Terrelle Pryor threw two interceptions looking for the big play, but he took a lot of smaller plays while setting an Ohio State record for consecutive completions.
View full sizeFor 16 straight plays on Saturday, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor couldn't miss.COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor completed 16 consecutive passes Saturday, the second-most in Big Ten history behind the 22 straight completed by former Iowa quarterback Chuck Long.
"Sixteen completions in a row? No way. That didn't happen," OSU center Mike Brewster said after the Buckeyes' 43-7 win over Ohio University on Saturday. "Wow. I was pretty tired. Now I understand why I was so tired."
Here's how the Buckeyes did it.
12:05 p.m.: After hitting tight end Jake Stoneburner on a play-action pass over the middle on his first pass of the game, Pryor misses this check-down to Dane Sanzenbacher on his second throw. He won't throw another incompletion for an hour and 21 minutes of real time.
12:18: The streak starts with another play-action pass, this one to fullback Zach Boren for a 3-yard gain. This is not an accident. Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said the Buckeyes wanted to come out throwing, and they didn't mind giving Pryor a few easier throws than a week ago against Miami (Fla.), when he was 12-of-27. Pryor finished 22-of-29 for 235 yards Saturday.
"Some of them were little, short, 5-yard routes, and they were catching them and moving the ball seven, eight yards," Pryor said of the streak. "I think we came in thinking we would throw the ball a little bit and just try to get some rhythm going. We really wanted to focus on passing the ball and getting a good percentage."
12:20: Completion No. 3 is behind receiver Sanzenbacher in the flat, but he twists his body, reaches out and snags the pass and turns it into a 12-yard gain.
12:23: Completion No. 6 is a well-designed play in the red zone, where the Buckeyes struggled last week. On second-and-five from the 9-yard line, Ohio State spreads the field with five receivers then works Brandon Saine over the empty middle, where Pryor hits him for a 9-yard touchdown and a 10-0 Ohio State lead.
12:32: Completion No. 7 sees Sanzenbacher go deep to run off some defenders as DeVier Posey works underneath for a 35-yard catch-and-run, Pryor's longest completion of the game.
"I didn't know until five minutes ago that we had 16 straight," Posey said after the game. "That's kind of crazy."
Pryor runs in from 13 yards for a touchdown on the next play.
12:40: The streak is momentarily interrupted by the appearance of the second-team offense for a series, something the coaches were hoping to do in this game. Backup quarterback Joe Bauserman is 3-of-6 on a 42-yard drive that ends with a Devin Barclay field goal for a 20-0 Ohio State lead.
12:57: Completion No. 10 is another touchdown, as Pryor rolls right on second-and-goal from the 5-yard line and finds Stoneburner open. Pryor missed Stoneburner on a similar throw against Miami the previous week, though it wasn't the same play.
"I was just running a drag route," Stoneburner said, "and when Terrelle scrambled, they kind of forgot about me, so I was wide open."
1:23: With 1:06 left before halftime, the Buckeyes hit the field 55 yards from the end zone with a 34-0 lead, but they want more, primarily because they want to practice their two-minute offense.
"That was another good experience for them to have," Bollman said, "because you don't get too many chances like that. We hadn't been in too many two-minute situations."
An 8-yard completion to Dan Herron is completion No. 13 and allows Pryor to break the Ohio State record of 12 straight completions. He hits his next three passes for a total of 25 yards to set up first down at the 22-yard line with 25 seconds left before the streak ends and it all falls apart. Overall, the 16 completions go to seven players for a total of 165 yards.
1:26: Pryor underthrows a deep pass to Sanzenbacher over the middle at the goal line. He's then sacked, intercepted in the end zone while throwing late into double coverage, and intercepted again in the second half on another deep ball into heavy coverage.
"The first one, that was a stupid, stupid throw," Pryor said after the game. "The second one I got hit as I let it go, but I should have gone to my check-down. I think I played pretty stupid on those two passes. . . . You've got to not be greedy, and I think I got greedy on two of them.
"That's going to bother me. I know I forced it in. They didn't do anything special on defense; I just wanted a big play against Ohio U and I didn't get it."
He did get 16 straight little plays.
"Whatever they gave me, I was just taking it and throwing it in," Pryor said. "Everybody was catching them. That was from the linemen to me throwing the ball to the guys catching it. . . . It's a good step, but I'd like to go 25-of-25. Those two interceptions killed me today, messed up my whole day."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4479