COLUMBUS, Ohio âÄì Terrelle Pryor welcomed the Gophers to the Big Ten. In just his second career start, the true freshman quarterback rushed for 97 yards on eight carries and completed 8-of-13 passes as No. 14 Ohio State beat the Gophers 34-21 in front of an overflow crowd of 105,175. Buckeyes running back Beanie Wells , a preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, was playing in his first game since the season opener and added 106 yards himself . He was limited to 14 carries because of concerns about his injured toe . The Gophers had particular trouble stopping PryorâÄôs bootleg runs and option plays, which included runs of 38 and 33 yards. His 33-yard touchdown run came on Ohio StateâÄôs fifth play from scrimmage in the first quarter . âÄúItâÄôs pretty amazing to see a true freshman to come in and do that,âÄù Gophers quarterback Adam Weber said of Pryor, who was the nationâÄôs top recruit in 2008. âÄúHe definitely has the whole world in front of him.âÄù The game was both closer and more of a blowout than the final score showed. The Gophers stuck close for most of it, keeping within 14 points until midway through the third quarter, but also trailed 34-6 before scoring two touchdowns against Ohio StateâÄôs second-string defens e. Pryor was taken out in the third quarter with a comfortable lead in favor of senior Todd Boeckman , who he beat out for the starting job earlier this year. But Pryor was put back in midway through the fourth quarter, immediately running a bootleg for 21 yards . âÄúIâÄôve been around a guy, No. 10 for Texas [Vince Young ], and this guy is a very similar football player,âÄù said Gophers coach Tim Brewster, who recruited Young as an assistant coach at Texas. The Gophers offense, which came into the game as the nationâÄôs best in converting possessions inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns , didnâÄôt score a touchdown until the game was effectively over in the fourth quarter . Behind an offensive line starting two freshmen and a sophomore , true freshman running back DeLeon Eskridge rushed for just 17 yards in the first half . Brewster again claimed this week that all three Gophers backs — Eskridge, freshman Shady Salamon and junior Jay Thomas — would get a chance this week, but Salamon had just two carries, in the fourth quarter, and Thomas didnâÄôt have any. âÄúEvery Sunday, coach says heâÄôs going to create competition, and each week itâÄôs basically who practices the hardest,âÄù Eskridge said. âÄúEverybody goes in there and practices all out. I just try to keep everything going so I can stay in, because coach is always looking to go with the hot hand.âÄù Weber also struggled behind the young line, being hurried almost every play. He was only sacked once, but threw a key interception in the second quarter . In Ohio State territory with a chance to tie the game at 10 , he went for a deep pass to Eric Decker while evading pressure and underthrew the ball by more than five yards. It was intercepted by Donald Washington , and the Buckeyes answered with a field goal . âÄúThings were going real well for us, and that interception was a big momentum killer,âÄù Weber said. âÄúShoot, who knows what happens after that. Decker was open and I just threw the ball behind him. Those are the type of plays you need to make if you want to hang with teams like Ohio State.âÄù On their next possession, Jack Simmons fumbled after catching a 12-yard pass and getting stuck in a pack of nearly the entire Ohio State defense . Brewster challenged the play, claiming that the whistle shouldâÄôve been blown when his forward progress stopped, but the play was upheld and the Buckeyes scored a touchdown on their next drive . It was the first game this season that the Gophers gave up more turnovers (3) than they created (1) . They actually improved one spot, however, to third in the nation in turnover margin, with plus-8 . âÄúI hate to say âÄôwhat-if,âÄô but that pass to Eric, who knows?âÄù Weber said. âÄúFootballâÄôs a game of momentum and big plays. To come away with that big play, offense and defense wouldâÄôve grown from that. There were a couple plays here and there that hurt us and made us look worse than we actually are.âÄù