Top-ranked Ohio State defeats Hawaii

Few outside the friends and family of the University of Hawaii football team gave the Rainbow Warriors much of a chance in Saturday’s nonconference matchup won by powerhouse Ohio State 38-0.

Nearly six-touchdown underdogs at kickoff to the unanimous No. 1-ranked Buckeyes, the Warriors had a mountain to gain and little to lose in what coaches and members of the team called an opportunity.

Only five days removed from hammering Virginia Tech, Ohio State’s approach to this game was get in, get out and leave packed Ohio Stadium with victory No. 2 against an overmatched Warriors team with little fanfare and fewer injuries. Don’t let the words, "Century’s greatest upset" enter the minds of either team.

Ohio State seemed to take that message to heart as the Buckeyes won handily behind three touchdown runs by Ezekiel Elliott in an otherwise uneven offensive performance. Elliott rushed for 101 yards on 27 bruising carries to finish with at least 100 yards on the ground for a seventh consecutive time.

The Buckeyes are 2-0 for the season as Hawaii dropped to 1-1 and will return home to host UC Davis at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night. The offense struggled against a superior defense. The defense gained a measure of respect against a talent-laden Ohio State offense that never quite put it together.

"We didn’t play very well," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. "We’ve got to get better. But I hate saying that. Because that team in white (Hawaii) played hard."

After building a 14-point lead in the opening two quarters, Ohio State looked to extend its lead in the early moments of the second half, but continued to struggle against a tough Hawaii defense. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they couldn’t do any better as Hawaii quarterback Max Wittek struggled with turnovers, finishing with four.

He gave up a huge fumble with 10 minutes left in the third quarter at his own 6,  but the Warriors defense held, forcing a 20-yard field goal by Jack Willoughby to give Ohio State a 17-0 lead with 8:31 left in the third. Those were the only points of the quarter.

Such was not the case in the fourth as Ohio State finally got into the end zone on another touchdown run by Elliott, this time from 1 yard out to cap a season-long 91-yard drive for the Buckeyes. They finally wore down a game UH defense late. Willoughby added the PAT to make it 24-0 with 9:07 left in the game. The 17-play drive took 8:05 off the clock.

On the ensuing series for UH, Wittek turned it over again on a fumble exchange with Paul Harris. After the ball bounced around, OSU’s Vonn Bell scooped and scored from 14 yards out as Willoughby hit the PAT to give the Buckeyes a 31-0 advantage with 7:48 left. Wittek had two fumbles and two picks in the game, not a breakout performance for the senior transfer from Southern California.

The Buckeyes added another touchdown late on a 5-yard run by Bri’onte Dunn as Willoughby added the extra point to give Ohio State a 38-0 with 3:51 left in the game. The Buckeyes went 44 yards on only five plays against a tired UH defense.

In the first half, Hawaii won the toss and elected to receive, advancing the ball to near midfield before having to punt. After a bad kick, Ohio State began its opening drive on its own 32, moving quickly down the field on a nice blend of run and pass. It set up a 46-yard field-goal attempt by Willoughby that never got off the ground after the holder misplayed the snap.

There were no mistakes on its next possession, however, as Ohio State drove 77 yards on 11 plays with all-purpose man Braxton Miller being the main weapon of choice to set up a 1-yard scoring run by Elliott with 3:25 left in the first quarter as Willoughby added the PAT.

Neither offense did much against strong defensive efforts on both sides. The Warriors finally blinked as the Buckeyes’ picked off an errant Wittek pass to set up shop at the Hawaii 35 as Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett made his season debut on this scoring drive as the Buckeyes extended their advantage to 14-0 with 4:03 left in the half.

It was Elliott who scored from the 3 on a big third-down conversion as Willoughby added the PAT. The Buckeyes needed nine plays to complete the drive after the first turnover of the game. Wittek struggled in the first half thanks to tight coverage in the secondary that eventually produced two picks before intermission.

He finished 7-for-24 for 67 yards and no touchdowns. It was the first time since 1998 — a string of 213 games — that Hawaii didn’t have at least 100 yards passing. Ohio State held UH to only 85 yards in the air.