Will be enjoying the rest of his weekend

With the exception of just one Graham Zug-fueled early drive and a questionable fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak out of Daryll Clark, the Buckeye defense served up a tall glass of three-and-outs to Penn State while on the other side of the ball, the offense was effective enough when it counted to turn a tight game into a bit of a laugher down the stretch before coasting to a 24-7 victory that puts them in the driver’s seat for a Rose Bowl bid.

Coming into the game leading the nation with an average of 5.7 three-and-outs per game, the defense, led by Cam Heyward’s two sacks and 11 tackles, forced the Lions into seven more three-and-outs and held Clark to a season-low 125 yards passing on 28 attempts. He was pressured and hurried right from the start, but Buckeye offense had its own trouble out of the gates. Pryor was able to punch in a seven yard touchdown run, slipping by Bowman on Ohio State’s second possession of the game after Ray Small took Penn State’s opening punt back inside their ten. They would tack on three more when Devin Barclay connected on a 37 yard field goal with six minutes remaining in the first half, but would have to settle for a 10-7 halftime lead.

The Buckeye defense once again came out dominant to start the second half, forcing a quick Penn State punt after getting a sack and nearly an interception due to pressure on the next play. Ohio State answered by running Saine on four straight downs before DeVier Posey failed to come down with a pretty good Pryor throw into coverage. Many of us were clamoring for play-action at the time, but instead the Buckeyes punted again, gaining a dozen or so valuable yards in field position. Heyward, Gibson and crew stepped up to force another quick three-and-out. The Buckeyes would pick up a first down on their next series on a strike from Pryor to Posey, but were again forced to punt. This time, Thomas pinned the Lions down at their own eight yard line and three plays later, Penn State was punting the ball away again. Tresselball in full effect as the field position continued to tilt.

Now on their third possession of the half, the Buckeye defense came out with an unbalanced line and Pryor went play-action to hit Posey on a beautifully-thrown 62 yard bomb for a touchdown to put Ohio State up 17-7 with a little over 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The agonizing runs of the previous two series seemed to set the play up and many of us were left wondering what was funnier: the collision between the two Penn State defenders that sealed the touchdown or the fact that 110,000 white-clad fans were silent.

After forcing yet another Penn State three-and-out on the follow-up series, keyed by a huge two yard stop of Evan Royster on 3rd and 1, the Buckeyes got the ball back in excellent position after a 45 yard Small punt return and Pryor and the offense proceeded to go to work. On a cool, calculating series, Pryor led the Buckeyes on a 10 play 47 yard touchdown drive to account for the final score. On the drive, Pryor converted a huge 3rd and 11 early on with a 12 yard scamper and then completed passes to fullback Zach Boren and then Brandon Saine to convert two other third downs, the second of which resulted in a brilliant play-action touchdown pass to Saine in the flats that he punched in for six.

With nine and a half minutes remaining in the game and down 24-7, a Clark pass was intercepted by linebacker Ross Homan to pretty much extinguish any hopes for a Lion comeback on the afternoon. The two offenses traded punts the rest of the way as the 10,000 strong OSU cheering section took over rocking the stadium to Seven Nation Army.

Not to be overlooked in the win was the effort of punter Jon Thoma. He’s played huge pretty much all season, on an afternoon when punts dominated the action early, he banged out a 55-yarder along the way to pinning the Lions inside their own twenty three times. In that same vein, the much maligned Small had two big returns that led directly to 14 Ohio State points.

Thanks to a heady, solid effort in Happy Valley, the Buckeyes are now one win away from a depleted Iowa squad next weekend before they can begin making plans for Jim Tressel’s first Rose Bowl trip. Seems kind of crazy to think he’s never been to a Rose Bowl, but getting into all of those MNC games will do that.

