Pryor has career day against IU defense

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Questions arose about how healthy Terrelle Pryor would be after suffering a quadricep strain against Illinois last week.

If Pryor was hurting, his performance did not show it.

Pryor threw for a career-high in yards against IU in the first half.

The Ohio State quarterback led the Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0) to a 38-10 win against the Hoosiers (3-2, 0-2) on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

What caught the Hoosiers off guard was how much the Buckeyes went to the passing game.

“We expected them to run, and they passed a lot more than anyone could have expected,” IU sophomore defensive tackle Larry Black Jr. said. “We’ve got to adjust, and we’ve got to be quicker on our feet.”

Similar to the game against Michigan, the Hoosier defense was scored on quickly to start the game. Four plays were all the Buckeyes needed to march down the field
for six.

A 39-yard touchdown run by Ohio State tailback Dan Herron got the Buckeyes out to an early 7-0 lead.

A miscommunication between IU senior quarterback Ben Chappell and junior receiver Damarlo Belcher resulted in an interception by Ohio State’s Devon Torrence. The interception gave the Buckeyes a short field at the IU 33-yard line.

Pryor then connected with receiver Dane Sanzenbacher on a post for a 22-yard touchdown pass, which gave the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead.

Sanzenbacher’s touchdown marked the first of many occasions that Buckeye receivers were able to get open behind the IU secondary.

After a series of scoreless drives by the IU offense, the Buckeyes gashed the Hoosiers for another big passing play early in the second quarter. Ohio State running back Brandon Saine beat IU senior safety Mitchell Evans deep on single coverage and scored on a 60-yard bomb from Pryor.

“I was right with him, and Pryor just made a great throw,” Evans said. “He made a great play, so I got to hand it to him.”

The score reintroduced the Hoosiers’ kryptonite of letting up big plays.

“We’ve got to stop the big plays,” Black said. “We have to stop them because that’s what’s killing us.”

A scoreless Hoosier offense could not get anything going against the Buckeyes, allowing them to widen their lead before the half. Another Chappell interception gave Pryor a short field to work with at the IU 31.

Four straight running plays set up the Buckeyes to pass in the red zone. Pryor completed his third touchdown pass of the day with a 17-yard back shoulder pass to receiver DeVier Posey.

IU senior cornerback Adrian Burks, who had coverage on Posey on the play, admitted that there is not much defense for a perfect throw.

“It was good coverage,” Burks said. “Any time you throw back shoulder, especially when you’re on the man with good coverage, it’s hard to turn around and use your body, which makes it hard to cover. But it seemed to work well for them.”

A field goal at the end of the second quarter capped off a 31-0 first half for the Buckeyes.

The first-half defensive woes for the Hoosiers quickly put a halt to any thoughts of pulling off an upset.

While the Heisman Trophy candidate did not put up his usual rushing statistics, he still showed his mobility in the pocket.

The IU defense had difficulties bringing the 6-foot-6-inch Pryor to the ground when they were able to get through the Buckeyes’ offensive line.

Pryor’s ability to stay on his feet resulted in a career-high 334 passing yards before he was pulled in the third quarter.  

In a game where Pryor did not have any designed running plays, he showed the IU defense what he could do with his arm.

“They totally dominated us in the first half in every way that you can,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “We can’t play a first half like that.”