Ohio University puts scare into No. 3 Ohio State

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Buckeyes Rally, Win 800th Game In School History

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Ray Small returned a punt 69 yards to lift the Buckeyes' lead to 26-14 late in the fourth quarter. Gameball goes to... Ohio: Cinderella almost found a slipper in The Shoe. The Bobcats gave the Buckeyes a very big scare. Stat of the game... 9-17: Ohio converted nine of 17 third downs against Ohio State. OSU's D will have to improve that stat versus USC. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	15	17
Total Yards	254	272
Passing	109	110
Rushing	145	162
Penalties	2-9	1-5
3rd Down Conversions	9-17	5-15
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-1
Turnovers	5	1
Possession	28:45	31:15

Air/Ground Leaders
Ohio Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Jackson 9/25 86 0 3 Scott 3/9 23 0 1	Ohio State Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Boeckman 16/26 110 0 0 Pryor 0/2 0 0 0
Ohio Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Harden 11 63 1 15 Jackson 7 55 0 20	Ohio State Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Herron 12 50 1 14 Wells 9 48 0 18
Ohio Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Price 2 34 0 30 Mooney 2 21 0 14	Ohio State Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Sanzenbacher 4 32 0 12 Small 5 27 0 9

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				OHIO	OSU
	FG	03:00	Ryan Pretorius 27 Yd	0	3
SECOND QUARTER				OHIO	OSU
	TD	06:56	Donte Harden 15 Yd Run (Barrett Way Kick)	7	3
	FG	05:02	Ryan Pretorius 38 Yd	7	6
THIRD QUARTER				OHIO	OSU
	TD	09:00	Curtis Meyers Recovered Fumble In End Zone (Barrett Way Kick)	14	6
	TD	02:51	Daniel Herron 1 Yd Run (Pat Failed)	14	12
FOURTH QUARTER				OHIO	OSU
	TD	14:00	Brandon Saine 2 Yd Run (Ryan Pretorius Kick)	14	19
	TD	05:57	Ray Small 69 Yd Punt Return (Ryan Pretorius Kick)	14	26

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- After barely beating Ohio University, No. 3 Ohio State was not a happy football team. In fact, the sluggish win felt more like a loss.

"That was pathetic. It was a pathetic performance," Buckeyes wide receiver Brian Hartline said after the Buckeyes rallied in the fourth quarter for 26-14 win over plucky Ohio, a 33 1/2-point underdog. "OU should've won the game. I don't know how we came out with it."

Fast Facts

• Ohio State trailed entering the fourth quarter but rallied to avoid its first loss to a school from the state of Ohio since 1921 (Oberlin).

•  Without Beanie Wells, the Buckeyes still managed 176 yards rushing.

• The win was the 800th for Ohio State. The Buckeyes become the fifth FBS school with at least 800 wins.

• Ohio State improved to 6-0 all-time vs. Ohio. The Bobcats had scored only 16 total points in the previous five meetings between the schools.

-- ESPN Research

Maybe Ohio State (2-0) had next week's opponent -- No. 1 Southern California -- on its mind. Or maybe it was the loss of injured running back Beanie Wells .

"It kind of looked like [what it] might look like between your opener and your big 'national stage game,'" Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "Which is disappointing."

Lightly regarded even in its own the Mid-American Conference, Ohio put a huge scare into the Buckeyes before they righted things by scoring the last 20 points. With 14 minutes left in the game, the Bobcats led 14-12.

With Wells watching from the sideline with a foot injury, the Buckeyes struggled to move the ball until Brandon Saine's short plunge on the third play of the final quarter finally put them on top. Ray Small added some breathing room with a late 69-yard punt return.

This was not the tuneup the Buckeyes needed before meeting the top-ranked Trojans.

"I guess we move on and get ready for USC, but overall, that's not good football," Hartline said. "That was just one of those ones where you want to crawl into a hole and get ready for next week. That's exactly how I feel."

Ohio (0-2) had five turnovers to help the Buckeyes escape.

A week after a capacity crowd sat in stunned silence when Wells was injured, the fans and the Buckeyes were again quieted -- this time by Ohio's inspired play.

Rittenberg: Wasted Chance

Ohio State emerged with a "W" on Saturday, the 800th in team history, but for the most part, the game had all the ingredients of that L-word, Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg writes. Blog

"In the first half when we were stopping the run everybody [for Ohio State] got quiet," cornerback Mark Parson said. "They weren't talking as much trash."

Ohio State had not lost to an in-state foe since a 7-6 setback to Oberlin in 1921 -- a string of 36 victories, most of them lopsided. Yet Ohio, sporting "O-S-Who?" T-shirts during its Friday walkthrough, led 7-6 at the half, 14-6 midway through the third quarter and 14-12 heading into the fourth.

"We made plays," coach Frank Solich said. "We just didn't make enough plays."

And Ohio did it without its starting quarterback. Theo Scott was brought to his knees by a hit late in the first quarter and was replaced by Boo Jackson. Scott had an injured shoulder and did not return.

Jackson did just enough to bedevil the Buckeyes, completing 9-of-25 passes for 86 yards with three interceptions and rushing for 55 yards on seven carries.

With Ohio State trailing 7-6 in the third quarter, Ohio drove to the Ohio State 34 and punted, with Matt Schulte's kick downed at the 6. Three plays later, center Jim Cordle's snap was 3 feet over quarterback Todd Boeckman's head and flew into the end zone. Boeckman lost the handle, the ball slipping to his feet where it was recovered by defensive end Curtis Myers. Barrett May's extra-point kick made it 14-6.

"We did some things out there we're not proud of," said Boekman, who passed for just 110 yards and was sacked three times.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Buckeyes put together their first extended drive of the day, capped by Dan Herron jutting off tackle for a 2-yard touchdown, capped by a missed point-after kick.

The Bobcats then began to falter. Parson fumbled a punt, with Ohio State's Shaun Lane falling on the ball as it tumbled out of bounds at the Ohio 25. The recovery was confirmed on video review.

Six plays later, the Buckeyes were back in the end zone -- and in the lead -- on Saine's 2-yard run, with Ryan Pretorius' point-after making it 19-14. Small then sailed 69 yards with under 6 minutes left to essentially end the threat.

The Buckeyes netted just 272 yards. Herron had 50 yards on 12 carries, Maurice Wells 48 on nine and Saine 15 on five in place of Beanie Wells.

Hartline cautioned his teammates to not be satisfied with such a lackluster win.

"If you're happy with that kind of play or performance, there is something terribly wrong," he said.