Just as Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State football team marched out of Happy Valley with a win on Saturday, the “other” football squad — OSU men’s rugby — performed lights-out on a big stage, defeating Northern Iowa 44-20 and securing itself a place in Saturday’s conference semifinals.

Northern Iowa and OSU squared each other up for the first 20 minutes — in a game consisting of two 40-minute halves — until sophomore wing Gareth Williatt broke the stalemate in the 25th minute with not one, but two remarkable 40-yard runs.

“Those tries were all him just reading the defense,” senior captain Mickey Franco said. “He kind of did his own work on the sidelines, broke a couple of tackles and it was just a real individual effort on his part.”

In a matter of minutes, the Bucks were up 10-0.

Shortly after, the Buckeye defense held and after an effective drive down the field, senior Eric Sanchez bulled the ball in for a try. A missed extra point (worth two points) by Alex Brust left the score at 15-0.

Freshman Josh Holland was the next to step up for the Bucks. 

Holland had been making dazzling cuts for long gains all game. One time, he sprinted to a foot within the out-of-bounds line, stopped, made a 360 spin, and then sprinted for another 10 yards in the opposite direction. He broke a 25-yard run late in the first, and OSU led 22-5 at halftime.

As the second started, Northern Iowa rumbled out of the gates strong, maintaining possession with short runs up the middle. NIU reached OSU’s goal line several times but the scrappy Buckeye defense refused to break. A few stands and a quality punt later, the ball ended up at the NIU 10-yard line. There, junior flanker Chad Cochran capitalized on a fumbled punt, making the score 27-5 and all but sealing the match.

Northern Iowa volleyed back but only faintly. The score got as close as 27-15, but the speed of the Buckeyes was uncontainable. Quick-hit scores by Franco, Spencer Dye and Kyle Harmon made the score 44-15. A last-second try by Northern Iowa left the final score at 44-20, in favor of OSU.   

The combustive offense of the NIU game should come as no surprise. The Buckeyes bring a speedy but young back seven that starts four underclassmen, including three freshmen.

Quick, elusive, and well-organized, they are the lightning to the thunder of the big boys on the front eight. In the NIU game, they scored on six of eight tries.

“We’re running plays and we’re scoring,” Franco said. “Our backs have come together really well. We moved some guys around, and it’s starting to click now. We’re starting to know each other, get to know where each other are out there. … It’s looking real good right now.”

Starting next Friday in Elk Heart, Ind., the Buckeyes take on Bowling Green in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference. 

On the other side of the bracket awaits Notre Dame or Indiana, with the winner of the league championship receiving the only bid to the 16-team National Championships, which starts in the spring.

Bowling Green — though not currently ranked — was ranked No. 17 before the Buckeyes defeated them 43-19 Oct. 31. 

“We’ve been waiting four years to get that win,” Franco said. “They’ve been beating us for a while, winning the Midwest Championships.”

After losing tough games to No. 3 Navy and No. 7 Penn State (twice), the team was 1-3. They beat Notre Dame and Purdue, lost to Indiana, and were 3-3 before squaring off against the Falcons.

Now at 6-4, the Bucks find themselves ranked No. 23.  They have won four of their last five games, averaging 40 points per contest while allowing just 15 points per game in those four victories.

Only one team will advance from the Midwest and this weekend decides it.

“We feel strong, real strong,” Franco said. “We feel ready to go, real confident. We feel ready to beat whoever stands in our way. … We’re excited about [the Midwests] and we’re ready to bring home some hardware.”