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Buckeyegrove.com…
Another slow
start for Buckeyes
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State was expected to cruise past
Alabama-Birmingham in his final tune-up before the start of its Big Ten
schedule, but the Blazers wouldn't go down easily Saturday.
The slow starts that have plagued the No. 16 Buckeyes in non-conference
play continued for the fourth straight week before a 21-point second
quarter and just enough defense helped Ohio State avoid a stunning
upset with a 29-15 victory before 105,019 mostly silent fans in Ohio
Stadium.
The Buckeyes (4-0) trailed for much of the first half but scored three
rushing touchdowns to grab a 21-12 lead at halftime and then held off
the Blazers in the second half despite being outgained 403-347 in total
yards for the game.
UAB (0-3) closed to 21-15 early in the fourth quarter on a 34-yard
field goal by Ty Long, but Ohio State iced the game on a 1-yard
touchdown run and two-point conversion by Braxton Miller with 5:03 left.
The Buckeyes' dynamic sophomore quarterback completed 12 of 20 passes
for 143 yards and rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.
OSU running back Jordan Hall gained 105 yards on 17 carries in the
second game back since recovering from a foot injury.
UAB backup quarterback Austin Brown held his own against Ohio State's
defense, completing 21 of 35 passes for 196 yards with one
interception. However, the Blazers' offense failed to score a touchdown.
In the first quarter, UAB stunned the Buckeyes when Calvin Jones
blocked a Ben Buchanan punt and Nick Adams returned it 20 yards for a
touchdown and a 6-0 lead.
The Blazers boosted their lead to 9-0 and unsettled the crowd when Long
kicked a 47-yard field goal.
Ohio State responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive culminated with a
1-yard touchdown run by Rod Smith to close to 9-7 with 6:31 left in the
first half. The touchdown was Smith's first since the 2011 opener.
A 54-yard field goal by Long - the third longest in Ohio Stadium
history and the longest ever by a UAB kicker -- extended the Blazers'
lead to 12-7.
But the Buckeyes ended the half with a flourish. They marched 75 yards
in 1:54 to a 12-yard touchdown run by Miller to go up for the first
time, 14-12, with 1:50 left in the second quarter. After a UAB fumble
on the ensuing possession, Ohio State scored again on a 2-yard run by
Zach Boren for a 21-12 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes outgained the Blazers 182-89 in the second quarter after
being held to 42 yards in the first quarter.
Miller rebounded from a slow start to complete 6 of 6 passes in the
second quarter for 81 yards and rush for 45 yards on three carries and
a touchdown.
Notes: Ohio State safety C.J. Barnett sat out with a sprained ankle.
Running back Carlos Hyde (knee) and defensive lineman Michael Bennett
(groin) missed a second consecutive game. ? UAB offensive line coach
John Peterson was on the opposite sideline in Ohio Stadium after
spending eight seasons at Ohio State as tight ends coach/recruiting
coordinator from 2004 to 2011. The former Buckeyes lineman was not
retained when Urban Meyer took the head-coaching job last November. ?
UAB was beaten by a top-25 opponent for the second week in a row,
having lost 49-6 at South Carolina a week ago. ? Ohio State has beaten
21 of 22 first-time opponents in Ohio Stadium in the past 25 years. The
lone loss was the Texas in 2005. ? Meyer is the first first-year Ohio
State coach to start 4-0 since Earle Bruce in 1979.
Read this and other articles at Buckeye Grove.com
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