12 Ohio State gets past California, 35-28 After another game too close for comfort, the overriding emotion for Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer was relief. Braxton Miller lofted a 72-yard touchdown pass to an all-alone Devin Smith with 3 minutes 26 seconds left and Christian Bryant snuffed out California's last chance with an interception to spark the 12th-ranked Buckeyes to a 35-28 victory Saturday. "Our guys found a way," said Meyer, who is 3-0 in his first season with the Buckeyes. I've been in games before I thought we were going to lose. I just kept waiting, I thought someone would make a play. I really did. The Golden Bears (1-2) missed three field-goal tries and had a touchdown called back because of a penalty, and the Buckeyes gave up 512 yards and were manhandled for much of the second half. Taking over at the Ohio State 25 with the score tied, it took only three plays until on third and seven defensive back Alex Logan saw Miller start to scramble and ran toward him. The quarterback instead threw deep to Smith. "You see somebody open like that, you at least have to put some air under it so they can run under it and get position," said Miller, who was 16 for 30 for 249 yards and a career-high four touchdowns with one interception. You have to be careful with those type of throws. Cal cornerback Marc Anthony had a succinct appraisal of the play: "We got caught getting nosy." The Golden Bears still had a shot to tie the score, but Maynard, who was 26 for 37 for 280 yards and a touchdown, overthrew a receiver with 1:09 left and Bryant picked it off and returned it 38 yards. "[Cornerback Bradley] Roby communicated to me before the play they were going to run the seam route and [linebacker Ryan] Shazier did a great job of re-routing their receiver and forcing the quarterback to overthrow it," he said. Ohio State built a 20-7 lead in the first half but managed 25 yards and no first downs on 14 plays in the third quarter. Unlike the previous week, when he blasted Ohio State's mistakes in an up-and-down 31-16 victory over Central Florida, Meyer heaped praise on Buckeye receivers and the defensive line, two areas he had criticized seven days earlier. But Meyer said bad tackling was the No. 1 problem for the Buckeyes. "It's time to play Ohio State defense and that wasn't Ohio State defense at all," he said. Cal's brightest star was undoubtedly backup tailback Brendan Bigelow, who raced 81 yards on his first carry, the longest run by an opposing back in 90-year-old Ohio Stadium. Maynard scored on a one-yard run to give Cal a 21-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. Bigelow twice put his hand on the turf so he wouldn't go down, each time spinning free to stay upright. "All I was thinking was to get around the corner as fast as you can, don't slow down," Bigelow said. After I first initiated contact, I spun off of him. I was just thinking to myself, 'Stay on your feet. Stay on your feet.'  Miller capped a long drive by running a play that Meyer brought with him from his days at Florida with Tim Tebow. Miller kept the ball, took a step forward, then stepped back and flipped a pass over the middle to Jake Stoneburner for the final three yards, his second touchdown reception of the game. "It's called a pop," Miller said. The quarterback runs a lot on the goal line. So I went for the pop pass. Miller scored on a conversion run for a 28-21 lead. Just two plays later, Bigelow, who finished with 160 yards in four carries, burst through the Ohio State defense for a 16-yard run and topped that on the next play with a 59-yard run to tie the score, 28-28. "My eyes get big," Bigelow said of what went through his mind when he turned the corner. I got excited, maybe a bit too excited. Miller promptly turned the ball over by having a pass intercepted by defensive back Steve Williams. The Golden Bears then drove to the Ohio State 25, where the drive stalled. On fourth and one, they called timeout. While the 105,232 in Ohio Stadium waited to see whether Coach Jeff Tedford would go for it, he sent junior kicker Vincenzo D'Amato for a 42-yard field-goal try. D'Amato missed wide left with 4:20 left, his third kick that sailed left of the mark in the game. "I had confidence," Tedford said. Vince missed a couple to the left. Typically he gets that squared away. It just didn't happen today. Meyer was pleased his team stayed unbeaten for at least another week. "The best thing about 3-0 is what?" he said. The chance to go 4-0.