TreVeyon Henderson Puts Buckeyes On His Back, Ohio State Slips Past Tulsa

Henderson's record-setting day was just enough to lift the Buckeyes to an uncomfortable victory.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Sep 18, 2021 7:26 PM EDT

TreVeyon Henderson's record-breaking performance electrified an offense that desperately needed some life. While C.J. Stroud struggled to complete passes all day, Henderson broke the all-time freshman single-game rushing record set back by Archie Griffin in 1972.

Tulsa's offense gave Ohio State some issues, and their pass defense was more than sufficient. But the Buckeyes' incredible rushing attack was too much for the Golden Hurricane to handle and Ohio State added a late defensive score to win 41-20.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

* Tulsa's defense got an early stop on Ohio State's first possession and then proceeded to melt more than half of the first quarter clock. The Golden Hurricane elected to kick a field goal from inside OSU's 5-yard line to take a 3-0 lead. The Buckeyes slowly made their way down the field on their next possession and knotted the game at 3-3 with a 43-yard field goal from Noah Ruggles.

* Tulsa also converted a field goal on its second drive, this time from 31 yards out to take a 6-3 lead nearly five minutes into the second quarter.

* Ohio State's offense finally looked sharper on it's third possession, going six plays down the field for a touchdown. Henderson capped off the drive with a 5-yard score, but four of the previous five plays on the drive went for 12 or more yards.

* The remainder of the first half featured two Tulsa punts, an Ohio State field goal and an interception by each team. The Buckeyes led 13-6 at the break.

* Henderson finally broke the game open with a fantastic touchdown run on Ohio State's first drive of the second half. The true freshman made two great cuts on his way to a 48-yard touchdown run to open the second half scoring, giving the Buckeyes a 20-6 lead.

* The Buckeye defense also noticeably ratcheted up the pressure in the second half, making life much more complicated on Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin.

* After three consecutive possessions that ended with punts, Tulsa scored it first touchdown of the game with 1:00 left in the third quarter on a 21 yard pass to Cannon Montgomery.

* Henderson's third score of the day - this time from 52 yards - gave Ohio State a 2-score lead back quickly.

* But Tulsa wouldn't go away, scoring quickly on two long pass plays, the last of which went to Josh Johnson from 22 yards out. Tulsa pulled with one score at 27-20, then forced the Buckeyes to punt with 9:30 remaining.

* C.J. Stroud connected on his first touchdown pass of the game late in the fourth quarter when he found Garrett Wilson in the end zone from 12 yards away.

* With a 34-20 lead and the Buckeyes trying to come up with one last defensive stand, Cam Martinez ran back an interception for a touchdown to seal off a game that was far less comfortable than the final margin would indicate.

INJURIES:

* Thayer Munford left the game in the first quarter, with what was being reported as a right ankle injury.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

* Henderson record day finished with 24 carries for 277 yards and three touchdowns. It marked the first multi-score game of his Ohio State career.

* C.J. Stroud finished the day 15-of-25 for 185 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

* The Buckeyes were efficient on third downs, converting 6-of-11 for the game.

* Davis Brin threw for 428 yards and the Golden Hurricane amassed 501 yards of offense.

* Ohio State senior Chris Olave was technically targeted just once and the pass was incomplete. However, he appeared to come up with his first catch came with 11:55 left in the game on a 47-yard bomb from Stroud. But the play was wiped out because of an offensive facemask penalty on right guard Paris Johnson Jr.

* Saturday featured one of the smallest crowds in several decades at Ohio Stadium. Only 76,540 tickets were sold for today's game against Tulsa. That is the lowest single game attendance mark since 1971.

Much more to come from Columbus after the post-game press conferences.

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