After an absolutely wild first quarter that saw the Buckeyes go up on the Golden Bears 24-14, the breakneck pace slowed down slightly in the second.
Cal's first drive of the quarter stuttered, and they were forced to punt from their own 35-yard line. Philly Brown returned the punt 13 yards to the OSU 27, where Kenny Guiton took over.
Guiton methodically drove downfield, scrambling to pick up a first down himself along the way. Jordan Hill ripped off an 18-yard gain to put the Buckeyes at the Cal 17, and another Kenny Guiton run set up a first-and-goal. The Buckeyes faced a 4th-and 1, but Urban Meyer once again kept the offense on the field and Jordan Hall rumbled in for a touchdown. The 12-play, 60-yard drive increased the Buckeye's red zone record to six touchdowns in six opportunities.
Cal's next drive was aided by a Ryan Shazier late hit on California QB Jared Goff. Goff was already out of bounds when Shazier sailed in and pushed him to the ground, and the 15 yards tacked on to the drive helped Cal move into Buckeyes territory. The defense held out, forcing a field goal, and with 4:50 left in the quarter Cal tightened the scoreline to 31-17.
The quarter ended on a Cal drive deep into Buckeye territory - on 4th and 7, the Bears elected to go for the first down instead of kick a field goal that would have brought them within 11. Goff connected with Stefan McClure, but on the next set of downs the Bears were unable to reach the end zone and settled for the field goal anyway.
At the half, Ohio State led the Golden Bears 31-20
First half MVP: Devin Smith. Smith has only three catches, but two of them went for touchdowns. 149 receiving yards and two scores in the first half show Smith's development into a game-changing weapon for the Buckeyes offense.
Back to the Ohio State Buckeyes Newsfeed