Bullets…

• It was frustrating at times, but I thought the staff did an excellent job of easing Pryor into a place to be more and more effective as the game progressed. He could have easily come in and tried to do too much early, considering the homecoming/recruiting aspects of the game. Credit to Pryor as well for making smart plays all day and accounting for all three Ohio State touchdowns.
• Though neither Saine nor Boom had monster games, the makeshift line (especially so after Shugarts went down) did a great job overall. The Buckeyes rushed for 228 yards on a defense that had given up an average of 84.1 per game coming in.
• Seriously, Graham Zug?
• Special note to Penn State fans and blogs: We know you want to have a rivalry with us and with Michigan being down, now is a perfect time to get something going. You’re going to have do a little better. Despite (unofficial) whiteouts, Paternoville, pep rallies and 110k+, Tressel is now 6-3 against Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions are averaging a mere 13 points per game in the series. Arm punts to all of you.

Now we go big. Ride, ride, ride…

It’s been a weird week. Heading into Happy Valley, to play a solid Penn State team in what should be one of the bigger games of the season, all anyone wanted to talk about were alternate uniforms. I guess we can take comfort in the fact that the team has likely known about the new unis for some time now and have had ample time to work out whatever giddiness they might have.

Pryor won’t be a captain for this Pennsylvania homecoming at least, but he has 99 other reasons to be up and ready for the show.

Whatever happens this afternoon, you gotta love the feeling these big games bring. And let’s face it, as long as the Wolverines are in the dumper, the Lions are doing their best to recreate the Big Two, Little eight nine. And a win today sets up a suddenly monster matchup next week with the Hawkeyes.

What say you?

Photos of the Rivalry Uniform have leaked out ahead of the unveiling set for 11/15*. The official team shop at the Schottenstein Center will feature a mannequin rocking this look next Saturday and fans will be able to purchase limited edition merchandise at that time.

I think those pants are pretty clutch. Your thoughts?

* Unverified of course, but it looks to be the real deal and matches the earlier photo of the Falcons-esque jersey.

#16 Ohio State 7-2, 4-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

November 7, 2009 3:30 PM ET – ABC —— Beaver Stadium State College, PA

#11 Penn State 8-1, 4-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

In what is now the biggest game of the year and the start of a new three-game November season for Ohio State, the Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State in a game that will have a highly significant effect on determining the Big Ten Champion and recipient of a 2010 Rose Bowl bid.

It will be the 300th time a football game is played in the fifty years of football at Beaver Stadium, and the 25th time the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will tangle. The series is all knotted up at 12-12, but the Buckeyes do hold a 10-6 record against PSU since they joined the Big Ten in 1993 and have won five of the last seven contests. Unfortunately, last year was one of those losses, as Penn State defeated the Buckeyes 13-6 in a heartbreaking homecoming loss in the Shoe, a game which spawned awesome stuff, this like this. Penn State will look to win two consecutive games against OSU for the first time since joining the conference, but it will not be easy as the Bucks will certainly be motivated after last year’s folly.

With both defenses at full steam and offenses that have struggled many times throughout the 2009 campaign, it should be a battle of who can force their opponent to make more mistakes, a battle Penn State was able to win last year. Will Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes be able to rebound from last year’s gut-wrenching prime time loss? Will Darryl Clark and the Nittany Lions be able to finally win back to back games against the Buckeyes? It’s too early to tell, but at 3:30 PM ET on Saturday afternoon, you better believe both teams will be bringing it.

Opponent

Darryl Clark returns this season to lead the Spread HD and leads the conference in passer efficiency with a 149.3 rating. He has been inconsistent at times when pressured, and if the Silver Bullets can get some heat on the Youngstown native, they should be able to shut him down like they did in much of last year’s contest.

Evan Royster is the Robin to Clark’s Batman, and while he has done well this year, he has not put together the Heisman-like season many PSU fans expected out of him. Royster is second in the Big Ten with just over 95 yards per game, as he has gained 759 yards (5.23 avg.) and 5 touchdowns on the ground in 2009. He is certainly a threat and will tote the ball plenty as Joe Paterno will try to control the clock in what should be a very defensive game.

Bowman had his fun with Pryor last year….

Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood are all gone, but enter Derek Moye, Keystone state cult hero Graham Zug, and Chaz Powell, who have done a fine job filling in for the departed stars. Moye, who has 39 receptions for 648 yards and 5 touchdowns, has been Clark’s go to guy in clutch time, so look for the Lions to call his number on 3rd down situations.

Linebacker U comes back strong on defense yet again, and as usual the front seven is a big reason why. Defensive Tackle Jared Odrick (33 tackles, 6 sacks) and Defensive End Jack Crawford (28 tackles, 5.5 sacks) have been nightmares for opposing offensive lines to handle and the Bucks’ front five will have to play as well as they’re capable to give Pryor time to throw. Linebackers Navarro Bowman (53 tackles, 9 for loss), Sean Lee (45 tackles, 8 for loss), and Josh Hull (82 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INTs) will not help Pryor’s cause either. All three are tremendous play makers that are solid against both the run and the pass and should give the Buckeye offense headaches all day.

Defensive backs may be an area of weakness for Penn State, but like the Buckeyes, the defensive line creates enough pressure to hide any inadequacies that may exist. AJ Wallace is the veteran leader of the group and is solid for the most part, but if Pryor has time to throw, look for him to try and burn sophomores Drew Astorino, Nick Sukay, and D’Anton Lynn on the deep ball.

Buckeye Breakdown

The defense will show up, but will the offense produce enough to get a big road win? This game can play out very similar to the USC game and if the Buckeyes can move the chains and put some points on the board they will be in pretty good shape come the final whistle. The Buckeyes are 53-0 when scoring 30+ points under Jim Tressel, and while 30 will be a hard number to hit, it may be safe to say that if the Bucks can reach the mid 20s they will have a good shot to win in Happy Valley.

….but Gibson had some fun with Clark too

With the team mostly cured of injuries, it may be on Terrelle Pryor to come up big in his home state and get the job done. If there was ever a game for TP to make the leap we’ve all been waiting for, it is this one, but he cannot do it alone. Getting the captain nod this week would be a boost, but the Lions will have a gameplan in place to neutralize him as best as possible.

With Boom Herron healthy to team-up with Saine, Hall and Martin, the running game needs to get back on track. Clock control was huge in last year’s matchup and if the Buckeyes want to open up the pass, as well as keep the clock in their favor, they will have to run successfully. This won’t be an easy task against a stout Penn State front, meaning the offensive line will need to step up big time. The hogs up front may be the key to this game and if they are able to create some running lanes and give Pryor time to throw, Saturday could be very pleasant.

The defense has proven to be the strength of this team and if they continue to do what they’ve been doing, the Spread HD will be firing on vacuum tubes. Penn State’s offensive line has had plenty of trouble of their own this season (cough, Hawkeyes), as they adjust to some new personnel, and Thaddeus Maximus, Williams and Co. should be able to bring consistent heat. If the line, reinforced with a returning Larimore, can get pressure on Clark and the linebackers can shed tackles to get to Royster, the defense should be able to help out an offense that’s still prone to quick three-and-outs.

Special teams will definitely play a part and with Aaron Pettrey out for the year with a blown knee, Ohio State will count on Devin Barclay to come to the rescue. It’s very possible the former Columbus Crew player will be called on in a big spot and it will be interesting to see what kind of confidence Tressel has in him. That confidence could have an effect on how JT calls the game on Saturday, especially on fourth and short situations in Penn State territory. Will he have the trust in Barclay, will he play it safe and punt it, or will he be aggressive and trust his line to push for a couple extra yards?

Prediction

It’s going to be a slugfest on Saturday afternoon and with a tough environment, including a white out and some extra flack from PSU students for Terrelle Pryor, it will be a very tough game for the Buckeyes to win. The last three close big games (PSU, Texas, USC) have not faired well for the Buckeyes and it will be interesting to see how they respond in a hostile environment like Beaver Stadium.

With a conference title, Rose Bowl, and national respect on the line, it is a must-win for the Buckeyes if they want to save their 2009 season. This may or may not be the game in which Terrelle Pryor evolves, but a tough defense and capable running game gives the Buckeyes a very good standing chance. We at the 11W headquarters certainly think so and will take the good guys in a close one.

