TreVeyon Henderson broke two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin’s Ohio State freshman single-game rushing record with 277 yards and added three touchdowns as the No. 9 Buckeyes pulled away late from visiting Tulsa 41-20 on Saturday.
Henderson’s 52-yard score to make it 27-13 on the last play of the third quarter gave him 243 yards, four more than Griffin had against North Carolina on Sept. 30, 1972.
The Buckeyes (2-1) needed Henderson. He ran for a 48-yard TD on Ohio State’s fifth snap of the third quarter for a 20-6 lead. He also had 5-yard TD among his 24 carries.
For Tulsa (0-3), quarterback Davis Brin had a 22-yard TD to Josh Johnson with 12:07 to play to make it 27-20. Davis threw for 428 yards against an embattled Ohio State defense.
Ohio State extended the lead to 34-20 with 3:07 left on a C.J. Stroud 22-yard pass to Garrett Wilson on a drive that included a 31-yard run by Henderson. Stroud was 15 of 25 for 185 yards, a TD and an interception.
Cameron Martinez had a 61-yard interception return with 1:50 left for the final score.
Ohio Stadium was less than three-fourths filled with 76,540 fans even though the full capacity of 102,780 was permitted.
Excluding last season when spectators were banned because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the smallest home crowd since Ohio State’s season opener against Iowa in 1971 (75,596).
The Buckeyes were expected to rebound in a big way from a 35-28 loss to No. 4 Oregon in Ohio Stadium on Sept. 11.
They were 25-point favorites over the Golden Hurricane but found themselves in a tussle, needing field goals of 43 and 44 yards by Noah Ruggles and a 5-yard run by Henderson for a 13-6 halftime lead.
Tulsa led 6-3 early in the second quarter after Zack Long made field goals from 22 and 31 yards. The Buckeyes took their first lead, 10-6, at 8:44 of the second quarter on Henderson’s first TD.
–Field Level Media