football.  John Simon was right there to cradle it and the Buckeyes were golden at the Eagle 32.  A reverse to Dane Sanzenbacher set up a third-and-2, but “Boom” Herron was dropped for a loss of 2.  Devin Barclay nailed a 42-yard field goal to up the count to 17-0, OSU.

The “Silver Bullets” did their thing, getting EMU off the field in three plays.  The offense had 65 yards to navigate, and took the leisurely road this time.  “Boom” Herron carried the mail for the most part, hauling in a 12-yard pass in the midst of picking up 29 yards on 6 carries, the last 7 of which he accumulated on an upright trip into the endzone.  The score came with 30 seconds left in the first quarter, making it 24-0 and greatly disappointing those who had 7 and 0 in the office pool.

Having apparently gotten used to their intimidating surroundings, EMU cracked the scoreboard on their first series in the second quarter.  An interference flag on Devon Torrence aided the cause, but Alex Gillett got the passing game cranked up.  Tight end Ben Thayer had consecutive catches of 14 and 20, and Gillett shook off a sack to come right back and find Donald Scott for 19 yards to the Buckeye 2.  Dwayne Priest got that pair to make it 24-7, Scarlet and Gray.

The hosts answered right away.  Terrelle Pryor went 4 for 4 on the drive as he continued to operate in hurry-up mode.  3 of those 4 tosses went to Sanzenbacher, including the final 9 to up the count to 31-7.  Javonti Green lost two yards on two carries on the subsequent march, so coach Ron English decided to try and throw the ball to him instead, and it fell incomplete.  OSU took over 57 yards from home and needed less than 2 minutes to do it.  Jordan Hall ignited the march with a 9-yard pop, Pryor escaped from the pocket for 20, and then capped it off with a 7-yard TD strike to Sanzenbacher to widen the margin to 38-7.

Alex Gillett wasn’t about to back down.  He and Kinsman Thomas got together on a 41-yard pass play on the Eagles’ next possession, followed two plays later by an 11-yard Gillett scramble.  From the Buckeye 13, a Gillett pass was tipped and nearly picked off by Tyler Moeller.  Given a reprieve, Gillett worked the slant to Thomas for a touchdown, reducing the deficit to 38-14 as the first half wound down.

The halftime break did nothing to cool off the Ohio State offense.  Terrelle Pryor converted two third-downs by scrambling and then dialed up Dane Sanzenbacher for the fourth time in the game for the score, this time from 8 yards out to provide a 45-14 advantage.  Dane’s four scoring receptions tied the school record, set by Bob Grimes back in 1952 and equaled by Terry Glenn at Pittsburgh in 1995.

EMU punched it in for the second straight drive, led once again by the arm of Alex Gillett.  He and Kinsman Thomas hooked up for 11 and then Gillett once again found his big tight end Ben Thayer for a huge chunk of 26.  After a Dwayne Priest run, it was Gillett to Donald Scott for 32 yards and another touchdown.  Yes, the Eagles were buried in a quick 24-0 hole at the game’s outset, but from that point to this they had played the hosts even, except for a missed PAT after Scott’s scoring catch.

The teams traded 3-and-outs, with Ben Buchanan finally getting on the field for his first- and what would end up being his only- punt of the day.  When his offensive mates got the ball back, they set up shop at their own 34.  Each of the next five plays gained a first down, with the cherry on the sundae coming from a pair of high school teammates.  Jordan Hall took a pitch to the right, but then pulled up and fired back across field to a so-alone-he-was-lonesome Terrelle Pryor.  The 20-yard option toss made it 52-20 and was the second TD reception of Pryor’s career to go with the one from the Fiesta Bowl with Texas two years ago. 

Heading to the final period, Joe Bauserman came on to get a few snaps, and with prime field position at the “Buckeye” 50-yard line, JB went to the back pages of the playbook and cooked up a pass to fullback Zach Boren for 22.  Five plays later, Joe bookended the drive with a dumpoff to tailback Jordan Hall, who scooted 18 yards to the endzone, swelling the lead to 59-20 and setting a high water mark for points for a Jim Tressel-coached Buckeye team.  The previous high had been a 58-point outburst against Northwestern in 2007.

