COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State defensive end Will Smith terrorized Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury all afternoon and then provided a chilling postgame assessment: “We can get better.”

        The next three months will determine whether Saturday's 45-21 win was more than just a raucous coming-out party for freshman tailback Maurice Clarett — or the Buckeyes were serving notice they were far better than the 7-5 team that muddled through much of last season.

        Kent State coach Dean Pees, whose team is next up for the Buckeyes, on Sept. 7, said he watched Ohio State's performance in the Pigskin Classic.

        “Very powerful,” he said Monday. “They're very good.”

        Clarett gained 175 yards and rushed for three touchdowns. But even he was looking ahead instead of patting his own back.

        “I'm not going to call this a special time,” he said. “I'm going to put it behind me and prepare for Kent State.”

        Tech coach Mike Leach told reporters back in Lubbock on Sunday that he didn't think the game was as lopsided as the scoreboard indicated.

        “They're a good team and we knew they'd be hard to beat, but I don't think that game is as far apart as the score,” he said.

        Granted, the Red Raiders were turned back twice at the Ohio State goal line, once on a botched fourth-and-1 running play and another time when Dustin Fox intercepted a poorly thrown Kingsbury pass. But Tech also scored twice in the fourth quarter after the Buckeyes built a 38-7 lead.

        Ohio State's lines dictated the play all afternoon, the fresh faces in the lineup were sterling and quarterback Craig Krenzel didn't make a bad decision all day. It was enough to make a crowd of just over 100,000 smile despite the traffic jam outside Ohio Stadium.

        Many had questioned an offensive line that lost three players from a year ago.

        “I wasn't surprised we could run on them. And when you get on a roll, why change things?” center Alex Stepanovich said as Ohio State rushed for 317 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per attempt. “We wanted to get better every quarter. It was great to see everyone do well on the offensive line.

        “We'll always be judged. We can't be perfect, but we were good today.”

        Smith goes up against the Buckeyes' blockers every day.

        “I continue to say that our offensive line is as good as any we faced last year,” he said.

        The defensive line was expected to be a cornerstone for Ohio State. It lived up to that billing.

        Kingsbury passed for 341 yards, but more than 140 of them came after the game was out of reach.

        “We knew they were good up front,” said Kingsbury, who came in with his own Web site promoting his Heisman Trophy candidacy. “They proved it. They never got tired.”

        For the last three years, Ohio State's offense glided or crashed in the hands of quarterback Steve Bellisari, who never met a high-risk play he wouldn't try. To him, every play was a potential touchdown and you never threw the ball away or accepted lost yardage.

        Krenzel, who looks more like Opie Griffith than a college quarterback, is not flashy and may never be featured on SportsCenter. Yet he showed a steady hand, methodically distributing the ball among five rushers and six receivers as the Buckeyes piled up 477 yards.

        “We've got some playmakers,” he said later.

        The Buckeyes will need them. After Kent State, they will meet challenges from nationally ranked Washington State and at Cincinnati.

        One game is out of the way in the longest season in school history. For at least one afternoon, the swagger was back.

        “It's just time for Ohio State to earn its respect back,” Clarett said. “I think we lost it for the last couple of years, and I think it is time for us to put our foot down and say, 'This is Ohio State. We're back again.”'

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