COLUMBUS – No. 4 Ohio State overcame a sluggish offensive start, a lightning delay and a driving rainstorm in the second half to beat Tulsa 48-3.
J.T. Barrett, Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel had touchdown runs after the Buckeyes (2-0) failed to reach the end zone in the first half.
“I knew they were blitzing a lot, one out of three or more were pressures, and we just weren’t getting anything going,” head coach Urban Meyer said after the game. “And obviously the second half I thought we did — even in inclement weather — we did a nice job even making some…plays in the air.”
“Their coaches were giving us a lot of pressure; it was hard to get positive yards on our base plays. But I didn’t do anything crazy different during halftime, I just tried to go over plays to be ready for when regulation play continued,” said Barrett, who tied his career high with two rushing touchdowns.
Weber gained 92 yards on 17 carries.
The Ohio State defense limited Tulsa to 77 rushing yards and forced six turnovers, four interceptions — two returned for touchdowns — and two fumbles by the Golden Hurricane.