Final Score: (18) Ohio State 38, Minnesota 7

Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Embattled sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor answered his detractors by throwing for two scores and running for another, as 18th-ranked Ohio State bounced back from a deflating loss with a 38-7 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Pryor, who was the subject of intense scrutiny for shoddy play in last weekend's stunning 26-18 upset at Purdue, threw for 239 yards on 13-of-25 attempts and ran for 104 more on 15 carries.

DeVier Posey made eight catches for 161 yards and caught both of Pryor's TD passes for the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten), who had won four straight games prior to last weekend and outscored their opponents 132-27 during the stretch following a close loss to USC on September 12.

Jermil Martin and Jordan Hall both ran for scores in the win as Ohio State racked up 509 yards of offense.

Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber struggled again, completing 10-of-23 passes for 112 yards with two interceptions.

MarQueis Gray took over and was 5-of-6 for 51 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown to Troy Stoudermire Jr. Gray also ran for 81 yards on 11 carries for the Gophers (4-4, 2-3), who suffered a 20-0 loss last weekend at Penn State.

Ohio State drove down to the Gopher 13 on its second turn with the ball -- a nearly nine-minute trek that spanned 19 plays and 78 yards -- but came away empty when Aaron Pettrey missed a 30-yard field goal.

The game remained scoreless entering the second quarter until Pryor went over the top to Posey on a 62-yard touchdown up the right sideline for a 7-0 game a little over five minutes in.

OSU's defense kept the Minnesota offense under s in the first half, which ended with the same score after Pryor was picked off on 1st-and-10 from the Gopher 17 in the final minute before halftime.

The Buckeyes then exploded for 21 third-quarter points to take control.

"Everyone, I thought, picked up their game (in the second half). We made it a little harder on ourselves by missing a field goal and having a turnover down there at the end of the second quarter," said Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel. "(We) need to get considerably better as we move forward, but it was a good step. If we'll keep taking steps...we can see if we can compete for the Big Ten."

The 15-minute romp began with Stoudermire Jr. muffing the opening kickoff of the second half to give OSU the ball on the Gopher 31. Three plays later Pryor ran it in for a 15-yard score and a 14-0 advantage.

"I feel like we came ready to play today. We played well in the first half," said Gophers head coach Tim Brewster. "The mishandled kick return at the very beginning of the second half really hurt and the drops by our receivers hurt us as well. It's just very unfortunate."

Weber fumbled it away midway through the quarter and Hall scored on an 11-yard run a short time later to up the margin to 21. A quick three-and-out by the Gophers had OSU back on the attack and Pryor hooked up with Posey for a 57- yard touchdown to lead 28-0 after three quarters.

Martin's 39-yard scoring run capitalized on a Weber pick to open the fourth and Pettrey later added a 44-yard field goal to make it 38-0.

Gray took over for an ineffective Weber and tossed a 16-yard TD pass to Stoudemire Jr. late to account for the final.

Game Notes

Saturday's meeting was the 49th between Minnesota and Ohio State, with Ohio State holding a commanding 42-7 lead in the series, including a 22-3 advantage in Columbus. OSU has won the past seven encounters...Brandon Saine, the Buckeyes' top rusher coming in, ran for 45 yards on 11 carries...Martin ran seven times for 75 yards while Hall gained 38 yards on 10 rushes...Stoudermire Jr. caught four balls for 47 yards in the setback for Minnesota, which was just 1-of-10 on third down. Ohio State was 7-of-14 on third down conversions...The Buckeyes host New Mexico State next Saturday while the Gophers host Michigan State.

10/24 17:05:37 ET