(16)Ohio State 24 (11)Penn State 7
down ball. They did not look too good but as a saving grace Jon Thoma gets off a 55 yard punt which pins the Lions back to their own 16 yard line. Then the defense did there part with a quick 3-and-out. We are going to need a lot of those today. Then the combination of big Buckeye rush, a low punt and 41-yard punt return by Ray Small, Ohio State starts their second drive on the Penn State 9 yard line. Two plays later, Pryor takes it in for the last seven yards and OSU's first score of the game. Why have we not seen more of this earlier in the season.
Ohio State 7 Penn State 0
On Penn State's next two possessions, not only did they go 3-and-out but they only had a total of 5 yards of offense for their first three possessions. The Buckeye defense certainly came to play and Cameron Heyward was in the Nittany Lion backfield so much he might as well be fitted for a Penn State uniform. Penn State on their 4th possession finally got their first 1st down and managed to get to the OSU 23 as the 1st period ended.
End of 1st quarter: OSU 7 PSU 0
A defensive pass interference on Devon Torrence gives Penn State the ball on the two yard line. Did anyone else think it was strange that the Referee was giggling when he announced the penalty. Then on 4-and-1, it certainly looked looked like the play should have been reviewed, as Clark seemed to pull the ball back before it broke the goal line. None the less we have a tie game.
Ohio State 7 Penn State 7
As the TV coverage returns, they do tell us the replay booth had signaled for the official review. It still looked like the ball never went over the goal line. The next drive did not make me any more happy with the officials. First they call offsetting personal foul penalties on the kick return, where it was clear Penn State is trying to punch us in the mouth (figuratively) The Bucks just need to keep their composure. Then they call the Bucks for being offsides as they drive into PSU territory. Then Dane Sanzenbacher has a great run which is called back for a phantom holding call on Ray Small. We still manage to get a 37 yard field goal, which could be a confidence boost for Devin Barclay. He will be the place kicker the rest of the way, and it was clear that Tressel was not going to let him kick longer than 40 yards.
Ohio State 10 Penn State 7
After Penn State mishandled the kickoff, and got a blocking call, OSU had a chance to really pin the Lions deep and get great field position with a 3-and-out. But they let them out of the hole, first with soft coverage on third down, and then on another long third down, Anderson Russell got smoked reminding me of the Texas and Navy game. Ohio State holds them and with 2:00 minutes of game clock you would think we would try to score but not Tressel. Three straight run plays and we have to punt the ball back to Penn State. Equally unexplainable was why we are calling timeouts while Penn State has the ball. Answer, so that we can get the ball back with 26 seconds, now we are going to try to score? Just as unsuccessful and the half ends on a Hail Mary pass by Pryor.
Halftime OSU 10 PSU 7
Halftime stats of note: Pryor is only 3-9 passing for 33 yards. Penn State only 44 yards rushing compared to 123 yards rushing for Ohio State. Dan Herron was averaging 3.9 yards a carry while Brandon Saine is averaging 1.8.
Ohio state has a nice defensive start to the second half including a nice sack by Cameron Heyward giving him 2 for the game and 11 total tackles so far. On the first play for OSU though, JB Shugarts goes down with an apparent left knee injury. After one first down, OSU has to punt after Posey drops a ball which would have been a sure first down and more.
OSU posts yet another 3-and-out and takes over on their own 38. In spite of the relatively close score, Ohio State has really dominated things to this point. It is very similar to the USC game where they dominated them defensively but as we learned in that game, it only takes one or two drives to turn things around. The Bucks only manage one first down and the defensive battle continues. Our defense holds and OSU gets the ball back. For the first nine possessions, OSU chose to run on their first play. This time they air it out and Pryor finds DeVier Posey for a 62 yard TD pass. No things are starting to smell like a victory.
Ohio State 17 Penn State 7
After holding Penn State on 3-and-out for the sixth time, we move into the final period.
End of 3rd Quarter OSU 17 PSU 7
When the Bucks really needed a drive, they came through. First, on third and long Terrelle scrambles for the first down to keep the drive alive. Then on another 3rd down, they threw to the Fullback freshman Zack Boren for the second time in the game to keep the drive going. Finally after 5 minutes and 23 seconds, Brandon Saine accepts a pas from Pryor, scoring to extend the lead. Barclay continues to be perfect on his kicks for the day. At this point we can expect a major dose of Tresselball.
Ohio State 24 Penn State 7
Just when Penn State really needs a drive to stay in the game, Daryll Clark throws an interception and Ohio State gets the ball one more time. Ross Homan holds on this time, where he dropped an early INT opportunity. Unfortunately instead of going for the jugular, we tighten up the offense and we will likely see a conservative approach the rest of the game. And since Penn State is not a quick strike offense, they will likely not move the ball much further the rest of the game.
Not many highlights the last few moments of this game. Homan had another chance for an interception, he also gets called for a 'High Hit' when he was on his knees and Clark slid into him. Over 200 yards rushing for the Buckeyes.
Final Score OSU 24 PSU 7
RANDOM THOUGHTS- The Ohio State win in Happy Valley means that a victory over Iowa will clinch at least a tie for the Big Ten but more importantly they will be headed to the Rose Bowl regardless of their result the final week against Michigan ..... Holly Rowe says at the end of the game that Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi will be out for two weeks so he will not play against Ohio State ..... Penn State defense came into the game only yielding 84 yards rushing per game, yet OSU had 6 different players that had a carry for more than 10 yards ...... In the Big Ten yesterday, all five games were won by the visiting team.
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November 7, 2009
Beaver Stadium
State College, PA
Attendance 110,033
11/7/09
VS
By Gregg Watson
2000-2009 Buckeye50.com, All Rights Reserved
For the Penn State-Ohio State game, I am crafting a summary as a 'stream of thought' format as the game progresses. There is a lot more at stake in this game, particularly for the Nittany Lions, as Northwestern upset Iowa. Now if Penn State wins their final three games, they will win the Big Ten for the second straight year. So basically three teams in the conference now control their own fate. No word yet on the extent of Iowa's quarterback Ricky Stanzi injury but even if he is available for the game next week in Columbus, he will not be 100%. Things look promising to both these teams as we kickoff in Happy Valley.
During this past week, there was a story out of Happy Valley where T-shirts were being distributed depicting a tearful Terrelle(right) being comforted by the Nittany Lion. Someone on campus thought it was clever, and why not? But the 'Politically Correct' police stopped the distribution before tonight's game. Somehow I think if Pryor can't handle the shirt, he is going to have issues with the game today.
As OSU takes the opening kick-off, it resulted in a 3 and out. In the drive you had one very bad throw by Pryor and on 3rd and long, Duran Carter drops a sure first
