Ohio State wins, but Wells is injured

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was as if a stadium full of more than 105,000 people were suddenly empty.

An eerie silence descended on Ohio Stadium when Ohio State’s Heisman Trophy prospect Chris “Beanie” Wells went down because of a foot injury in the third quarter of the second-ranked Buckeyes’ 43-0 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday.

All of a sudden, what seemed like a nice tuneup for the mammoth showdown in two weeks against No. 3 USC seemed secondary.

“First and foremost, you really can’t replace Beanie,” wide receiver Brian Robiskie said.

The tailback was injured in the third quarter after taking a handoff from Todd Boeckman at the Youngstown State two. He slipped as he planted to make a cut, with the ball rolling free as he hit the turf.

Wells was helped off the field, and returned to the bench in the fourth quarter wearing a boot on his right foot.

“I may have rolled it or planted wrong a play or two before,” Wells said through an Ohio State spokeswoman. “Something just didn’t feel right. Then I think I felt a pop. But the X-rays are OK, so we’ll see how it feels in a day or two.”

Wells ran for 111 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run. Boeckman tossed two touchdown passes and freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor looked solid in his debut.

Boeckman completed 14 of 19 passes for 187 yards and touchdown passes of 31 yards to Robiskie and 25 yards to DeVier Posey.

Ryan Pretorius, a 29-year-old senior from South Africa, kicked four field goals and Aaron Pettrey kicked a 54-yard field goal, the fourth-longest at 86-year-old Ohio Stadium.