COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has always had teams good enough to put a lot of points on the board but for one reason or another the scores would always be held in relative check. Against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, despite efforts to keep the scoring in control the Buckeyes erupted for 73 points. Brutus Buckeye nearly passed out from exhaustion doing push-ups as Ohio State closed out the non-conference schedule with a 73-20 win over Eastern Michigan.
Terrelle Pryor had one of those special days that will be talked about for a long time as he was involved in six touchdowns. Four came by way of the air in connections with Dane Sanzenbacher, Pryor ran for one and then also was on the receiving end of a throwback pass from Jordan Hall.
"If we could have (six touchdowns from Terrelle) every week, we'd take it," Tressel joked after the resounding win.
Quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Kenny Guiton each led scoring drives as well with Bauserman hitting Hall for a 17 yard strike and Guiton keeping it himself for 15 yards. The 73 points is the most that Ohio State has scored since the 1950s and even eclipses the 72 points put up on Pittsburgh under John Cooper in the mid-90's.
"We don't come into the game planning on 73 points," Sanzenbacher said. "Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time and Terrelle put the ball on the money for me and I think you saw that throughout the game."
The defense will have a lot to look at however giving up 20 points to an Eagles team that was not expected by some pundits to even get inside the red zone. The Bucks held EMU to 40 net yards rushing but did get gouged for 208 yards via the air, 50 yards more than what the Bucks were giving up on average for the first three games.
"We didn't play Buckeye football in the first quarter or the second quarter," defensive end Cameron Heyward said.
But putting up 73 points will cure what ails you when things are not clicking and the offense was able to carry this game in a reversal of what fans had seen in the past year with the defense doing most of the heavy lifting.
"We got off to a fast start," Tressel said. "And (when) your fourth tailback happens to be a guy (Jaamal Berry) that can play and he hit one. We had a lot of opportunities."
Pryor's diverse scoring day tied an Ohio State record that has stood since 1951 when Tony Curcillo scored six touchdowns against Iowa. The last Buckeye to score three different ways was Ted Ginn, Jr. in 2004 when he had a rushing, receiving and return touchdown. Sanzenbacher is the third Buckeye in history to catch four receiving touchdowns in a game and the first since Terry Glenn in 1995.
Now the Buckeyes will open the Big Ten slate in Champaign (Ill.) against the Fighting Illini for a 12 pm (ET) kickoff. A wooden turtle is on the line as the two teams vie for the Illibuck Trophy but more importantly the Bucks are looking to start off with a big league win to start off their quest for a sixth straight Big Ten championship.
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