Buckeyes unable to uphold early lead in road contest vs. No. 1 Trojans

No. 5 Ohio State was unable to build upon a first-quarter 3-0 lead and dropped a 35-3 decision at No. 1 USC Saturday in front of a record 93,607 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Using a senior-freshman combination at quarterback of Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor, the Buckeyes pushed their second drive of the game to the USC 5-yard line. The 17-play drive included three third-down conversions and concluded with a Ryan Pretorius 29-yard field goal at the 8:45 mark.

USC answered with touchdowns on each of its next two possessions. Trojan quarterback Mark Sanchez found Stanley Havili for a 35-yard scoring strike with 33 seconds left in the opening quarter.

After a three-and-out by Ohio State, Sanchez added his second TD throw of the game, a 1-yard play-action toss to Blake Ayles with 10:51 to play in the period. The play capped a 7-play, 63-yard drive that included a 24-yard run by tailback Joe McKnight.

The Buckeyes nearly answered the score, but an 11-play, 47-yard drive ended with a missed field goal attempt of 46 yards by Ryan Pretorius.

USC closed out the scoring in the first half when Rey Maualuga picked off a Boeckman pass in the flat and returned it 48 yards to the endzone.

Sanchez fired his third and fourth TD passes of the game in the third quarter when he found Damian Williams across the middle of the field for a 34-yard score and then in the corner endzone from 17 yards out.