SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 13, 2014
No. 18 Ohio State 66, Kent State 0: Freshman J.T. Barrett tied a school record with six touchdown passes - five in the first half - to lead the host Buckeyes, who led 45-0 at the break.
Barrett was 14-of-19 for 155 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, when Ohio State enjoyed a 210-44 total yards advantage, and 7-of-9 for 141 yards in the second as the Buckeyes outgained the Golden Flashes 392-109 prior to intermission. Michael Thomas caught two passes for 77 yards - both scores - while Rod Smith made a TD catch and ran for another to help Ohio State (2-1) bounce back from a stunning 35-21 loss at home to Virginia Tech last week.
Devin Smith, Marcus Baugh and Jalin Marshall also recorded touchdown catches while Curtis Samuel rushed for 100 yards and a pair of scores as the Buckeyes outgained Kent State 628-126. Colin Reardon was 14-of-27 for 76 yards and three interceptions for the Golden Flashes (0-3), who have scored 27 points in 2014.
The Buckeyes scored on seven of their eight first-half drives - starting with Barrett's 14-yard touchdown pass to Thomas on a crossing pattern 1:44 into the game - with the only blemish an interception by linebacker Matt Dellinger at the Kent State 2 on their third possession. Ohio State took a 31-0 lead early in the second when Barrett's short toss over the middle was caught by Thomas, who raced the final 57 yards untouched down the right sideline for a 63-yard score.
After Joshua Perry intercepted Reardon's pass at midfield with 1:46 left in the first half, Barrett found a wide-open Devin Smith on the next play for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 45-0. Barrett, who finished 23-of-30 for 312 yards, equaled the school record for TD passes in a game set by Kenny Guiton last season with a 2-yarder to Marshall on their first possession of the third quarter before Samuel finished the onslaught with his scoring runs.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ohio State DE Noah Spence, who was expected to return to action following a three-game suspension after failing a drug test, instead was suspended indefinitely after ecstasy was discovered in his system a second time. ... Devin Smith averages 42.1 yards on his 20 career touchdowns. ... The Buckeyes have won 39 straight against in-state opponents (last loss 7-6 to Oberlin in 1921) and improved to 30-1 (a 12-6 setback to Akron in 1894) against current Mid-American Conference teams.