Pryor Gets Start and Puts up Big Numbers
Ohio State beat Troy
University today in Ohio
Stadium 28 to 10 on a somewhat historic moment when a freshman started at
quarterback and at the center position.
By Steve Patterson
Terrelle Pryor Starts
To the delight of Ohio State
fans Terrelle Pryor got the nod to start the game and played most of the snaps
with Todd Boeckman playing two early snaps and Joe Bauserman finishing out the
game with the final series.
No one knew who would start the
game as the Big Ten announcers pondered prior to the first snap which
quarterback would enter the game as both Boeckman and Pryor were huddled on the
sidelines with the starting line-up. “We knew we were going to start Terrelle
going into the game,” Head Coach Jim
Tressel told reporters during his post game press conference. “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.”
First Drive is Solid
The first series for Ohio State
was very successful as the team moved the ball down the field with some ease.
The revamped offensive line which featured freshman Michael Brewster at center
and Jim Cordle at left guard opened holes for Daniel Herron and Pryor found
tight Rory Nicol in the end-zone for a 13 yard touchdown. Starting left guard
Steve Rehring was unable to play due an inquiry suffered in the USC game last
weekend.
Troy Doesn't Go Away
Troy came back with a 9 play drive
of their own and kicked a field goal from 22 yards out to make the score 7-3 in
the early part of the second quarter. Troy
scored again before half-time when wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan ran through the
Ohio State defense for a 45 yard touchdown. A
previous Pryor to Brian Hartline pass had put Ohio State
up 14-3, but going into half time the scored was very close at 14-10.
Pryor Finds Two More for Touchdowns
The third period saw an improved
third down conversion ratio for Troy
as they began to pick-up third downs on short runs up the middle of their line.
But the fourth quarter belonged to Pryor as he found Brian Robiskie in the end
zone for a 38 yard completion and touchdown with 13 and a half minutes left in
the game to put Ohio
State in a more
comfortable 21-10 lead. Then he capped off the game with another nice pass to
Hartline near the goal line which Hartline ran in for a touchdown.
Coach Tressel felt good about
coming out of half-time and making the plays necessary to beat a dangerous
Trojan team. “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.”