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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- No. 22 Ohio State began the Jim Tressel era with a victory, but it was not a pretty one. Jonathan Wells rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns and Steve Bellisari threw for two more as Ohio State committed three turnovers in a sloppy 28-14 triumph over Akron. The 48-year-old Tressel won four Division I-AA national titles during his tenure at Youngstown State and took over following the firing of the embattled John Cooper. Wells propelled the Buckeyes early, scoring on a 14-yard run in the first quarter and a one-yard burst in the second as Ohio State opened a 21-0 cushion with 9:14 left in the half. But the Buckeyes fumbled five times -- losing the ball twice -- and threw an interception to take the shine off their early effort. "Obviously when you have some turnovers it bothers you. I didn't think we would come out here and be flawless," Tressel said. "I think perhaps if I could have a couple calls back I would, but I'm going to learn as well as the guys are." Bellisari collected 246 yards on 15-of-24 passing. However, he also fumbled a snap and his backup, Scott McMullen, threw an interception that was returned 87 yards by Rickie Coble to cut Akron's deficit to 14 points midway through the fourth quarter. The Zips (1-1) refused to roll over for their powerhouse neighbors and played with confidence after opening the season with a 31-29 win over Ohio. Wells, who ran for 598 yards last year as a junior, carried the ball six times on the eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive which gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead. After Mike Doss sacked freshman quarterback Chris Frye to kill Akron's ensuing drive, the Buckeyes were fortunate to strike again. Chris Vance's 18-yard punt return to the Akron 36 set up Ohio State's next scoring drive. On the third play of the drive, Bellisari was stripped by cornerback Marcus Suber before Buckeyes guard Bryce Bishop recovered on the 11. Two plays later, Bellisari hit fullback Jamar Martin over the middle with a 10-yard touchdown strike. "Offensively, we communicated really well," Bellisari said. "A lot of the young guys did a good job, running really good routes. They made it easy for me today. I just need to work on some of those turnovers." After the Buckeyes added another touchdown, Frye engineered a 12-play, 88-yard drive for the Zips, who cut their deficit to 21-7 with a 15-yard touchdown catch by Jake Schifino. Bellisari once again was bailed out by one of his offensive linemen following a timeout with 36 seconds left in the half. The senior co-captain fumbled, but tackle Shane Olivea fell on it on the Akron 18. Mike Nugent missed a 35-yard field goal to end the careless drive. "There are moments when we were sloppy and there moments when I thought we were pretty sharp," Tressel said. "Obviously, part of that was Akron. They are a good physical team as we knew they would be. They came in here nice and relaxed with nothing to lose and that's how they played." After McMullen took over for Bellisari with 13:56 left, the sophomore led the offense from the 1 to the Akron 31 before throwing the interception. "It's hard to send the message to your football team that you're proud of them and at the same time not try to give them the message that close is good enough," Zips coach Lee Owen said. This was the first contest between the Ohio schools since they met five straight seasons in the 1890s. The Buckeyes have won five of the six encounters.
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