Ohio State continues to steamroll through its opponents:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Ohio State turned in another well-rounded victory, staying unbeaten while several other top-ranked teams couldn’t.
Chris Wells rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ohio State defense didn’t budge in a 30-7 win at Minnesota on Saturday night.
The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) have allowed only 34 points in five easy victories, making life much easier for new quarterback Todd Boeckman . He wasn’t great, but he threw for two scores and didn’t turn the ball over - leaving Wells to wear down the overmatched Gophers (1-4, 0-2).
But as No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 West Virginia and No. 7 Texas were reminded this weekend in losses to unranked opponents, superiority does not ensure success.
”Some teams are outmanned. If you don’t show up, being outmanned doesn’t matter. You can still lose,” Ohio State offensive tackle Kirk Barton said.
Boeckman delivered when the Buckeyes needed him to, throwing a perfect pass to Brian Robiskie for a 52-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left in the first half that stretched the lead to 20-7. Boeckman went 18-for-29 for 209 yards, and he drove his team 98 yards for that devastating score at the end of the half.
”That’s a great confidence booster for us,” Boeckman said, as if the Buckeyes needed any.
Ohio State joined Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan in first place in the conference, with a trip to play undefeated Purdue up next - after an expected big jump in the rankings.
So far this season, Ohio State has outscored its opponents 179-36. Granted, that was against some relatively weak opposition for the most part, but it’s impressive nonetheless. Next week, the Buckeyes face undefeated Purdue.