Ohio State 17, Penn State 14

“I’d like to get a few before the game. I’d like to wear one in warm-ups. I guess they’re trying to get in my head.”

The stage is set.

It wouldn’t be a big game without a Guess the Score contest and/or a photo caption Thursday. This week you get both.

For any newbies or those simply wanting to stroll down memory lane, feel free to take a gander at your past installments if you need a good afternoon laugh to ease the gameday’s-a-comin’ nerves in your midsection.

The Penn State Hatepocalypse is but 48 hours away. Your morning coffee tastes like rage. That break room donut looks like the zeros the Nittany Lions will be putting up on the Silver Bullets. Heck, even that poor sandwich delivery intern has lost faith in the entire concept of American industrialism after the death stare you gave him following you catching a glimpse of the Pennsylvania license plates on his late 90’s Honda. While late Saturday afternoon is unquestionably going to be one of two very distinct kinds of therapy/release for us all, something’s needed to get us to and beyond that point. That something is the first week of college football’s last full month of regular season action.

Week 10 collectively for many programs is what week 9 was for the Buckeyes: a 2/3rds season water station to refresh and get ready for the stretch run. The Big Ten group of games underwhelms for the second time in three weeks, while the national slate checks in as top heavy (which certainly beats weak across the board). A play-in game for the SEC West divisional crown is set to take place, while Oregon looks to avoid the vaunted trap game after laying the wood to USC a week prior.

Ohio ushers in a bold new era this week, after finally narrowly passing a referendum vote on bringing four casinos to the state (NOTE: as per usual, this is no invitation to go MSNBC or Fox News in the thread below). In welcoming our new gambling overlords, I carry on with picking this week’s lineup for a sixth straight week. While no sports book is in the mix according to any of the pre-drawn up plans, consider calling your favorite bookie and taking these picks to the bank, as following a 6-2 run last weekend, I’ve brought my half season long run to an inexplicable 31-8-1. Much like my long standing vocal expectations that Matt Barkley was due to look freshman-y any game now, my luck is bound to bottom out here any week now. I’m USC, these games are Oregon. Bet accordingly.

National Games

#9 LSU at #3 Alabama (-9.5) – 3:30 p.m. – CBS
The only matchup of two ranked opponents in week 10 comes with two Top 10 SEC West juggernauts set to bring you a defensive slugfest sure to make offensively inclined folks stuck with no other options than this game and Ohio State-PSU long for the glory days of the Columbus Destroyers. Alabama enters the contest with the nation’s 4th best total defense, allowing just under 241 yards per game. LSU is no slouch either, bringing the nation’s 7th best scoring defense into Tuscaloosa allowing just 12.13 points per contest. Alabama looked mentally tired against Tennessee two weeks ago, but coming off a bye, a refreshed Nick Saban led Crimson Tide team is too much for Les Miles’ Bayou Bengals as ‘Bama wins but predictably misses the cover 17-10.

#8 Oregon at Stanford (+5) 3:30 p.m. – FSN (Regional)
Fresh off the most dominant performance against Southern Cal in the Pete Carroll era, Chip Kelly’s Oregon Ducks look to continue to distance themselves from the team we saw in week one against Boise State. The Ducks’ dominant performance last weekend was so convincing we’ve now found ourselves debating the merits of schedule strength, who’s playing the best football at the moment, and really asking ourselves whether Oregon or Boise State is the better team right now. Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal may be the last pre-Civil War obstacle to Oregon’s Rose Bowl and National Championship. Despite a huge afternoon from Cardinal tailback Toby Gerhart, Oregon keeps their distant but possible MNC hopes alive, taking this one 34-24.

Connecticut at #4 Cincinnati (-17) – 8:00 p.m. – ABC (Regional)
The worst non-Big Ten spread of the weekend, despite looking uninspiring on paper, Connecticut’s played good ball in two gut wrenching losses since the tragic murder of cornerback Jasper Howard. Cincinnati is expecting Tony Pike back, but it’ll be difficult to sleep on a Huskie team who’re quickly seeing their bowl eligibility window shut before their very eyes. Despite the pride exhibited by Randy Edsall’s bunch, UC wins big, but not big enough for Vegas 45-30.

