Ohio State States Its Case in Victory : Nonconference: George scores three touchdowns as Buckeyes avenge loss and beat Syracuse, 35-12.

Plain and simple, Ohio State had heard enough about Syracuse.

“All the hours we put in over the summer was geared toward Syracuse. It makes it that much sweeter that everyone was down on us,” quarterback Kirk Herbstreit said after leading No. 21 Ohio State to a 35-12 victory over No. 8 Syracuse on Saturday.

Ohio State intercepted four passes and sacked Marvin Graves, the nation’s passing-efficiency leader, six times.

Graves, limited to 12 completions in 25 passes for 158 yards, spent much of the game trying to avoid a pass rush led by 260-pound end Derrick Foster, who was credited with 2 1/2 sacks. Tim Walton, Chico Nelson, Steve Tovar and Brent Johnson had interceptions for Ohio State (3-0), which took charge early in stopping an eight-game winning streak by Syracuse (2-1).

“It was a little disruptive,” Graves said. “There were times when I got the ball off under pressure, but it was a situation where those guys never gave up.”

“After a while, our players got sick and tired about hearing about their (Syracuse’s) making big plays and their speed,” Buckeye Coach John Cooper said.

Ohio State gained a measure of revenge for a 24-17 loss to the Orangemen in the Hall of Fame Bowl last season.

“A lot of people doubted us. All we were hearing was about Qadry (Ismail) and Marvin,” said freshman tailback Eddie George, who had three short touchdown runs for Ohio State. “This should show the country Ohio State is back.”

Herbstreit, still not fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained last week, took Ohio State on three first-half scoring drives, two covering 80 yards.

He capped the first with a 46-yard pass to Brian Stablein, who made a leaping, backpedaling catch.

An interception near midfield led to George’s one-yard run that made it 14-0, and he scored again to make it 21-3 in the second quarter.

Robert Smith, who led Ohio State with 82 yards in 14 carries, had a 16-yard touchdown run with 3:17 to play in the game.