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In less than two minutes after the opening kickoff, Ohio State Buckeye quarterback J. T. Barrett threw the first Buckeye touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes with a 14-yard pass to Michael Thomas. It was all downhill from there for the Flashes, as they took a 66-0 beating from Ohio State on national TV from the Horseshoe in Columbus.
The Buckeyes (2-1, 0-0 Big 10) dominated the first half of the game against a hapless Kent State (0-3, 0-1 MAC), heading off to the locker room at halftime with a 45-0 lead. In the first quarter alone, Ohio State gained 198 yards, in which 155 yards came through the air.
In the second quarter, freshman Nate Strock took the helm as Kent State’s quarterback, replacing second-year starter Colin Reardon. The Golden Flashes passed midfield for the first time in the game with 12:06 to go in the second quarter after a 20-yard run by Nick Holley. Strock was quickly replaced by Reardon, who was unsuccessful in sustaining the drive, and the Flashes remained scoreless. Strock finished the day with only three passing, and went 1-of-7 on attempts. Reardon managed to throw for 76 yards, completing 14 of 26 passes, and throwing three interceptions.
Ohio State expanded its lead in the third quarter to 59-0, and finished off the Golden Flashes in the fourth quarter with a one-yard run by Buckeye Curtis Samuel. Ohio State’s Barrett finished the day with over 312 yards of passing, the Buckeyes first 300-yard passing performance since Troy Smith was their quarterback. The rushing game was lopsided as well. Ohio State gained more than 284 yards in rushing, compared to only 47 yards by the Golden Flashes, whom were still without senior running back Trayion Durham.
The Golden Flashes head off to Charlottesville on September 27, 2014 to face the University of Virginia Cavaliers (2-1) in search of their first win on a season that's quickly spiralling out of control.