Ohio State's Pryor Catching Heat On Internet

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A lot of people are wondering when Terrelle Pryor is going to step in and take control as the triggerman of Ohio State's offense.

In the 18-15 loss to Southern California, he completed 11 of 25 passes for 177 yards. He seldom threw the ball more than 10 yards, and his yardage total was skewed by one short pass-and-run to Dane Sanzenbacher that was turned into a 56-yard gain.

Pryor carried 10 times for 36 net yards and almost coughed up the ball on an ill-advised option pitch that Ohio State was fortunate to recover. And he provided USC with its first points when he threw an interception right to LB Chris Galippo on the third play from scrimmage, with Galippo returning it 51 yards to the 2. That set up a Trojans touchdown on a night when points were precious.

Over the Buckeyes' final seven possessions, they mustered three points - and the first three of those series were three-and-outs.

Pryor supposedly has run a 4.33 40-yard dash. He also said after spring practice concluded that he had "shown the world" he can pass.

Many Ohio State fans tossing around comments on blogs and Web sites are wondering when he's going to start living up to all that promise.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: ... about Saturday's noon kickoff at Cleveland Browns Stadium against Toledo.

-1, Toledo is 5-13 vs. the Big Ten, but all five of those wins have come in the last 11 games the Rockets have played against the conference. The Rockets have defeated Purdue (twice, 1992 and 1997), Penn State (2000), Minnesota (2001) and Michigan (2008).

-2, Ohio State is 24-1 against schools in the Mid-American Conference, its only loss coming to Akron in 1894. But that was long before the founding of the MAC in 1946.

-3, Toledo QB Aaron Opelt is ranked No. 1 in the nation in total offense (437.0 yards per game).

NUMBERS GAME: Since winning the national championship in 1968 the Buckeyes have finished outside the top 10 in the final Associated Press rankings more times than they've ended up among the top 10 teams in the land. They've been in the top 10 a total of 19 times, missing it 21 times.

WEEKLY HONORS: Each week Ohio State's coaching staff reviews the game tapes and selects its players of the week. Here are the honorees for the USC game:

- CB Devon Torrence, defense, with eight tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

- P Jon Thoma, special teams, with six punts for an average of 38.7 yards. Four were inside the 20.

- There was no offensive player or lineman of the week.

- Scout team awards went to OL Mike Adams - reportedly still serving an unofficial two-game suspension for unknown reasons - on offense, TE/DL Spencer Smith on defense and DB Nate Ebner on special teams.

The top player among the front seven on defense was DL Cameron Heyward. The hit of the week was delivered by RB Dan (appropriately, nicknamed "Boom") Herron.

LET'S SLEEP IN: The Illinois at Ohio State game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, the Big Ten Conference announced Monday. The contest will open the Big Ten season for both teams. It will be televised on a regional basis by ABC/ESPN.

BIG TEN AWARDS: And here are the winners of the Big Ten's weekly awards:

The offensive winner was Michigan freshman QB Tate Forcier. In his second career start, Forcier racked up 310 yards of total offense and led Michigan to the game-winning score over nationally ranked Notre Dame, tossing a touchdown pass with 11 seconds left for the victory. He completed 23-of-33 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns and also added 70 yards on 13 carries with another score.

Sharing the defensive award were Iowa S Tyler Sash and Minnesota LB Nate Triplett. Sash equaled a school record with three interceptions while adding a team-best 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble to lead Iowa to a road victory at Iowa State.

Triplett recorded a career-high 17 tackles and also returned a fumble 52 yards for a touchdown to break a tie in the fourth quarter and give the Gophers a victory in their first game at TCF Bank Stadium.

The honoree on special teams was Michigan KR Darryl Stonum, who had a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and also downed a punt on the 4-yard line to help the Wolverines knock off the Fighting Irish.

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