Article published October 20, 2008
OSU will be first real test for Penn State
It is not good form to poke fun at other newspapers, but this headline appeared yesterday in the online edition of a north-central Pennsylvania paper:
"Nittany Lions pass first test of season."
Huh? Michigan was a test for Penn State? Are we speaking of the 2-4, now 2-5 Wolverines, who lost the week before to Toledo, which bookended that victory with two losses by a combined 69-7 to Mid-American Conference opponents?
If that was the Lions' first test then they still haven't been tested. But that will change
Saturday.
Bring on the "red-out" at Ohio Stadium. (Scarlet-out simply doesn't sound right.)
Penn State is very, very good, and it has been tested, to some degree, by a pair of then-ranked opponents in Illinois and slip-sliding Wisconsin.On paper, the Lions could well be the top candidate among college football's elite teams to complete an undefeated season. Fellow unbeatens Texas and Alabama may be better.
The first BCS standings came out yesterday withthe Nittany Lions poised at No. 3.
A 12-0 Penn State team would likely find itself playing for a national championship.
To get there, though, the Lions have to go through Columbus, where they are 0-7 since joining the Big Ten.
Penn State will go ghost-busting for the second straight week. Saturday's 46-17 victory over Michigan snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Wolverines. Now, the Lions will shoot for that elusive Ohio Stadium win.
A few days ago, such a prospect didn't seem too farfetched. OSU was winning, but not impressively. Everyone involved with the program seemed on edge. But the Buckeyes opened more than a few eyes with Saturday's 45-7 rout at Michigan State.
"That wasn't a 45-7 game, we know that," said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, referring to a late defensive score that skewed the scoreboard.
But it wasn't a lethargic 16-3 game either, that being the score a week earlier against Purdue that had Buckeye Nation chewing its nails and pulling its hair out in the aftermath.
The Buckeyes went back to basics against MSU. It's still a game of blocking and tackling, and Ohio State did those things impressively. The Buckeyes had a 216-52 edge in net rushing, the best way to measure a team's physical presence. Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor showed flashes of brilliance, and the OSU defense had five takeaways.
"It was just will and determination to get better and to prove people wrong," said running back Beanie Wells, who carried a season-high 31 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
Or, more accurately, it was to prove wrong that the Buckeyes were underachieving though winning.
No, it hasn't been smooth sailing, but Ohio State has arrived at Week 9 just as everyone expected it to - undefeated in Big Ten play with Penn State coming in for a prime-time showdown in the 'shoe.
As if this game needs any more sizzle, Pryor provides just that after a near-perfect first half against Michigan State. The prized Pennsylvania product picked Ohio State despite a late recruiting push by the Nittany Lions.
"He's smooth as silk," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said of Pryor. "We'll have our hands full with him."
It will indeed be a test, a real test. Contain Pryor, beat the Bucks, and the final stop for Penn State could well be the BCS title game.
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