Buckeyes drill Northwestern 45-10

Ohio State improves to 8-2 on the season after road victory

Ohio State's 45-10 victory over Northwestern on Saturday unfolded like a highlight reel, as the Buckeyes battered the host Wildcats with a barrage of big plays.

Chris Wells broke a tackle in the backfield and another near the goal line as he rumbled for a 55-yard touchdown. Terrelle Pryor escaped from pressure and fired a laser into the end zone to Rory Nicol. Brian Robiskie sprinted past the defense to catch scoring passes of 15 and 34 yards.

“Credit goes to Ohio State,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “They did what winners do.”

“Our offense made some plays,” said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

The 12th-ranked Buckeyes (8-2 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) took control with a 17-point second quarter.

Wells, who finished with 140 yards rushing on 28 carries, began the onslaught with his long touchdown run. The 6-1, 237-pound junior tailback appeared to be bottled up behind the line of scrimmage on the play, but he shook loose from defensive tackle John Gill and sprinted into the open field. Northwestern cornerback Jordan Mabin had an angle on Wells at the 10-yard line, but Wells pushed him aside and dashed the rest of the way into the end zone. The 55-yard touchdown, Wells' second of the game, gave Ohio State a 14-7 lead.

The Buckeyes extended their advantage to 10 points on a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius (which was set up by a fumble recovery by defensive back Anderson Russell) and to 17 on a 15-yard pass from Pryor to Robiskie in the right corner of the end zone.

Pryor put the game out of reach at 31-10 with an amazing scramble and scoring pass late in the third quarter. Chased out of the pocket by Gill and nearly sacked by linebacker Quentin Davie, the Ohio State freshman quarterback eluded the defender's grasp and fired the ball into the end zone, where Nicol made a rolling catch for a 7-yard touchdown.

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Pryor completed 9 of 14 passes for 197 yards on the day. He threw his third touchdown of the game, a 34-yard strike to Robiskie, with 7:36 remaining.

Daniel Herron closed out the scoring for Ohio State with a 16-yard run with seven seconds left.

With their victory over Northwestern (7-3, 3-3) and with third-ranked Penn State's 24-23 upset loss to Iowa on Saturday, the Buckeyes are back in the Big Ten championship race.

Ohio State will play at Illinois next Saturday before closing out the regular season at home on Nov. 22 with the rivalry game against Michigan.

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