Second-ranked Ohio State bobbled and stumbled through most of the first half–giving away four turnovers–then blew away Minnesota with five second-half touchdowns for a 45-0 victory Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
Minnesota entered the game 25th in the country in passing with 241 yards per game but finished with just 57 passing yards and 104 total yards. The Buckeyes had four interceptions and sacked Cory Sauter four times for 26 yards.
“I can never remember having that few yards in a game,” Minnesota coach Jim Wacker said. “They totally destroyed us.”
Andy Katzenmoyer sparked the second-half domination with a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown, and Pepe Pearson ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
“I’ll never be able to forget it,” Katzenmoyer said of his TD, which put the Buckeyes ahead 24-0 in the third quarter.
But it wasn’t all good news for the Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0). Starting quarterback Stanley Jackson had passes intercepted on Ohio State’s first two possessions, then left the game with a sprained ankle. He will be evaluated later.
Backup tailback Joe Montgomery, who gained 160 yards in last week’s 38-26 victory at Iowa, twisted a knee while trying to avoid a tackle at the Minnesota 8 in the second quarter. He tore ligaments and will miss the rest of the year after surgery on Monday.
The loss was Minnesota’s fifth in a row and 12th straight in the Big Ten. The Gophers haven’t won in Columbus since 1949, losing 14 in a row at Ohio Stadium and the last 13 meetings anywhere.
“It was cold on the field, and that had a lot to do with the way both offenses played in the first half,” said Ohio State coach John Cooper. “The way we were playing defense, I still thought we would win the football game.”
The Buckeyes finally broke through late in the second quarter when Pearson carried on all six plays of a 47-yard drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run.
Wisconsin 33, Purdue 25: In Madison, Ron Dayne set a school freshman record with 244 rushing yards for Wisconsin, which nearly blew a 24-0 lead but held on to end a four-game losing streak.
Dayne scored on runs of 2 and 5 yards and set up several other scores with huge gains as the Badgers (4-4, 1-4) won for the first time since Sept. 21. Purdue fell to 2-6, 1-4.
Wisconsin was in danger of blowing a late lead for the third time in four games until free safety Kevin Huntley intercepted Rick Trefzger’s desperation pass in the end zone with 5 seconds left.
Dayne’s 244 yards on 30 carries broke Alan Ameche’s freshman record of 200 set in 1951. It also was the second-highest total by a Wisconsin back, exceeded only by Billy Marek’s 304 yards against Minnesota in 1974.
