Buckeyes' late touchdowns a hot topic

While parrying queries that Ohio State ran up the score on Saturday, did Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald protest too much?

Decide for yourself.

First, here's the circumstantial evidence the No. 11 Buckeyes tacked on needless scores in their 45-10 Big Ten win over No. 24 Northwestern.

Ahead 31-10 with less than nine minutes to go, punter A.J. Trapasso ran a fake punt on fourth-and-2 from his own 42.

Two plays later, Terrelle Pryor completed a 38-yard bomb in the end zone to Brian Robiskie for a touchdown.

On OSU's next drive, backup quarterback Todd Boeckman failed to complete a bomb down to NU's 5-yard line.

On OSU's final drive, when it could have taken a knee at NU's 16 and ended the game, freshman Dan Herron zigzagged in for a score with seven seconds left.

After that touchdown, Fitzgerald appeared to stare across the field while one of the Wildcats standing nearby raised his hands in the air as if to say, "What's up with that?"

So, Fitz, any of that count as running up the score?

"No!" Fitzgerald boomed. "I've got nothing to say about that."

Then, upon being asked again a few minutes later -

"I've really got nothing to say about that," he said more quietly. "Because it's got nothing to do with us. We need to go out and play better for us to win, and we didn't do that."

Tressel wasn't asked directly about racking up extra points, but addressed it in a way.

"That wasn't a blowout game," he said. "It was a tough, fighting football game.

"We got a couple of touchdowns. And as for the last one, who knew the guy was going to run for those yards?"

Since Northwestern defeated Ohio State in 2004 at Ryan Field, the Buckeyes have won the last four meetings by a combined 205-34 score.

Health update: Coach Pat Fitzgerald said senior running back Omar Conteh underwent surgery on Friday to repair his left knee.

That suggests Conteh will be out for the rest of the season, though Fitzgerald said he'd have an update next week.

Sophomore Stephen Simmons rushed 14 times for 34 yards in his first start. His long gain of 6 yards came on NU's first play.

Senior quarterback C.J. Bacher (right hamstring) did not play as Mike Kafka went the route.

"He didn't start, did he?" Fitzgerald said. "There you go."

That referenced Fitzgerald's promise five days before that Bacher would start if healthy.