COLUMBUS, Ohio – Todd Boeckman started his first game as quarterback at Ohio State, celebrated the win with his family and friends, and then headed for a film festival.

There was no DeNiro or Streep on the screen. This surely was not a romantic comedy, and it definitely wasn’t all that suspenseful.

Boeckman spent a long time poring over the video from Saturday’s 38-6 victory over Youngstown State. He played, rewound, replayed and rewound each snap to learn more about what went right and to dissect what went wrong.

“I wanted to critique myself to see how I did,” he said during preparations for the 12th-ranked Buckeyes’ game against Akron on Saturday. “It’s kind of nice going there and actually watching the film knowing that you’re playing. The last couple of years I’ve always been watching guys play.”

A distant third string behind Troy Smith and Justin Zwick a year ago, Boeckman has had to adapt to the speed of the college game and the many decisions he has to make in a nanosecond with a Mack truck-sized lineman bearing down on him.

The 6-foot-5 junior’s numbers were certainly good. He completed 17-of-23 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns.

He said he was lucky that none of his passes weren’t intercepted, epsecially in those instances when he did not read the defense the way he wanted to. “I just kind of let the ball loose and didn’t read the defender and he could have picked it off,” he said. “But it worked out all right.”

Coach Jim Tressel gave Boeckman’s performance a mixed review.

“I thought he was solid,” he said. “There were a couple times that from a decision standpoint that maybe he could have been better, but I didn’t see anything glaring that gives me reason for (thinking), ‘Oh, my gosh, we’re going to struggle.’ I think if he’ll progress and he’s going to move along just fine.”

Everyone expected Boeckman to spend most of the day handing the ball to a running back and then watching from a safe distance. Hardly. The Buckeyes came out throwing early and often. They know that somewhere down the road and on the road they’ll be forced to move the chains by passing.

“Being a quarterback, it’s always nice to sling the ball around a few times,” Boeckman said. “We’ll take what they give us. If we can run the ball 40 times a game and win the game, it doesn’t matter if we run or pass.”

It seems every quarterback has a favorite batterymate. Boeckman might have found his in Brian Robiskie, who had nine catches for 153 yards.

Robiskie expected Boeckman to do well and certainly wasn’t disappointed.

“A lot of people might look and say they were surprised at how he performed but not me. I’ve been working with him all camp and all summer and all offseason,” he said. “Just watching him grow, watching him become more of a leader and more of that guy to lead your offense, it just showed on Saturday.”

That’s the thing about quarterbacks, the more they build their own confidence the more confidence they instill in their teammates.