Big mistakes prevent Troy from pulling upset

By Drew Champlin

Published: September 20, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Troy put a scare in yet another national power.

But as they have done in previous such scenarios, the Trojans couldn’t overcome several missed opportunities while giving No. 13 Ohio State plenty in a 28-10 loss.

Of OSU’s four touchdowns, three started inside Troy’s 37-yard line and the other started at OSU’s 40 when Michael Taylor’s kickoff to open the game went out of bounds.

“All y’all have been on this road before with us,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “We lost a game that I think we maybe, maybe had a chance to win if we had been a little better football team and not made too many errors.”

One of OSU’s short touchdowns came on an interception, when safety Kurt Coleman ripped the ball out of Gerald Tate’s hands at the Troy 37.

The other two came in the fourth quarter when Troy (2-1) was pinned deep into its own territory and had to punt. The first Will Goggans punt was decent, a 40-yarder, but it was returned to the 37. The second wasn’t so good, going just 17 yards to the Troy 27.

All four short fields led to big plays from the arm of OSU (3-1) true freshman Terrelle Pryor, who was making his first career start. He threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rory Nicol early, fired a 39-yarder to Brian Hartline in the second and hit Brian Robiskie with a 38-yarder and Hartline with a 16-yarder to seal the game late.

Pryor, one of the nation’s top-rated recruits last year, hit 10-of-16 for 139 yards and ran for 66 yards. His only interception came when Tavares Williams intercepted a Hail Mary in the end zone at the end of the first half.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Pryor gave Troy a threat with his feet.

“He’s big and athletic,” linebacker Bear Woods said. “I didn’t know he was that tall. He’s faster that what we had prepared for, but we did prepare for him.”

Troy’s only touchdown came with 1:49 left in the second quarter, as quarterback Jamie Hampton hit Jerrel Jernigan across the middle. Jernigan took it 45 yards for a score that cut the lead to 14-10. Sam Glusman had kicked a 22-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

The Trojans got the ball to start the second half and drove to the OSU 24. A holding penalty pushed the Trojans back 10 yards, and Hampton was intercepted by Coleman when it appeared he threw into double coverage, intended for Jernigan.

“We practiced that play all week, but the plan was for Jerrel to go over the top of the linebacker,” Hampton said. “But the linebacker got so deep that (Jernigan) had to cut in front. I should have put it right there on him and it would have been a big play, but I floated it and the safety was able to come in.”

From there, short punts and Troy not fielding punts well doomed the Trojans. Troy started inside its own 7-yard line three times in the second half.

“In all three phases of the game, we were not error-free for sure,” Blakeney said. “We didn’t make enough plays, and you’ve got to make plays to create extra pressure and we didn’t. They did, it’s simple as that.”

Playing in front of 102,989 fans, Hampton was 30-of-43 for 218 yards. Jernigan led the receivers with eight catches for 66 yards. OSU’s Dan Herron (20 rushes, 94 yards) was the leading rusher. Troy’s Boris Lee had 14 tackles.

Troy has hung with ranked teams such as Georgia, Arkansas and Florida State in the last two years, but mistakes ended up being the Trojans’ downfall.

“Making history and getting the upset,” Troy’s DuJuan Harris said when asked what he was thinking when Troy was down just 14-10 to start the fourth quarter. “They made all the big plays and we didn’t.”

Troy is at Oklahoma State next Saturday for a 6 p.m. game.

First quarter
10:14 OSU 7, Troy 0: Rory Nicol 13 pass from Terrelle Pryor (Ryan Pretorius PAT).  9 plays, 60 yards, 4:46. Key play: The opening kickoff went out of bounds, giving OSU the ball at their 40.

Second quarter
13:35 OSU 7, Troy 3: Sam Glusman 22 FG.  9 plays, 42 yards, 4:27. Key play: OSU’s James Laurinitis sacked Hampton for a loss of 9 when Troy had 1st and goal at the 4.

9:08 OSU 14, Troy 3: Brian Hartline 39 pass from Pryor (Pretorius PAT).  4 plays, 37 yards, 2:06. Key play: The touchdown, which came on 3rd and 12.

1:49 OSU 14, Troy 10: Jerrel Jernigan 45 pass from Jamie Hampton (Glusman PAT).  5 plays, 80 yards, 1:45. Key play: Hampton hit Andrew Davis for a 27-yard gain to the OSU 48.

Fourth quarter
13:28 OSU 21, Troy 10: Brian Robiskie 38 pass from Pryor (Pretorius PAT).  2 plays, 37 yards, 0:52. Key play: OSU started on Troy’s 38 because of Troy punting out of the back of its end zone.

4:46 OSU 28, Troy 10: Hartline 16 pass from Pryor (Pretorius PAT).  4 plays, 27 yards, 0:52. Key play: Will Goggans kicked a 17-yard punt that went out of bounds at Troy’s 27-yard line.