Ohio State has officially moved on from its painful loss to Virginia Tech.
J.T. Barrett matched a school record with six touchdown passes – five in the first half – to lead the 22nd-ranked Buckeyes to a 66-0 victory over Kent State on Saturday.
The win was the 39th in a row over an in-state opponent for the Buckeyes (2-1), who haven’t lost since a 7-6 setback to Oberlin in 1921.
Nick Holley had six receptions for Kent State (0-3), which got $850,000 to get pounded before a crowd of 104,404 at Ohio Stadium.
Now the Buckeyes, who plummeted 14 spots in the polls and weathered a lot of criticism after last week’s 35-21 loss at home to the Hokies, have a bye week before hosting Cincinnati on Sept. 27.
Curtis Samuel ran for two touchdowns and Smith ran for one and also caught a TD pass for the Buckeyes, who totaled 628 yards of offense while limiting Kent State to 126.
It was the third meeting between the teams, with Ohio State winning by an average score of 55-7.
A redshirt freshman who took over when three-year starting quarterback Braxton Miller was lost for the year with a shoulder injury, Barrett finished 23 of 30 for 312 yards with an interception. He became the first Ohio State quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards since Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith did against Michigan in 2006.
The Golden Flashes hadn’t given up 60 points in a game since a 63-21 loss to Connecticut in 2002. The game represented Kent State’s most lopsided loss since a 56-0 defeat at Miami (Ohio) in 1998.
The Buckeyes scored early and often against the overmatched Flashes, who came in as 32-point underdogs.
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