT STATE: 0
OHIO STATE: 45
Halftime
Sep 13 1:49 PM - J.T. Barrett pass to Devin Smith for 50 yards.
Kent State 0, Ohio State(22) 44 2nd - 1:38Sep 13 1:42 PM - J.T. Barrett pass to Marcus Baugh for 2 yards.
Kent State 0, Ohio State(22) 37 2nd - 4:34Sep 13 1:33 PM - J.T. Barrett pass to Michael Thomas for 63 yards.
Kent State 0, Ohio State(22) 30 2nd - 12:43Sep 13 1:15 PM - KENT STATE: 0
OHIO STATE: 21
End of 1st
Sep 13 12:59 PM - J.T. Barrett pass to Rod Smith for 8 yards.
Kent State 0, Ohio State(22) 13 1st - 9:30Sep 13 12:23 PM - J.T. Barrett pass to Michael Thomas for 14 yards.
Kent State 0, Ohio State(22) 6 1st - 13:16Sep 13 12:11 PM - KENT STATE: 0
OHIO STATE: 0
1st Quarter - 15:00
Sep 13 12:06 PM
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