Instacap: Behind Burrow's Three Touchdown Passes Scarlet Tops Gray, 38-31, to Win Ohio State's Spring Game

By Tim Shoemaker on April 15, 2017 at 2:43 pm
Johnnie Dixon hauls in a pass over Kendall Sheffield.
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It almost seemed like Urban Meyer wanted to prove a point.

Ohio State threw the ball all over the field during Saturday's spring game as quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Dwayne Haskins combined to throw for 555 yards and six touchdowns. In the end, however, it was Burrow and the Scarlet team that earned a 38-31 win.

It was another quarterback who delivered the game-winning score, though, as Tate Martell's very first play came with just under five minutes remaining and the early enrollee scored from 5 yards out on a keeper.

  1 2 3 4 F
GRAY 10 14 7 0 31
SCARLET 14 14 3 7 38

Burrow finished the game 14-for-22 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns while Haskins went 26-for-37 through the air for 293 yards and three scores. J.T. Barrett played just three series and went 8-for-12 passing for 71 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Leading the way for the wide receivers was redshirt sophomore Johnnie Dixon, who hauled in six passes for 108 yards and two scores.

To the surprise of many, the first quarter-plus of Saturday's game was essentially a game of two-hand touch. The tackling started in the second quarter, however, and after the first 20 minutes of play, the Scarlet led the Gray team, 28-24.

J.T. Barrett led the Gray offense down the field on the opening drive and found tight end A.J. Alexander from 1 yard out to open the scoring. It didn't take long for the Scarlet team to respond, though, as Haskins and Burrow rotated the opening series and Haskins found Dixon for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game.

After a Sean Nuernberger field goal gave the Gray team a brief 10-7 lead, Burrow hooked up with walk-on Ke'Von Huguely for a 35-yard touchdown. 

Dixon again got behind the Gray defense on the next series as he beat Kendall Sheffield for a 44-yard touchdown pass from Burrow. Then, shortly after, Burrow launched his third touchdown of the first half, a 40-yard strike to Demario McCall on a wheel route to give the Scarlet team a 28-10 lead.

But Haskins then threw back-to-back touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin late in the first half to get the Gray team within four points at halftime.

Haskins and Burrow were both impressive in the first half. Burrow went 12-for-16 for 240 yards and three touchdowns; Haskins was 14-for-18 for 191 yards and three scores in the first half. 

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