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Pryor helps Ohio State rebound against Troy

Sep 20, 2008 - 9:14 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Terrelle Pryor made sure 14th-ranked Ohio State had a much easier time against these Trojans.

The freshman quarterback threw four touchdown passes, setting an Ohio State freshman record in his first career start Saturday, leading the Buckeyes to a 28-10 victory over Troy.

A week after being dominated by top-ranked Southern California in a 35-3 loss, the Buckeyes (3-1) took charge early behind Pryor, who got the starting nod over senior Todd Boeckman.

In last week's loss to USC, Pryor and Boeckman rotated under center. But on Saturday, Pryor played the majority of the game with Boeckman, who had started Ohio State's previous 16 contests, seeing just two plays in the first quarter. The senior was booed by the home crowd after throwing an incompletion.

"Todd Boeckman is a great quarterback and I looked up to him a lot before I got here," Pryor said. "Starting my freshman year never even crossed my mind when I committed, so it came as a big surprise."

Pryor, the first true freshman to start at quarterback since Art Schlichter in 1978, capped off Ohio State's opening nine-play, 60-yard drive by connecting with tight end Rory Nicol for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give his team an early 7-0 lead.

"We knew we were going to start Terrelle going into the game," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said "I had the feeling as if Terrelle was having some rhythm and he was wanting to throw the ball a bit. I thought he did a good job."

Pryor also hooked up with wide receiver Brian Robiskie on TD passes of 39 and 38 yards, and later closed out the scoring with a 16-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Brian Hartline.

"It looked to me like Pryor had confidence back there and he brought a different perspective to the game," Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. "When guys were open, he got it to them. We had a chance late, but we didn't make enough plays and they did."

Pryor finished 10-of-16 for 139 yards and one interception. He also was the Buckeyes' second-leading rusher with 66 yards on 14 carries.

"I thought I messed up a lot," Pryor said. "When we sit down in the film room, I'm going to get yelled at but that's a good thing. We all need to keep improving going into the Big Ten schedule."

Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells missed his third straight game with a foot injury and his replacement, Daniel Herron rushed for a team-high 94 yards on 20 carries.

"I'm excited to get Beanie back, and if means that I don't start for the rest of the season I'm fine with it," Herron said. "I'll just keep working hard and helping the team anyway I can."

The lone touchdown for Troy (2-1) came late in the first half when Jamie Hampton threw a 45-yard scoring pass to Jerrel Jernigan. That pulled the Trojans within 14-10 at the half as they held a 170-164 yardage advantage through the first 24 minutes.

"This was a very valuable game because Troy is a tough team," Tressel said. "That was a physical game. Both teams played hard and expended energy. I was proud of the way our guys took on the challenge when it was a four-point game. They did a great job rising up."

The game changed on the strength of two A.J. Trapasso punts. Late in the third quarter Trapasso unleashed a 60-yard punt that was downed at Troy's 1-yard-line. The Buckeye defense held and, two plays after the punt, Pryor hit Robiskie with a 38-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 21-10.

Trapasso's punt on Ohio State's next series traveled 35 yards to the Troy 4. After the defense held, Pryor went to work again, finding Hartline in the end zone to cap a four-play drive for a 16-yard touchdown pass and a 28-10 lead.

"Coach Tressel has always stressed the punt game," Trapasso said. "A great punt will take a lot away from the other team's offense and it helps the defense out tremendously."