Evanston, IL (Sports Network) - Chris Wells ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and Terrelle Pryor threw for three scores and 197 yards as the 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Northwestern, 45-10, at Ryan Field.
Brian Robiskie caught a pair of touchdowns for the Buckeyes (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten), who bounced back from a loss to Penn State on October 25.
Mike Kafka went 18-for-27 with 177 yards and an interception and added 83 yards on the ground with a score for the Wildcats (7-3, 3-3), who have dropped two of their last three.
The Buckeyes improved to 8-2 on the season and 5-2 in the Big Ten, while the Wildcats fell to 7-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Ohio State opened the scoring with a two-yard plunge by Wells with 10:48 left in the first quarter. The touchdown followed a 44-yard completion from Pryor to Brian Hartline on 3rd-and-16.
The Wildcats answered with their own one-yard score by Mike Kafka with 4:43 remaining.
Ohio State broke open the game with 17 second-quarter points. The Buckeyes opened the second-quarter with a 55-yard touchdown run by Wells with 14:03 left.
Sports
Following a fumble recovery by Anderson Russell, Ohio State had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius with 10:04 remaining.
The first-half scoring concluded with a 15-yard pass from Pryor to Robiskie with 1:26 left. The touchdown pass ended a 12-play, 90-yard drive for a 24-7 lead at the half.
The second-half began with Northwestern settling for a 25-yard field goal by Amado Villarreal with 11:03 remaining.
Ohio State made it 31-10 with 34-seconds left in the quarter when Pryor connected with tight end Rory Nicol for a six-yard touchdown. The play was setup by a 46-yard completion to Hartline to the Northwestern 21.
A.J. Trapasso's nine-yard gain on a faked punt, led to a 34-yard touchdown pass from Pryor to Robiskie with 7:36 left in the game to give the Buckeyes a 38-10 advantage.
Ohio State finished the scoring with a 19-yard scamper by Daniel Herron with seven-seconds remaining to make the score 45-10. The final drive was set up when Kafka coughed up the ball with 3:10 left.
Next week the Buckeyes remain on the road versus Illinois and Northwestern travels to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.
