OSU wears down U of M

The Buckeyes’ 30-7 win could push them to No. 4 in the polls today.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chris Wells rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ohio State defense didn’t budge in a 30-7 win at Minnesota on Saturday night.

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) have allowed only 34 points in five easy victories, making life much easier for new quarterback Todd Boeckman. He wasn’t great, but he threw for two scores and didn’t turn the ball over — leaving Wells to wear down the overmatched Gophers (1-4, 0-2).

Boeckman delivered when the Buckeyes needed him to, throwing a perfect pass to Brian Robiskie for a 52-yard touchdown with 57 seconds remaining in the first half that stretched the lead to 20-7. Boeckman went 18-for-29 for 209 yards.

Ohio State joined Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan in first place in the conference, with a trip to play undefeated Purdue up next. This came on a weekend when No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 West Virginia, No. 7 Texas and No. 10 Rutgers were beaten for the first time, giving Ohio State an opportunity to make a big jump in the rankings.

Purdue next

Even punter A.J. Trapasso contributed for the Buckeyes. He pinned Minnesota inside the 20 four times and also ran 28 yards for a first down after dropping the ball at the beginning of an apparent first-quarter fake. That extended a 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive on their first possession.

Just as in losses to Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and Purdue, Minnesota made a handful of egregious mistakes that wiped out most of the promising plays.

The game was essentially decided in the span of less than a minute late in the second quarter.

Adam Weber tossed freshman Ralph Spry his first career touchdown reception on a 4-yard corner route that cut the Ohio State lead to 14-7. The Gophers forced a punt and put together another productive drive, only to have it thwarted when Weber’s bad throw on third down was intercepted by Malcolm Jenkins right in front of the goal line.

Wells ran for 33 yards on third-and-6 at the Buckeyes 6, and Jamal Harris gave away 15 more yards with a late hit. On the next play, Robiskie raced up the seam and catapulted himself above Harris to make an acrobatic catch in the end zone for a 20-7 lead. The extra point was blocked.