Fresno State at Idaho (+7) – 9:30 p.m. – ESPNU
The semi-annual Whaaaaaaaaaa? pick to keep an eye on before calling it quits Saturday night. Bear with me for a second: Idaho is bowl eligible for the first time since the Clinton presidency and plays a consistently exciting (mostly defensive free) brand of football. Fresno State mounted a legitimate threat to Boise State earlier in the season, and brings an explosive offensive attack behind running back Ryan Mathews. The 5-3 Bulldogs also have bowl aspirations in sight, so expect the first team to 40 to take this one. Despite the monolithic dome home field advantage, Fresno State has too much for the Vandals, winning 48-35.

Big Ten Games

Illinois at Minnesota (-6) 12:00 p.m. – BTN (Regional)
The Zookster we knew and loved is back! After getting a head scratching bode of confidence, Team Water Ski responded by unleashing a whipping on a hapless Michigan squad and now set their aim on fellow master of motivation Tim Brewster and the Golden Gophers. Minnesota won a truly bizarre one against Sparty last weekend, overcoming 17-penalties and the absence of stud wide out Eric Decker and still pulling out a 42-34 W. Juice Williams seems to have finally found his mojo, so in the battle of underachieving upperclassmen QBs, expect Williams to shock Weber and co. and take this one 42-39.

Northwestern at #6 Iowa (-17.5) 12:00 p.m. – ESPN
A week ago I picked Iowa to cover a 17 point spread against Indiana. 60 haunted hayride minutes of football later, the Hawkeyes covered a truly trick or treat spread en route to tripping up many of their most vocal proponents, and at the same time leaving gamblers everywhere scared witless to pick the Hawkeyes to cover another spread going forward (well, at least a spread as the favorite). Northwestern looked hapless after losing quarterback Mike Kafka against the NIttany Lions, though it’s just too difficult to expect Iowa to knock out a three score spread) two weeks consecutively. Iowa wins this one relatively easily, but expect the ‘Cats to eek out the cursed half point squeaker 20-37.

Purdue at Michigan (-4) 12:00 p.m. – BTN (Regional)
Two weeks ago this one had all the makings of a great tOSU spite match (well, in that plenty of Buckeyes would likely be praying for a rogue asteroid strike at the Big House) though instead will have to settle for being an underwhelming possible crater. After getting devastated by Wisconsin and Illinois respectively, both of these teams have issues on both sides of the ball. The four point spread is pretty representative of how difficult to pin down this one really is. Despite much hard science to back this (pft, who needs things like ‘facts’ and ‘reason’?), Michigan silences the doubters beginning to wonder whether Rich Rodriguez is in fact the man for the job winning and covering 31-24.

#24 Wisconsin at Indiana (+11) 12:00 p.m. – BTN (Regional)
The final contest of the semi-watchable pre-Ohio State-Penn State Big Ten action, Indiana surprisingly checks in as just 11 point dogs at a Wisconsin team fresh off a 37-0 shellacking of the Boilermakers. The Hoosiers have put competent halves of football together seemingly all year, but none the less have found themselves collapsing on themselves like a dying star at the first detection of adversity (no matter how real, how semi-ref inflicted). Wisconsin’s been a fairly inconsistent team from an effort stand point in their own right, but with just loses to Iowa and Ohio State to their resumes, it’s tough to see how Bucky Badger can let this one slip from their grasps. Indiana puts up another valiant effort, but again find themselves looking for answers falling 24-34, but netting the close cover.

I know around these parts, we are not big fans of the recent alternate jersey trend, because most the time they are ugly, but that is the price schools pay for signing multi-million dollar contracts with the apparel companies. However, we will be even less fans of the idea, if they are trotted out for The Game and we can’t think of any good that could come from that situation.

What are your feelings? The link below provides the rumored design and word is, they’re coming with all white helmets.

