Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

	AP Photo/Andy Manis
	Terrell Pryor's 11-yard touchdown run with 1:08 remaining gives Ohio State a 20-17 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday.

MADISON, Wis. -- In the euphoria of Ohio State's dramatic 20-17 win over Wisconsin, Terrelle Pryor caught up with James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins in the tunnel outside the visitors' locker room.

Ohio State's freshman front man had a message for the senior stars.

"We're giving him a hug and he says, 'I'm fighting for you guys,'" Laurinaitis said. "He cares about these guys that are older and the history of Ohio State. He cares about his future and he wants to be a big part of that."

Pryor took a big step toward solidifying the team's future Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium. The 81,608 on hand witnessed a coronation in the final 6:26, a true freshman quarterback doing things that true freshman quarterbacks aren't supposed to do.

With Ohio State trailing 17-13 against a team that doesn't lose at home (16 straight wins) or at night (11 straight wins, six at home), Pryor took the field for a drive that won't soon be forgotten. In case the pressure wasn't strong enough already, Pryor's backfield mate Chris "Beanie" Wells turned up the heat.

"Beanie said, 'You're in a man's world. This is what it is. So are you gonna be a man or a kid?'" Pryor recalled.

According to his birth certificate, Pryor is still a kid, a few months past his 19th birthday. But he answered Wells and the rest of the country a few minutes later, when he scooted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 left in the game.

Recapping Pryor's heroics on the final drive:

• On third-and-6 from the Buckeyes' 24-yard line, he found Brian Hartline over the middle for 19 yards on what head coach Jim Tressel called his third read.
  
• On second-and-15 from the Buckeyes' 38-yard line, Pryor again found Hartline, again on the third read, this time for 27 yards.
  
• On third-and-1 from the Wisconsin 15-yard line, Pryor plunged forward for the first down.
  
• Two plays later, Pryor ran the option, recognized the cornerback drifting to Wells, kept the ball and darted into the end zone.
  

"I told him he's going to take a step into manhood right now,'" Wells said. "He told me he was ready for it and he capped it off with a touchdown.

"Once he pulls it down, I mean, it's a sight to see."

It wasn't a perfect night for Pryor. At times, he looked his age, taking a 16-yard sack in the first quarter and looking reluctant to throw the ball away or to open receivers.

But he never lost his composure, despite the setting or the significance of the situation.

"Terrelle likes to reassure me that he's fine," Tressel said, "and he is. No one was saying he wasn't fine. ... He was in the toughest full-game battle that he's been in in his college career thus far."

Last week, Pryor lashed out at ESPN's Mark May, who questioned how the freshman would perform on a big stage in a rough environment. Saturday night's performance provided the answers everyone was looking for, including the guy wearing No. 2.

"I can see what they mean, but I just want to show people that I can play," Pryor said. "I'm a decent football player."

He proved it on the field and then in the tunnel with the senior co-captains.

"The way all these kids are recruited nowadays, they come in and everyone's saying, 'They're going to be the next greatest thing to ever walk,'" Laurinaitis said. "To have these guys have the humility they do, this freshman class, and Terrelle leads that class, he's out there fighting for the seniors."

Added Jenkins: "We talked before the game how everybody needs to play for each other, not for the glory of the stats. That was just his way of letting us know that he played for us."

Pryor admits he likes direct challenges, like the one he received from Wells.

But the most important challenge went unsaid.

"I don't want to let my seniors down," Pryor said. "That'd be the worst thing ever. ... I grew up."