Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby has been known to look for ways to build strength in his hands — like sticking them in a bucket of rice and squeezing as if he’s trying to turn the whole batch into fine powder.

Those exercises paid off when he found himself at the bottom of a pile in the end zone, trying to pull the ball away from friend and foe after a snap sailed over the Miami punter’s head.

“Everybody was tugging at it, but it was one of those situations that came down to whoever wanted it more,” he said. “I felt the ball, and I just muscled it away from whoever it was. I wasn’t about to let it go.”

Roby ended up with the recovery for a touchdown, and he and his teammates took the same approach to their season-opener Saturday. After a wobbly first quarter, they put a firm grip on the game and never eased up, getting the Urban Meyer era at OSU off to a rousing start.

The Buckeyes scored 35 unanswered points, including two TDs in the first 2:19 of the second half, for a 56-10 victory before 105,039 fans.

Quarterback Braxton Miller opened the second half with a dazzling 65-yard TD run, juking cornerback Chrishawn Dupuy at the line and then losing another DB, D.J. Brown, with a stutter-step down the sideline. And Roby’s score made it 35-3 with 12:41 to go in the third quarter.

Miller, whose day was cut short because of leg cramps, finished 14-of-24 passing for 205 yards and two scores, and he had 161 rushing yards (a record for a Buckeye QB) and one TD on 17 carries.

Running back Carlos Hyde had 84 yards and two scores on 17 attempts.

“We couldn’t have him start his career here with a loss,” Roby said of Meyer. “We wanted to win so bad for him.”

The Buckeyes may have been motivated, but they didn’t exactly show much life on their opening four possessions. They gained two first downs, and Miller misfired on his first three passes and started 1-for-7.

Miami gashed OSU for a 42-yard pass play from Zac Dysert to Nick Harwell. But after stalling at the 6-yard line, freshman kicker Kaleb Patterson missed a 24-yard field goal.

Dysert connected again with Dawan Scott for a 58-yard catch-and-run after a breakdown in the secondary. On third down, the RedHawks looked as if they scored on a pass in the back of the end zone to Harwell, but he lost control of the ball when it hit the turf on his way down.

Patterson made it 3-0 with a 22-yard FG.

First quarter pass yardage: Miami 165, OSU 5.

But the RedHawks hurt themselves by dropping numerous catchable balls, and the Buckeyes finally emerged from the cryonics chamber at the start of the second quarter, finding their rhythm after making some adjustments to a defensive scheme they hadn’t anticipated.

They stormed 83 yards on four plays in 63 seconds for their first TD. Sophomore receiver Devin Smith made a Spiderman-like, 23-yard grab in the end zone, stretching for a seemingly out-of-reach throw and pulling it down one-handed.

“That was a wow moment,” Meyer said. “That was a moment that ignited the stadium. Our stadium got quiet (during the first quarter), and our sideline got quiet. We were waiting for something to happen, and he went up and made it happen.”

Fellow receiver Corey Brown called it the best catch he’s seen in person.

“I felt like it was going to be out of bounds,” Smith said. “I just stuck my hand up and hoped for the best.”

The reception put some glitter on a productive day for the wideouts. Brown grabbed seven passes for 87 yards and a TD. He had 14 catches to tie for the team lead in 2011.

OSU finished with 538 total yards, while the RedHawks had 313 through the air and minus-1 rushing.

“I don’t think we had a problem moving the ball today. All the stuff that hurt us today was stuff we did to ourselves,” said Dysert, who finished 31-of-53 passing for one TD with two interceptions

“We played a great ball club today. Obviously, there’s much respect for Ohio State football,” Miami coach Don Treadwell said.

“We needed to certainly play a game in our mind which would be our best. I think we had some opportunities to do that, especially early on. But as you know, this game is a game of momentum, and you could see the momentum moving a little bit.”

Meyer was troubled that his defense gave up three completions of 42 or more yards.

“There’s no excuse for that whatsoever,” he said. “However, you’re going to give up yards if they’re going to decide to throw every down and they’re good at it. (Dysert) is going to throw for a lot of yards and be an NFL player.”