Little Suspense Here, as Ohio State Romps : College football: After kickoff return touchdown in the second quarter, Boston College

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  As if to make certain everyone understands that Michigan’s last-second victory over Virginia the day before was still the exception, not the rule, Ohio State got a 97-yard kickoff return from Shawn Springs and a 99-yard scoring drive Sunday in a 38-6 pounding of Boston College in the Kickoff Classic.

Eddie George ran for two touchdowns for the Buckeyes, who gave Coach John Cooper exactly what he wanted.

“It was a very solid victory for us,” he said. “We won the game easily, but made enough mistakes that I can go back home and do some coaching.”

The lopsided game was in stark contrast to Saturday’s Pigskin Classic, in which Michigan rallied to beat Virginia, 18-17, with a touchdown pass on the final play.

This one was put away with 2:13 to play in the third quarter, when George’s nine-yard scoring run made it 31-6 one play after Ohio State recovered a fumble by Boston College’s Justice Smith.

“They beat us in the critical areas of the game--that’s the long and short of it,” Boston College Coach Dan Henning said. “We came off the ball, they came off the ball better.”

The turning point came in the second quarter after Dan McGuire of Boston College kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 7-3.

Springs took the kickoff, cut across the field and sprinted down the sideline for the longest return in Kickoff Classic history.

Springs, a sophomore defensive back whose father Ron was a running back for Ohio State and the Dallas Cowboys, was aided by crunching blocks by Jeff Wilson and Terry Glenn.

“The idea I had in my head was, ‘Come on Shawn, you can take it all the way,’ ” Springs said. “Things opened up and I got great blocks.”

Boston College moved to the Ohio State 19 on its next possession, but the drive ended when quarterback Mark Hartsell was stopped short on a fourth-and-one sneak.

“They stopped us on a couple of big downs,” said Hartsell, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 187 yards, but threw two interceptions and was sacked three times. “Their defense played great when it counted, and our offense didn’t.”

Ohio State took a 21-3 lead with 37 seconds to play in the first half on a 12-yard catch by tight end Rickey Dudley, who took a short pass from Bobby Hoying and scored untouched.

The score capped a 99-yard drive by the Buckeyes, who converted a third-and-10 from their one when George dashed 14 yards with a swing pass from Hoying, who got the ball off before he was blindsided by linebacker Matt Haff.

Hoying was 17 of 26 for 269 yards.

“Bobby took some shots, but he did a good job of getting rid of the ball in those situations,” Cooper said.

George gained 99 yards in 17 carries before sitting out the fourth quarter. “It wasn’t as easy as it looked,” said George, the game’s most valuable player.

It was the third blowout in a row in the Kickoff Classic. Florida State beat Kansas, 42-0, in 1993 and Nebraska defeated West Virginia, 31-0, last year.