COLUMBUS:Call it the curse of the Penguins.

Ohio State (1-0) put the Youngstown State Penguins (0-1) on ice in a 43-0 today at Ohio Stadium in a victory.

It's the second time in two seasons, though, that a key member of the Buckeyes and an Akron native was injured against Youngstown State.

Last year defensive end Lawrence Wilson went down with a broken leg. Heisman Trophy candidate Chris ''Beanie'' Wells suffered what looked to be a serious injury today.

He collapsed to the turf as he planted his foot on a handoff at 7:14 of the third quarter. He fumbled the ball but was touched by no one.

Wells left the field with help from his teammates and was eventually carted into the locker room. X-rays were performed, and results were negative.

Wells was to be examined further after the game for an undetermined foot injury.

''You feel for anyone that goes down. Especially when it looks like a leg injury,'' Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said. ''From what I gather it's more of a foot thing. Absolutely my heart leaped.''

Tressel said that he had no set plan today to how much Wells was going to play.

Wells, who attended Garfield High, had gained 111 yards on 13 carries and had scored on a 43-yard touchdown run.

Wilson knew what Wells was going through.

''I was crushed. It felt as if I was going through it again,'' Wilson said. ''I was scared. I wasn't in the game, I felt terrible.

''He was breathing real fast, and I just said 'Breathe. Just calm down and breathe. Everything's going to be all right. Everything's going to be all right.' He calmed down a little bit, but I could just see the frustration in his eyes and disappointment on his face. I was crushed.''

Wells' injury was one of the disappointments of the day, the offense was another. Despite the score, the offense displayed some rustiness. In four shots in the red zone, they settled for field goals on three.

''There's a combination, I think,'' wide receiver Brian Hartline said. ''You just want to punch it in, so you might be a little lazy. It could be a combination of execution and play calling.

''I think it's a lot of everything to be really honest, but I definitely think that should be our main focus in the upcoming weeks is red zone scoring — less field goals and more TDs.''

One of those drives occurred with freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor guiding the team, and his inexperience might have come into play.

''It will be a great lesson for us as to maybe what we should be working on, from a design standpoint, and what should we be executing a little better,'' Tressel said.

Ultimately, however, defensive play rendered that point moot.

The Buckeyes defense, led by Marcus Freeman with six tackles, was ferocious, holding the Penguins to five first downs and 74 total yards, including a negative 11 rushing yards.

''We played strong today. I think we made a pretty good statement, shutting them out. It felt good,'' Wilson said. ''We hadn't had a shutout since Minnesota in '06. We just handled our responsibilities.''

Tressel offered cautious praise, noting that the Penguins, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision, had changed their offensive scheme, and this was their first rehearsal of it.

''I could pick better rehearsals than that one. Our guys were very assignment sound but physical. I think it was a solid performance as long as we know we have to build on it.''

Pryor's debut

It's easy to see why scouts deemed Pryor the next star quarterback coming out of high school. The Jeannette, Pa., native flashed some of the talent today. He rushed for 66 yards on nine carries and scored on an 18-yard run. On that score he faked a pitch to Maurice Wells and took off toward his left and scrapped his way into the end zone for the touchdown. He also hit 4-of-6 passes for 35 yards.

Fans might have been happy with the performance, but Pryor wasn't, grading it a four on a scale of 10.

''For my potential, I didn't play too good, but there's always chances to get better,'' he said.

Tressel agreed that Pryor might have been a little nervous to start.

''What we tried to do is get him hit real fast and then he could go do what he could do,'' he said. ''But I thought he did a good job. He's really worked hard, and he's studied hard to learn what we do.''

Wilson's return

Wilson was active in his return to the defensive line after a year out of action.

Had he been a little tentative on his leg it would have been understandable, but he and the rest of the defensive line wreaked havoc.

Wilson had two tackles, including a sack for an 18-yard loss.

''Once the ball was snapped, I didn't think about last year. I thought about doing my responsibility, helping our defense and trying to make plays,'' he said.