COLUMBUS — Michigan  coach Rich Rodriguez got his first look at Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor on Saturday afternoon, which was a little strange since the Wolverines were the final team the prized recruit eliminated when he signed with the Buckeyes.
“No, I’ve never met him,” Pryor said of the Wolverines first-year coach. “I only talked to (assistant head) Coach (Tony) Gibson before today’s game. He came over and said, ‘Good luck,’ and I said, ‘Good luck to you.’”
Many in the Buckeye Nation might consider Saturday’s 42-7 victory the second win Ohio State had against its chief rival this year. Earning Pryor’s commitment during the offseason would be the first, and could be a big reason Ohio State finished 10-2 with a share of the Big Ten championship — its fourth straight — and Michigan turned in its worst record (3-9) in school history.
The recruitment battle also made Saturday’s game a little difficult for Pryor.
“It’s weird playing against coaches that recruited you because you’re so tight with them,” Pryor said. “You meet with them and talk with them on the phone every day, you kind of form a relationship with them.
“But this is where I’m at and I’m playing for Coach (Jim) Tressel … that’s all that matters.”
Pryor has been a quick study all season and it was no different when it came to figuring out how big the rivalry with Michigan was for Ohio State and its fans.
The pressure of the matchup showed early as Pryor’s second pass of the game was picked off by Michigan safety Stevie Brown and returned 34 yards to the Buckeyes 13-yard line. It was Pryor who caught a good angle and managed to save the touchdown by knocking Brown out of bounds.
“The play where he threw the interception was clear on the other side of the field so I don’t know what happened there, but that’s not the greatest way to start your first Michigan game,” Tressel said. “But he came over to me on the sideline afterward and said, ‘That will never happen again.’ I didn’t want to tell him that if it did … so I just left it at that.
“But I thought he handled things well after that.”
Pryor admits that Chris “Beanie” Wells’ 59-yard touchdown run in the first quarter helped him settle down, and he looked as if he had gotten rid of the nerves when he connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to wide receiver Brian Hartline.
Hartline found a seam, beat his defender by several steps and simply ran under the ball and into the end zone without breaking stride.
“I saw that (Hartline) was running even with the defender and just threw it up to him,” Pryor said. “It was perfect timing and a perfect catch.”
Pryor completed four more passes for 120 yards, and added an 8-yard touchdown to Brian Robiskie late in the third quarter before being pulled for senior backup Todd Boeckman.
Along with the rare interception, Pryor also had trouble running the ball — normally one of his biggest strengths during. He rushed the ball eight times Saturday, but three were sacks for 25 yards in losses and he finished with minus-7 yards on the ground.
But even with the disappointment of the setbacks and the elation of the big plays he made, Pryor still found time to just enjoy his first game in one of the most storied rivalries of all time.
“It made me think about my very first game at Ohio State,” Pryor said. “I was so hyped up for that game and even more for this one. We all expect to be perfect and to make big plays against this team.”
Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.