Los Angeles, CA (Best E Casino) - Mark Sanchez completed 17-of-28 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns, as top-ranked Southern California posted a resounding 35-3 victory over fifth-ranked Ohio State.
Joe McKnight provided power on the ground with 12 attempts for 105 yards for the Trojans (2-0), who hadn't played Ohio State since 1990 and looked dominant in this most recent meeting, holding the Buckeyes to just 207 total yards.
Damian Williams had three catches -- two going for touchdowns -- for 49 yards, while Stanley Havili added a scoring reception as part of a five-catch, 49- yard game. USC has so far outscored its opponents 87-10 this season.
Todd Boeckman struggled under center for the Buckeyes (2-1), throwing for 84 yards on 14-of-21 completions. He was also intercepted twice. Terrelle Pryor completed 7-of-9 passes for 52 yards, and ran 11 times for 40 yards, but Ohio State went without a touchdown for the first time in 142 games.
The Buckeyes missed the backfield presence of Chris "Beanie" Wells, whose foot injury kept the talented runner off the field. Wells rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore last season.
After a couple of punts, Ohio State got on the scoreboard first. The Buckeyes took the ball on their own 19-yard line and moved across midfield on a 15-yard pass from Pryor to Dane Sanzenbacher. Later, Boeckman converted a 3rd-and-8 from the USC 17 with a 12-yard throw to Dan Herron.
But OSU stalled with a key opportunity -- Pryor and Boeckman were each tackled for a four-yard loss, and a false-start penalty gave the Buckeyes a 3rd-and- goal from the USC 18. Herron ran six yards before Ryan Pretorius booted through a 29-yard field goal.
However, it was all Trojans from there. On the very next possession, they took the ball at their own 26 and steadily progressed downfield. Sanchez threw a five-yard pass to Patrick Turner to convert a third down to bring the ball to the Ohio State 35. There, he found Havili down the left sideline for a touchdown throw to put USC in front, 7-3, with 33 ticks left in the first quarter.
After Ohio State punted, USC began driving again. McKnight had a 24-yard run to bring the ball to the Buckeyes' 26-yard line. Sanchez then hooked up with Havili for an 11-yard gain to create a 1st-and-goal from the seven-yard line. On 2nd-and-goal from the one-yard line, Sanchez took advantage of a fake draw to the fullback, and found tight end Blake Ayles wide open in the back of the end zone after the safety rushed in. With the extra point, the Trojans held a 14-3 lead with 11 minutes left in the half.
The Buckeyes wasted an opportunity for points on their next drive, as Pretorius missed a 46-yarder. Still, USC punted on the ensuing possession and Ohio State had the opportunity to make it a one-touchdown game before halftime.
But after driving to his own 42, Boeckman was late on a pass to Brian Hartline in the flat as Rey Maualuga jumped the route. The USC linebacker made the easy interception and scampered down the right sideline, shedding a tackle attempt from Hartline before getting into the end zone. It appeared that Maualuga stepped out of bounds around the five-yard line, but after an official review the touchdown was upheld, and USC took the 21-3 into halftime.
Things did not improve for Ohio State in the third quarter. Thanks to a punt deep in Buckeyes territory, USC took the ball at the OSU 36. Ohio State managed to hold the Trojans' offense in check and forced them into a 3rd- and-10 at the 24-yard line. However, Sanchez found Williams for a 24-yard touchdown to give USC a 28-3 lead a little past the midway point of the stanza.
Later, on another Trojans drive, Sanchez had a first down on the Buckeyes' 17. He again found Williams -- this time wide open along the left sideline, thanks to a breakdown by the Ohio State secondary -- to make it a 35-3 game with 1:33 left in the third.
The USC defense continued to be staunch in the fourth quarter. Spencer Spiegel intercepted Boeckman on a possession early in the stanza, and the Trojans forced punts the rest of the way.
Game Notes
In 22 matchups with OSU, USC holds a 12-9-1 series advantage...Ohio State's last win was in the Rose Bowl following the 1973 season, a 42-21 victory.
