No. 1 Buckeyes Crush WVA

Stepping out after two years as backups, Joe Germaine passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Wiley ran for 140 yards and another score as top-ranked Ohio State rolled over No. 11 West Virginia 34-17 Saturday night.

Germaine, who lost his only previous start and spent the last two years in a platoon with Stanley Jackson, completed 18 of 32 passes without an interception.

Wiley, a fill-in for Pepe Pearson the past two seasons, carried 17 times for his 140 yards and upstaged West Virginia's Amos Zereoue in the tailback showdown.

Zereoue, 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season, gained 77 yards on 20 attempts. He set a Mountaineer career rushing record, but it was Ohio State's offense which dictated the game.

David Boston added a critical 20-yard punt return that set up the go-ahead touchdown and also caught a 39-yard scoring pass from Germaine. Boston had seven catches for 129 yards and Dee Miller had six catches for 110 yards.

It had been 101 years since Ohio State had crossed the border to meet West Virginia. It was also the first time Ohio State had opened on an opponent's home field in 23 years.

With the score tied at 3 midway through the second quarter, Ohio State -- which lost its last two games during a 10-3 season last year -- relied on Wiley's speed and Germaine's accurate arm to pull away.

After Boston took a Jay Taylor punt and returned it 20 yards to the Buckeye 45, Wiley went off right tackle for 37 yards before he was pushed out of bounds at the West Virginia 18.

On the very next play, he went the other way, racing of left tackle and then cutting to the corner for the touchdown and a 10-3 Ohio State lead.

Zereoue gained 5 yards and the West Virginia career rushing record on the next play from scrimmage. His 77 yards gave him 2,701 in his three seasons to eclipse the previous school record of 2,648 set by Artie Owens (1972-75).

In a span of little more than 2 minutes of the second quarter, the Buckeyes added 10 more points and put the game out of reach.

Taking over at his 20, Germaine led them on a five-play drive. After Wiley picked up five yards on first down, Germaine threw deep along the right sideline for Miller who caught the ball over his shoulder -- almost pulling it off the helmet of defender Perlo Bastien -- for a 42-yard gain.

Germaine scrambled for 2 yards before Wiley gained 17 more. On first down at the 14, Germaine hit Miller -- again beating Bastien -- on a slant pattern for the touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, Ohio State backup defensive back Joe Cooper leveled Jerry Porter on the return, knocking the ball loose. The Buckeyes' Tim Cheatwood recovered at the West Virginia 29.

Five plays later kicked his second field goal, this time from 36 yards, to make it 20-3.

After the mountaineers made it 20-10 with a score late in the first half, the Buckeyes countered with a 96-yard march early in the third quarter.

Germaine found Boston for a 29-yard gain on second and 12 at Ohio State's 9, then later lofted a perfectly thrown pass to Boston on the post pattern for the 39-yard touchdown.

The Buckeyes capped their scoring on a 7-yard run by freshman Jonathan Wells.

West Virginia, coming off a 7-5 season, picked up their points with time running out in the second and fourth quarters.

Marc Bulger, who was 23-of-37 for 232 yards with one interception, passed into the end zone from the Ohio State 6, just past the outstretched hands of Buckeye cornerback Antoine Winfield to flanker Shawn Foreman. Foreman then wrestled the ball away from defender Central McClellion for the touchdown.

With just 13 seconds left in the game, Bulger hit Foreman with a 3-yard scoring toss.

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