Following the 35-28 loss to #4-ranked Oregon last week, the #9 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes were able to defeat the Tulsa University Golden Hurricane at home by a final score of 41-20.
In the first quarter, the Golden Hurricane struck first with a 22-yard field goal by kicker Zack Long to take a 3-0 lead. The Buckeyes were able to answer on the following drive with a 43-yard field goal by kicker Noah Ruggles, tying the game at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Four minutes into the second quarter, Tulsa got another 3 points from the leg of Zack Long off a 31-yard field goal, taking a 6-3 lead. The Buckeyes offense then caught fire on the next drive and were able to get in the endzone with a 5-yard touchdown run by freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson to take a 10-6 lead. Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles then made a 44-yard field goal with under a minute left in the first half to take a 13-6 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
On the Buckeyes first drive in the second half, Henderson found the endzone again with a 48-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the day, to extend the lead to 20-6. The Golden Hurricane bounced back with a touchdown drive near the end of the third quarter with a touchdown pass from quarterback Davis Brin to wide receiver Cannon Montgomery, cutting the lead to 20-13. Not even one minute later, Henderson found the endzone for a third time on the day with a 52-yard rushing touchdown to end the third quarter and take a 27-13 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin threw his second touchdown of the day to wide receiver Josh Johnson to cut the lead to a 7-point game again at 27-20. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud then threw his first touchdown of the day on a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Garrett Wilson, taking a 34-20 lead. The Buckeyes defense forced two takaways on the day and the second one, an interception by defensive back Cameron Martinez, ended up being a pick-six to give the Buckeyes a 41-20 win.
Ohio State freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson had 270 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on 27 carries on the day. Henderson’s career day was the most rushing yards by a freshman running back in a single game in the program’s history. The 49-year record was previously held by two-time Heisman Award winner Archie Griffin when he had 239 rushing yards against North Carolina as a freshman in 1972.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud went 15 of 25 passing and 185 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Wide receiver Garrett WIlson had 6 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown while teammate Chris Olave did not have a reception the entire game.
Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin went 31 of 54 passing for 428 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tulsa wide receiver Josh Johnson caught 8 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.
The Buckeyes move to 2-1 on the season and will now look to Saturday, September 25th, when they host the Akron University Zips with kick-off set for 7:30 p.m.