Guiton Guides No. 4 OSU To 76-0 Mismatch Over FAMU
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kenny Guiton again starred in place of the injured Braxton Miller, setting a school record with six touchdown passes — all in the first half — to lead No. 4 Ohio State to a 76-0 victory against Florida A&M on Saturday.
It was the most lopsided Ohio State win since 1935.
The Buckeyes (4-0) needed a total of four offensive plays and 46 seconds to go up 21-0 in the opening 6 minutes and never looked back. It was an epic mismatch between a team with national-title aspirations and a Football Championship Subdivision member getting a $900,000 guarantee.
FAMU (1-3), which suffered its worst loss ever, trailed 48-0 before picking up its initial first down in the second quarter.
Guiton completed 24 of 34 passes for 215 yards. His TD passes went to five different receivers.
The game was Ohio State's last tuneup before opening Big Ten play next week against No. 24 Wisconsin at home on Saturday night.
The last time the Buckeyes won by such a large margin was an 85-7 victory over Drake in 1935. They had not won a shutout by such a landslide since a 76-0 win at Western Reserve in 1934.
The Rattlers' biggest previous margin of defeat was 73-6 to Tuskegee in 1926. They lost to Oklahoma 69-13 a year ago and South Florida 70-17 in 2011.
The stats were as lopsided as the score. Ohio State had a 34-2 edge in first downs and a 603-80 differential in yards.
Miller, the Big Ten's offensive player of the year last season and a Heisman Trophy hopeful this year, missed his second game in a row with a sprained medial-collateral ligament in his left knee. He was injured early in Ohio State's victory over San Diego State, with Guiton coming on and playing extremely well in that game and last week's offensive explosion at California.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer had said Miller was probable to play against the Rattlers, but he never put on his uniform. Instead, he wore a warmup suit and stood on the sidelines.
It didn't take long for this game to get out of control, with or without him.
After a short punt ended the Rattlers' first possession, Ohio State took over at the FAMU 30. On third down from the 3, Guiton's pass into the end zone was picked off by Patrick Aiken. Aiken, however, elected to try to run the ball out. He got to the 3 before being hit by running back Jordan Hall and fumbling the ball away.
On the next play, Hall scored the first of his two touchdowns.
After a 65-yard punt return by Corey Brown put the ball at the 11 and one play later, Guiton flipped an 11-yard TD pass to tight end Jeff Heuerman. That made it 13-0 — the Buckeyes inexplicably went for two but failed — with the touchdowns coming on two plays totaling 10 seconds.
Doran Grant blocked the next FAMU punt and the Buckeyes were right back in business at the 25. It took two more passes to make it 20-0, with Guiton hitting Evan Spencer for the final eight yards and the score.
Carlos Hyde, who had been suspended for the first three games after an alleged altercation with a female in a bar this summer, took a shovel pass the final yard late in the quarter. After the ensuing kickoff, Bradley Roby intercepted a pass by Damien Fleming and returned it to the 5. The Buckeyes made it 34-0 when Guiton hit Devin Smith for the score.
With Ohio State coach Urban Meyer playing more backups — but still throwing on almost every down — the Buckeyes led 55-0 at the half.
Guiton tied the Ohio State record with his fifth touchdown throw to Chris Fields midway through the period. He then broke it with 5 seconds left on a 15-yarder to Spencer, eclipsing the mark that had been held by John Borton in 1952 and Bobby Hoying (who did it in 1994 and again in 1995).
Stymied all day, the Rattlers collected their initial first down on a 6-yard run by Lemond Buice at 5:25 of the second quarter.
Meyer did substitute freely in the second half, with third-team quarterback Cardale Jones sticking mostly to the ground to lead a drive capped by freshman Ezekiel Elliott's 16-yard run. Elliott, who totaled 162 yards on 14 carries, also scored on a 13-yard run.
On the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter, freshman receiver James Clark injured a leg and was taken off the field on a motorized cart.
Guiton had to return in the third quarter after Jones left the field with a cut on his left hand that required stitches. Jones later returned.
One of the few bright spots for the Rattlers' was Colby Blanton's 78-yard punt late in the second half.
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