UPDATE: Gene Smith and Shelly Poe are both saying it’s not going to happen.

UPDATE (x2): OSU issued a press release announcing they WILL be wearing the alternates after all, which they profess honor the 1954 National Championship team.

We’re three days away from Pryor’s first return home for the first time as a Buckeye. The good news, is that he appears to be healthy after having his leg “banged” against New Mexico State. We’re going to assume the party line and assume having him padless in the second half last week was just an overly cautious move out of the Senator, though we have our lingering doubts.

From an emotional standpoint, you know this weekend is huge for him. Playing just two hours from Jeannette, he’ll have a chance to play in front of his family. He’s still thinking of the costly fumble from last season and if he isn’t, a packed house geared up for a rare big game in Beaver Stadium will be there to remind him with clever attire.

His teammates are saying he’s playing excited in practice this week, and you hope that he’s starting to see what the little things like squaring the shoulders outside the pocket and running with a purpose can do to help dictate the flow of a game.

There’s definite concern given his body of work in what could be considered big games during his tenure: Michigan, Texas and USC, and the Penn State defense will operate at a speed he hasn’t seen since the tilt with the Trojans, but one of these days he’s going to go off. 300/150 off. And wouldn’t that be sweet if that day was Saturday?

Jordan Hall rising. The Silver Bullet asks if Jordan Hall is the best option at running back:

Herron runs like a power runner in a 5-10 195 pound body, and Saine has ran with authority this season but has not shown the ability to be a quick, decisive runner. This is where Hall really shines on film. He makes quicks decisions (because of his vision), and then hits the hole fast. Regardless of size, quick and decisive runners always have success.

Buckeye Football Analysis seems to agree:

generally trust the coaches as they see these guys everyday in practice. But at this point I’m pretty well convinced that Jordan Hall needs to be the primary tailback. He doesn’t need to start or play every series, but he should be getting 15 carries a game and should not lose carries to the other two. Whether you want to call it vision or what have you, he a) finds the hole, b) hits it hard, and c) always manages to fall forward. He therefore gets 3 or 4 yd gains on plays where one of the other guys gets 0.

Hall is definitely all of those things, but what really stands out to me as well is the way he’s always falling forward. He did have more touches than Saine last week, but with Boom returning to full health, I have to wonder if he’ll get the ball 15 times a game anytime soon.

And now for something completely different. We get frustrated with Tressel’s calm demeanor and ability to say a lot without really saying anything at his pressers, but Penn State fans sure get a show. Some examples of Joe’s snark at his weekly presser:

Q. Ohio State closes with you guys and Iowa and Michigan, which would seem to be its toughest stretch of the season. Last week against New Mexico State they tried an onside kick early in the game, recovered it, and not long after they did a double reverse pass for a touchdown. Seems to me that if they had tricks in their trick bag they might have held them for this week or one of the last two games. Do you think maybe they were trying to give you something else to think about?
Well, when you start questions, “it seems to me,” well, if it seems to you, that’s fine, that it seems to you. That’s not asking me a question. I don’t have the slightest idea. I know that they tried an onside kick. I know they recovered an onside kick, I thought they did it very well. The kicker dribbled the ball and he got on top of it and obviously the New Mexico State kids weren’t expecting it, all right? And they were successful with it. Whether that’s trying to send a message or not, ask (Jim) Tressel when you get him on a press conference, all right? And you tell him “it seems to you” that he did a good thing.

And:

Q. Can you compare and contrast your coaching style with Jim Tressel’s?
My coaching style with Jim Tressel’s? Come on. Jim has done a heck of a job everywhere he’s been. He did a heck of a job at Youngstown State, won that division’s championship several years, done a heck of a job at Ohio State, he’s been the winner or co winners of the Big Ten for the last four or five years. No, I’m not going to compare myself. Heck, I’ll compare your writing with somebody else’s writing if you want me to do that, or something like that, but that’s not…I think Tressel is a heck of a coach, and I think his staff is, he’s done a great job out there.

Now, that’s fun!