 "Photo: Melissa Miller")
Senior Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter more than made up for a rough early going Saturday.
Carpenter helped set up the Spartans second score when he roughed junior Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton on a third down incompletion that would have forced a field goal try. Instead, MSU was able to punch it in to go ahead 10-0.
"I'm disappointed with myself for that," Carpenter said. "That was out of frustration. I've got to be smarter than that. That's all on me, and I let my teammates down, and I hope they can forgive me for that."
His teammates had no problem doing that after he led OSU's second half defensive surge, tying a school record with four sacks and finishing the day with a season-best 11 tackles.
True freshman earns start
True freshman Alex Boone notched his first collegiate start Saturday. He played significantly in last week's loss at Penn State after sophomore tackle Kirk Barton went down with an knee injury, but nothing could compare with a start at the 'Shoe'.
"It's just an incredible rush," Boone said. "It's crazy. Sometimes, I'll look down the line and I see these guys that I just watched two or three years ago. I say to myself 'This is amazing.'"
The re-shuffled line was more than adequate, paving the way for another 100-yard rushing day by sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman.
"I thought we were fairly effective," Tressel said. "There was never really a time that stuck out, that hey, there's a true freshman out there and we're struggling."
Barton is expected to return Saturday at Indiana, but senior guard T.J. Downing thinks the massive 6-foot-8, 315 pounder will be a good one in the future.
"You give him an off-season of training with Al Johnson (strength coach), and he's going to be an unstoppable force in the Big Ten."
Conference call
As the Big Ten continues into its fourth week of the conference schedule, no team is left with an unblemished record.
Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern all sit atop the Big Ten with one loss. However, if OSU and Penn State were to both win out, the Nittany Lions would be crowned because of their head-to-head record. OSU's hopes will likely rest on Penn State's November 19 trip to No.16 Michigan State.
Everett hurt
A hushed silence fell over the stadium as senior safety Tyler Everett lay face down and motionless on the turf for several minutes during Saturday's second quarter. Everett was attempting to make a tackle when his helmet viciously collided with the helmet of a teammate Joel Penton. He was eventually helped off the field and taken to the hospital for testing, which revealed a sprained neck and shoulder. He will be re-evaluated this week to determine his status.
Quick slants
Freshman punter A.J. Trapasso's 76-yard second quarter bomb was the longest kick by an Ohio State punter in more than 20 years. Karl Edwards set the record in 1983 with his 87-yard boot at Illinois ... Tressel upped his mark against top-25 teams to 25-10 ... The Spartans 456 yards of total offense broke a three-game string by the Buckeyes defense of limiting the opponent to under 200 yards.
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