Buckeye's Adjustments Foils PSU's Upset.

Howard seals the deal
AP Photo/Al Behrman

The Nittany Lions gave the Buckeyes everything they had in the first half. It was enough, but they had to continue with the domination. They couldn't. The first drive in the 2nd half set the momentum for Ohio State from the get-go. Down 14-3, Tressel and the Buckeyes rode on the back of Daniel "Boom" Herron for the second straight game. He finished with 21 carries for 190 yards and a score. The score was the one that cut the 11 point deficit (biggest comeback for Tressel in his 10 years at OSU). Right away, the crowd went from booing and quiet, to loud and cheering. McGloin threw, Torrence picked, and the rest was history.

After that score, there was no looking back for the Buckeyes, as they would score 3 more times, winning 38-14. Terrelle Pryor was decent, but only threw the ball just 13 times, completing 8 passes for 139 yards with 2 touchdowns against 1 interception. In the first half, he struggled to find a rhythm, and it showed, as the offense itself wasn't ready to play physical, Ohio State football. Tressel improved to 27-4 in November games as Ohio State's head coach -- and 3-4 in the week after a bye. Joe Paterno who was closing in on his 401st win, instead got his 133rd loss.


With this win, the Buckeyes moved to 9-1 on the season and remain in a three-way tie with Wisconsin and Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings. The Buckeyes have two tough games remaining, as they travel to Iowa next week and come home to face Michigan the week after. Wisconsin heads to Ann Arbor next week and plays Northwestern at home the following week, while MSU has the easiest schedule, hosting Purdue and traveling to Penn State.

My thoughts on the game:

AP Photo/Al Behrman

- Is there any doubt that Sanzenbacher's play was him showing he is the most ball hungry receiver we have? He never quit on the play, and was rewarded for it.


- Here's an interesting stat: 9 Big Ten Games: Ohio State defense 8 TDs. PSU offense 8 TDs.


- Penn State did throw its first TD pass in Columbus since 1963, and ended up throwing two on the day. Give credit to McGloin, he did better than expected.


- The Buckeyes have won seven of the last nine meetings against Penn State. The Nittany Lions are 2-9 all-time in Columbus. Also, Ohio State has won 12 straight home games.


- The Buckeyes rolled up 315 rushing yards against Penn State with 5 different rushers (6 if you count Bauserman botching the snap and falling forward.).

Showtime.

- The Iowa game is not going to be easy, and it makes it worse they are coming off a loss to Northwestern.