COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - TreVeyon Henderson broke Archie Griffin's 49-year-old freshman rushing record, romping for 277 yards and three touchdowns as No. 9 Ohio State pulled away late to beat Tulsa 41-20 on Saturday.
Henderson, who graduated early from Hopewell High School to attend Ohio State, ran for scores of 5, 48 and 52 yards, which managed to paper over some of the same weaknesses Ohio State showed in the 32-25 upset by Oregon last week that sent the Buckeyes tumbling in the AP Top 25 poll.
As a team, the Buckeyes (2-1) were not sharp. But Tulsa (0-3) couldn't match them blow for blow, and Henderson, who ran for 69 yards in the first two games combined, broke through with some huge plays at critical times. A late interception that Cameron Martinez returned for a 61-yard touchdown made the score look worse than it was for the persistent Golden Hurricane.
“We're kind of getting last week out of our system,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Certainly a lot of things to work on.”
The Ohio State defense, while holding Tulsa to 73 yards on the ground, allowed Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin to throw for a career-high 428 yards and the team's first two touchdown passes this season. Josh Johnson caught eight passes for a career-high 149 yards.
Henderson's first big run came in the third quarter with Ohio State hanging on to a 13-6 lead. He bounced right and blew past defensive backs for the 48-yard touchdown.
Then at the end of the quarter, after Tulsa had pulled to 20-13, he broke through a hole in the middle and headed for the left sideline and the 52-yard score.
Ohio State's freshman quarterback, C.J. Stroud missed some receivers, tossed an interception and lost a fumble. He threw for 185 yards and a late touchdown to Garrett Wilson that gave the Buckeyes some breathing room.
“I thought all three phases contributed,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said. “We did some good things and gave ourselves an opportunity there late.”