Later in the fourth, the Bucks were faced with their worst starting field position of the day, backed to their own 6.  Two pops by Jamaal Berry gained 7 and a little breathing room before Joe Bauserman moved the chains by shuffling for a dozen.  Spencer Smith got in on the act with an 8-yard catch, setting up an ideal second-and-short.  Jamaal Berry burrowed over the right side, cut outside and tightroped the west sideline all the way to the endzone, a picture 67-yard run that swelled the lead to 66-20.

The last of the boatload of points came courtesy of backup quarterback Kenny Guiton, who danced through the middle for a 15-yard touchdown to complete a drive highlighted by strong running from tailback Carlos Hyde.

Ohio State will lean into Big Ten action next Saturday as they hit the road for the first time this season.  The conference lid-lifter in Champaign will kickoff at high noon Eastern on the Big Ten Network.  Eastern Michigan returns home to face the Bobcats of Ohio U. 

RANDOM THOUGHTS - The Buckeyes are in the midst of one of the most productive streaks of offensive output in school history.  Here’s how it looks up against other strings of high point output, with this season’s low so far of 36 points as a minimum over at least 4 consecutive games-

The Buckeyes haven’t lost their final regular season non-conference game since dropping a 38-26 thunderstorm-shortened decision to USC in 1990 … Last Saturday was the first time ever that Ohio State and TBGUN both scored at least 60 points on the same day …

The 73 points Ohio State scored against Eastern Michigan is the most any Buckeye team has rung up in a game since an 83-21 thrashing of Iowa on October 28, 1950.  A comparison of a pair of standout performers from those two games-

               1950           2010

Game’s 1st score                 11 run by Vic Janowicz            53 run by Terrelle Pryor

TD passes                      Four by Janowicz             Four by Pryor

Other TD’s                     61 punt return by Janowicz     20 pass reception by Pryor

That year’s Heisman winner                 Janowicz                       ? 

(2)Ohio State 73   Eastern Michigan 20

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September 18, 2010

Ohio Stadium

Columbus, OH

Attendance 105,017

By Joe-S-U

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2010

Marshall   45-7

Miami, FL  36-24

Ohio  43-7

E. Michigan      73-20

(Avg. - 49.3)

2005

@Indiana          41-10

@Minnesota      45-31

Illinois               40-2

Northwestern    48-7

(Avg. - 43.5)

1998

@Illinois             41-0

Minnesota         45-15

@Northwestern  36-10

@Indiana          38-7

(Avg. - 40.0)

1979

Indiana             41-0

Minnesota         45-15

@Northwestern  36-10

@Indiana          38-7

(Avg. - 48.0)

1974

Indiana             47-6

Wisconsin          59-0

Michigan State   42-0

@Illinois             44-7

(Avg. - 49.4)

1917

Case                  49-0

Ohio Wesleyan   53-0

Northwestern     40-0

Dennison           67-0

(Avg. - 52.3)

Before embarking on what could be a school record-tying sixth straight Big Ten championship season, the Buckeyes had one last non-league tune-up and showed once again that this isn’t your older brother’s “Tresselball”.

After a quick 3-and-out, OSU took over 56 yards from paydirt and covered it in a heartbeat with Terrelle Pryor capping the three-play drive with a zigzagging 53-yard run that he probably produced ad nauseam on Friday nights in Jeannette, PA a few years ago. Angling out of the pocket towards the EMU sideline, Pryor cut back and cut a diagonal path to the southwest corner for the game’s opening score.

Eagle receiver Donald Scott had Jermale Hines beaten badly on the next series but QB Alex Gillett couldn’t connect with him.  The “D” stiffened and forced a punt, and back came the offense from their 35.  Once again, Terrelle Pryor and Co. got in the express lane, covering the 65 yards in just 3 snaps.  Pryor got hit on back-to-back pass plays but DeVier Posey made a sweet leaping grab for 25 on the first toss, and then Dane Sanzenbacher came open on the post for the final 31.  Six plays, 14 points.  Rout on.

Eagle tight end Ben Thayer earned his team’s initial first down with an 8-yard pass reception on the next drive, but any shred of momentum vanished as backup QB DeVontae Payne came out of a play fake and flat dropped the