COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor clinched a win over Penn State in 2009 with a deep touchdown pass to Buckeyes wide receiver DeVier Posey.
In the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, it looked like Pryor was going to do it again.
Penn State defensive backs Drew Astorino and D’Anton Lynn thought so, too.
So, as they saw Pryor’s pass coming, they quickly converged on Posey as the ball headed the receiver’s way near the end zone.
The two Nittany Lions did their jobs, knocking the football away.
Except this was the second half of a game at the Horseshoe, a place that has haunted Penn State so many times before.
Buckeyes receiver Dane Sanzenbacher was right there to receive the deflection and complete a 58-yard touchdown pass. After the extra point, the score gave Ohio State a 24-14 lead and effectively ended any hope the Nittany Lions had of escaping with a victory.
Ohio State went on to beat Penn State, 38-14, behind a furious second-half charge that had the 105,466 fans in attendance rejuvenated and the 70 traveling Nittany Lion players scratching their heads at just where it all went wrong.
The loss dropped Penn State’s record in the Horseshoe to 1-8 since joining the Big Ten in 1993. Remarkably, the 14 points marked the Nittany Lions’ highest point total on the road at Columbus in that time, ahead of the 13 PSU scored in their 13-6 win in Columbus in 2008. Outside of that win, the last time Penn State won on the road at the Buckeyes’ home stadium was 32 years ago, a 19-0 victory in 1978.
FIRST-HALF HEROICS
Penn State (6-4, 3-3 in the Big Ten) had everything going for it — until it didn’t.
In the first half, the Nittany Lions completed their first touchdown pass here since Joe Paterno became head coach in 1966 — two TD tosses, in fact, courtesy of quarterback and former walk-on Matt McGloin.
And, as three-touchdown underdogs, they had even taken a gambler’s approach, going for it on fourth down three times in the first half, converting twice.
The one the Lions didn’t get almost assuredly cost them three points. On fourth-and-1 on the Ohio State 20-yard line with 1:46 remaining in the first half, Penn State running back Silas Redd’s run around left end was stopped short as he couldn’t get the three feet necessary to continue the drive.
SECOND HALF COMEBACK
Ohio State (9-1, 5-1) is the winner of the past five Big Ten titles, and there’s a reason it has its sights set on No. 6. Trailing 14-3 at halftime, the Buckeyes came out in the second half and ran it down Penn State’s throat, totaling 102 yards on the ground in the third quarter alone.
By the time that frame had ended, McGloin — who had thrown 91 straight passes without an interception — had already thrown the first of two interceptions that were returned for Ohio State touchdowns.
The first was a 34-yard return of an interception by Devon Torrence. The second was a 30-yard pick-six by Travis Howard that followed with 8:57 to go in the fourth quarter, just 1:01 after Sanzenbacher’s improbable catch had made it a two-score game.
It was that kind of second half for McGloin, who completed just two of 12 passes for 18 yards in the final two quarters. He completed 13 of 18 for 141 yards and the two touchdowns in the first half, and finished with 159 yards, with two interceptions
BUCKEYE LINE TOUGH NUT TO CRACK
One year earlier, a 62-yard strike from Pryor to Posey was the backbreaker in Beaver Stadium. This year, in this building, the turn of events was every bit as violent, something the Nittany Lions will have to ponder on another long flight from here to Happy Valley.
The Buckeyes dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball the second half, pounding the Lion defense for 314 yards rushing overall on 43 carries. That’s an average carry of 7.3 yards. The Penn State rushing game couldn’t even do half that, running for 113 yards on 32 carries, a paltry 3.5-yard average.
Dan Herron led the Ohio State running game, carrying the ball 21 times for 190 yards — a nine-yard rushing average. Pryor added nine carries for 49 yards, and completed 8 of 13 passes for 159 yards, with one interception and two touchdown passes. The Pennsylvania native is now 2-1 against Penn State.
Evan Royster paced the Penn State running attack, gaining 49 yards on 16 carries, while Redd ran 11 times for 39 yards.
Ohio’s dominance in the second half was so complete that it scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions of the half. Penn State, meanwhile, managed only 55 yards of total offense in the second half. Its last five drives were three-and-outs.
INDIANA UP NEXT
Next Saturday, the Nittany Lions face Indiana at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
Get ready, Nittany Lion mascot. Bucky, the Wisconsin mascot, did 573 push-ups during the Hoosiers’ 83-20 loss to the Badgers on Saturday. Indiana is winless in six Big Ten games, and 4-6 overall.
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