Nov. 8, 2008

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President Bienen and Pat Ryan honored at halftime
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Kustok signs autographs on Walker Terrace

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Ohio State's offensive combination of Terrelle Pryor and Chris "Beanie" Wells were too much to overcome on Saturday as Northwestern dropped a 45-10 decision to the 11th-ranked Buckeyes at Ryan Field.

Pryor, touted as the nation's top recruit in 2008, played perhaps his best game of the season, throwing three TD passes on 9-of-14 passing for 197 yards. He also ran for 33 yards on six rushes. Wells, who missed three games earlier this season with a foot injury, ran for a game-high 140 yards and two touchdowns, including the Buckeyes' first two scores of the game.

"I felt real comfortable today," said Pryor. "I have a lot more I want to accomplish and get better at. Keep progressing. Keep progressing."

It was Ohio State's fourth victory in a row over Northwestern, and its 14th consecutive Big Ten victory away from Ohio Stadium. OSU's last Big Ten road loss came in 2005 at Penn State.

Mike Kafka got another start for Northwestern (7-3, 3-3) with C.J. Bachér still nursing a hamstring injury. But Kafka couldn't duplicate his big day from last week, when he set a Big Ten quarterback record with 217 yards rushing. Kafka finished with 83 yards rushing and a score and was 18-of-27 for 177 yards, for 260 yards of total offense.

"There's not a guy hanging his head in our locker room," Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "We got what we deserved. Our guys will come back and work hard for next week."

Pryor was sacked once, but never came close to a turnover. Several times he found himself in spots that would have made most other quarterbacks throw the ball away or, worse, turn it over. Yet he always managed to come up with the big play, particular on third downs. The Buckeyes converted eight of 13 chances on third down. NU came into the game as one of the best teams nationally (ranked 25th) in third-down defensive efficiency

"That's what he can do," Wells said. "The thing about Terrelle is that he's a guy that always wants to get better."

Pryor's most impressive escape came on Ohio State's fifth scoring drive, when he was chased from his own 32 all the way back to about the 20 on third-and-8. Northwestern linebacker Quentin Davie even got a hand on him, but Pryor shrugged it off. After scrambling forward for a few yards, he lofted a pass to Hartline down the sideline for a 46-yard gain, his longest throw of the day.

Three plays later, Pryor connected with Rory Nicol for a 6-yard touchdown that put Ohio State ahead 31-10.

"It was a windy day, it wasn't the easiest day to be throwing the ball around," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He did some good things. Every time he is out there, he is going to get better."

Northwestern scored on its opening drives of both the first and second halves, but was unable to get anything going on its other possessions. Three turnovers (an interception and two fumbles) didn't help the Wildcats' cause.

"We didn't play to our capabilities and Ohio State did," said NU safety Brendan Smith. "We were in it. In the first quarter it was 7-7, but we weren't consistent enough in our play and our performance as a defense."

Northwestern returns to action next Saturday at Michigan. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT.

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