Football
Buckeyes Bust Lions and Bust Myths
By John Porentas
About three myths came to an end in Beaver Stadium Saturday night in No. 1/1 Ohio State's (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) 37-17 win over No. 24/25 Penn State (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten).
The first myth to evaporate was that the Nittany Lions would present a challenge to the Buckeyes. That was the prevailing thought heading into the game. It didn't work out that way.
The Lions were competitive for about eight minutes when they took a 7-3 lead with an impressive six-play 80 yard drive to stun the OSU defense. It looked for all the world like the Buckeyes had finally found an equal, or at least a near-equal.
Penn State's shot at parity was erased when the Buckeyes answered their score with a touchdown of their own to take 10-7 lead, and from that point on, it was all Buckeyes.
Penn State put together 115 yards of offense in the first quarter, 80 of them coming on their scoring drive. In the second quarter they were held to just 36 net yards by an OSU defense that was its dominating self after the first drive.
The Lions managed just 112 net yards in the entire second half. The Penn State' offense put just three more points on the board with a field goal in the third quarter. Penn State's last remaining score came on a 97 yard kickoff return with under four minutes left to play in the game for what really was a touchdown at garbage time.
Myth number two is that the Buckeyes are a team made up of a big-time defense and a mediocre at best offense. The defense is all that it's cracked up to be, but the OSU offense has improved steadily with Todd Boeckman at quarterback all season. Against the Lions and in front of a national television audience they proved they too are of championship caliber.
The Lions entered the game the second-ranked defense in the Big Ten in both scoring and total defense. The Buckeye offense absolutely dominated that defense, shredding it for 453 total yards. OSU punter A. J. Trapasso was not called upon in the game. A total of three OSU possessions did not end up in a score. Two of those came when the clock ran out at the end of the half and at the end of the game. The other when Todd Boeckman made his only really bad throw of the game and was intercepted by Penn State linebacker Dan Connor.
"We couldn't stop them," said Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno. "They really played well.
"He (Boeckman) threw it well and they protected him well."
Boeckman was nearly perfect. He completed 19-of-26 (73 per cent) and tossed three touchdown passes. His lone major miscue was the interception throw to Connor.
"I thought he nursed that throw a little bit," said OSU Head coach Jim Tressel.
"He tried to slip it in there instead of throwing it with the good authority that I thought he threw with the whole (rest of) the game," Tressel said.
Boeckman's passing was surgical. The blocking of the OSU offensive line and the running of Beanie and Chris Wells left some Penn State defenders requiring surgery. Chris Wells got 25 carries for 133 net yards and Maurice Wells added 60 more yards on 13 carries. The combination of the rushing game and Boeckman's passing left the Nittany Lion defense bewildered.
"Sometimes I thought they were going to pass and they ran, sometimes I thought they were going to run and they passed," said PSU cornerback Justin King.
"They pretty much ran everything that we didn't see," added fellow corner Lydell Sargent. "They did not run anything we were used to or saw in tape.
"We adjusted to things in the second half, but they ran plays that we could not pick up on," Sargent said.
"They ran it on us and that opened up the pass, and vice versa," added Connors. "They spread it out a little bit and hit a long pass, and that opened the run back up," Connor said.
OSU's skill positions were extremely productive, but perhaps the most impressive performance of the day was put in by the OSU offensive line. The Nittany Lions came into the game with a league-leading 35 sacks, but got to Boeckman only once during the game.
"It felt like it was seven guys against five," said Penn State defensive end Josh Gaines.
"They're a good team. I'm not going to deny them, I'm going to give them credit."
The Buckeyes were absolutely devastating on third down, converting 12-of-16 third down attempts. After two of these non-conversions they kicked field goals, and after another they went for it on fourth down and converted.
"That is what killed us," said Connor. "Every single time they converted on third down."
The final myth that went up in smoke in Beaver stadium is that the Buckeyes are not deserving of the number one ranking. That argument might have been made the first four weeks of the season, but this is definitively a team on the rise and deserving of their ranking. The offense is catching up to an already-strong defense. The kicking game is solid. The coaching is excellent. A national audience saw that today, as did the national media that was in attendance at the game. The talk of a hollow rating is going to go away.
OSU Scoring Summary:
First Quarter:
Ryan Pretorious 50 yard field goal at 12:15 of the first quarter (OSU 3, PSU 0)
Brian Robiskie 9 yard touchdown reception from Todd Boeckman (OSU 10, PSU 7)Second Quarter
Brian Hartline 16 yard pass reception from Todd Boeckman. (OSU 17, PSU 7)
Third Quarter
Jake Ballard 15 yard pass reception from Todd Boeckman (OSU 24, PSU 10)
Fourth Quarter
Ryan Pretorious 37 yard field goal (OSU 27, PSU 10)
Malcolm Jenkins 24 yard interception return (OSU 34, PSU 10)
Ryan Pretorius 35 yard field goal (OSU 37, PSU 10)
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