It was a slow start but a furious finish for Ohio State on Saturday.
In a game which featured heavy rains and an hour-plus long delay, the Buckeyes led Tulsa by just three points midway through the second quarter. When it was all finished, however, Ohio State wound up a convincing 48-3 winner in front of 104,410 at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes move to 2-0 on the season; the Golden Hurricane falls to 1-1.
Curtis Samuel was again the offensive star of the game for fourth-ranked Ohio State. The junior wide receiver/running back racked up 140 yards of total offense. Samuel had eight carries and five receptions in the game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TULSA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| OHIO STATE | 3 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
Redshirt freshman running back Mike Weber gained 92 yards on 17 carries and scored his first-career touchdown in the third quarter to give the Buckeyes a 34-3 lead. Quarterback J.T. Barrett finished 14-for-22 passing for 149 yards and had a pair of rushing touchdowns as Ohio State recorded 404 yards of total offense.
The Buckeyes' defense dominated throughout as it intercepted Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans a total of four times and scored a pair of touchdowns. The high-powered Golden Hurricane offense was limited to just 204 total yards in the game and committed six turnovers.
It was an underwhelming first half for Ohio State’s offense as the Buckeyes recorded just 159 total yards and were only 2-for-8 on third down. The Buckeyes’ defense, however, came to play — especially in the second quarter — with a pair of scores to give Ohio State a 20-3 lead at the half.
Malik Hooker scored the game’s first touchdown when he made a great break on the ball and intercepted a pass from Evans and returned it 26 yards for the score.
The rain really ramped up from there, and the Golden Hurricane opted to continue throwing the ball. To no one’s surprise, that didn’t really work out as Tulsa hoped as Marshon Lattimore intercepted another pass from Evans — Lattimore’s second pick of the game — and ran it back 40 yards to give the Buckeyes their 17-point halftime lead.
Barrett was just 8-for-14 passing in the first half for 69 yards. Weber had eight carries for 46 yards while Terry McLaurin was the leading receiver with three catches for 28 yards in the first half.
Ohio State travels to play No. 14 Oklahoma next Saturday.
| Ohio State | Stat | Tulsa |
|---|---|---|
| 417 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 188 |
| 268 | RUSHING YARDS | 61 |
| 48 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 37 |
| 5.6 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 1.6 |
| 4 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 149 | PASSING YARDS | 127 |
| 14-22 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 15-32 |
| 10.6 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 8.5 |
| 0 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 20 | 1st DOWNS | 14 |
| 12 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 4 |
| 7 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 9 |
| 1 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 1 |
| 70 | TOTAL PLAYS | 69 |
| 6.0 | YARDS PER PLAY | 2.7 |
| 6-6 | RED ZONE | 1-3 |
| 5-14 | 3rd DOWNS | 4-16 |
| 1-2 | 4th DOWNS | 0-1 |
| 9-67 | PENALTIES | 5-46 |
| 33:53 | POSSESSION | 26:07 |
Game Notes
- Urban Meyer improves to 156-27 in his career and maintains the highest winning percentage (.852) among active coaches.
- Meyer is 56-5 in his career in games played in August and September.
- The Buckeyes tallied four interceptions against the Golden Hurricane. The last time Ohio State recorded four interceptions was Oct. 4, 2014, at Maryland.
- The Ohio State defense limited Tulsa to 77 rushing yards on 36 carries for a 2.1 yards-per-carry average.
- Ohio State forced six turnovers (four interceptions/two fumbles) by the Golden Hurricane. The last time the Buckeyes forced at least five turnovers was Sept. 18, 2010, when they forced five against Northern Illinois.
- Marshon Lattimore’s first-quarter interception was the first of his career.
- Malik Hooker’s second-quarter interception was his third interception of the season. Hooker returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, marking the second-consecutive game a Buckeyes has returned an interception for a touchdown after Rodjay Burnes returned his interception 75 yards for a touchdown against Bowling Green last Saturday.
- Later in the second quarter, Lattimore returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown. The last time Ohio State returned two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game was Nov. 13, 2010, against Penn State when Devon Torrence and Travis Howard each returned an interception for a touchdown.
- Mike Weber’s one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the first of his career.
- J.T. Barrett tied his career high with two rushing touchdowns vs. the Golden Hurricane.
- Dontre Wilson’s five-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter marked the second score on the ground of his career.
- Sam Hubbard tallied a career-high six tackles and a career-best two tackles-for-loss.
- Terry McLaurin hauled in three catches for 28 yards. Both totals marked career highs.
