Pryor’s efforts put life back in Buckeyes

After taking the blame for the loss to Penn State he led the team over Northwestern.

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — After the gut-wrenching loss to Penn State, Terrelle Pryor sat by himself on the Ohio State bench, his head bowed, his eyes red.

The loss, the quarterback told his teammates, was his fault.

It was his fumble that led to Penn State’s go-ahead touchdown, and his interception that sealed the Nittany Lions’ victory.

The mistakes — and what they cost the Buckeyes — would not be forgotten soon.

Admirable words, and yet another sign of how special Pryor is.

But he is also just a freshman, and failure is a foreign concept to him.

With two weeks to think, would the tough loss, his first as a starter, make him better? Or drive him further into despair?

Pryor gave a definitive answer on the Buckeyes’ very first possession against Northwestern on Saturday. Facing third-and-16 and a Northwestern blitz, Pryor stood in the pocket for what seemed like five minutes.

He finally spotted Brian Hartline downfield and let fly, connecting on a 44-yard pass that could have been a touchdown had Hartline not toppled over.

On the next play, Chris “Beanie” Wells scored on a 2-yard run, and that Penn State loss was officially put to rest.

“Every time he is out there,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said, “he is going to get better.”

Ohio State’s 45-10 rout of Northwestern moved the Buckeyes (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) up two spots, to No. 12, in The Associated Press Top 25.

The Buckeyes also got a boost in their bid for a share of a fourth straight conference title, thanks to Iowa’s upset of Penn State.

The show-stopper in Pryor’s personal highlight reel came in the third quarter, with Ohio State already cruising 24-10. Chased from his own 32 all the way back to about the 20 on third-and-8, Pryor could have thrown the ball away or taken a sack without doing any damage.

But he wouldn’t have it. When Northwestern linebacker Quentin Davie got a hand on him, Pryor shucked him off and darted forward.

After scrambling for a few yards, he lofted a pass to Hartline down the right sideline for a 46-yard gain, his longest throw of the day.

Three plays later, he hit Rory Nicol for a 6-yard touchdown.

“I felt really comfortable,” Pryor said. “They were sending blitzes and I was still standing in sometimes. I feel like I progressed a little from [two weeks ago], but there’s a lot more I want to accomplish and get better at to help this team win.”

If Pryor had any crises of confidence, he sure didn’t show it against the Wildcats, going 9-of-14 for 197 yards and three scores.

He was sacked once, but didn’t come close to committing a turnover.

“Overall, our offense did a pretty good job,” Wells said. “Terrelle had a heck of a game.”

And he’ll need a few more if Ohio State is to play its way into a share of the Big Ten title.

The Buckeyes are now tied with No. 7 Penn State for second place in the conference, behind No. 18 Michigan State.

But the Spartans and Nittany Lions play each other at Penn State in the regular-season finale.

Ohio State plays at Illinois next week, then hosts Michigan for the latest installment of The Game.

“November decides where you go, point blank, period,” Pryor said. “OK, we lost to Penn State and it’s a big deal. Now if we lose to Illinois or Michigan, that’s going to tear our seniors apart and I don’t want that to happen.

“I won’t let that happen.”