No. 8 Ohio State Vs. Penn State: Will JoePa Make It To 401?

(Sports Network) Following a break in the action, the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes get back to business this weekend as they welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions to Columbus for a Big Ten Conference showdown.

Despite being idle last weekend, the Buckeyes actually gained some ground in the BCS rankings, moving up from the 11th spot to number nine, while they remained stationary in the AP poll. Ohio State is working on a two-game win streak at the moment, following its lone loss of the season versus Wisconsin back on October 16th by a final of 31-18. Since then the team has dominated the Purdue Boilermakers (49-0) and Minnesota Golden Gophers (52-10), but at 4-1 in conference the team trails Michigan State in the standings as the Spartans show a 5-1 mark heading into play this week.

As for the Nittany Lions, all eyes were on Happy Valley last Saturday night as head coach Joe Paterno took a shot at becoming the first head coach at a major college program to win 400 games. Paterno figured to have a great shot at the milestone victory against Northwestern, yet the team found itself trailing by three touchdowns at one juncture. A change in quarterback may have been the spark the team needed as the Lions wrestled away a 35-21 victory and Paterno was carried off on the shoulders of his players.

“Well they had me up there before I knew it,” Paterno said of the uplifting experience. “I was hoping they wouldn’t to be very honest. I’d be dishonest if I told you that wasn’t a moving night for me. It was...I felt pretty good about it.”

Not only was the win significant for the legendary coach, it was also the team’s third in a row and the sixth of the campaign, making the Lions bowl eligible once again.

As far as the all-time series between these two storied programs is concerned, OSU maintains a 13-12 edge over the Nittany Lions with the teams having split the last two encounters. In 2008, PSU claimed a 13-6 triumph in the annual meeting, but last year the Buckeyes easily took care of the Lions in a 24-7 final.

Rob Bolden simply wasn’t getting it done on Saturday night and after hitting 3-of-4 passes for 43 yards and being sacked twice, the decision was made to go to Matt McGloin and the switch paid off for the Nittany Lions as they stormed back and clobbered Northwestern by two touchdowns at home in front of a capacity crowd of more than 104,000. McGloin converted 18-of-29 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns as PSU came storming back.

“Joe made the decision, he just wanted to give Matt a shot,” said Jay Paterno about the move to McGloin. “It wasn’t anything that Rob did that was bad, the fumble he just was a little late getting the ball to his tight end, but it wasn’t anything he did. He played fine tonight.”

Evan Royster and Silas Redd bolstered the Penn State running game with 134 and 131 yards, respectively, the latter also hitting the end zone on a four-yard effort late in the third quarter. Royster also caught four passes for another 45 yards and a TD in the fourth to seal the win.

Early on it appeared the PSU defense would be in for a long night, but once the squad settled down it produced four sacks against Northwestern’s Dan Persa and allowed the signal-caller just one TD pass. Persa also led the Wildcats on the ground with 109 yards and two scores, but in the second half he ceased to be a factor.

Defensively this season the Nittany Lions have been rather ordinary, giving up 156.4 ypg on the ground to rank eighth in the conference and 68th nationally, but at least the pass defense has been a bit stronger with 189.6 ypg permitted, ranking the squad second in the Big Ten and 26th in the country at this stage.

Chris Colasanti continues to be the big hitter for the squad with a team-best 83 stops, making seven of those behind the line of scrimmage, while Devon Still has been a constant fixture in the backfield with his 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks thus far.

From an offensive standpoint, Royster seems to be the one player that the Lions can typically count on for steady production, leading the team in rushing with 734 yards and four touchdowns. However, after last weekend Redd certainly looks like a viable option as well, having averaged better than seven yards per attempt so far this season in limited action.

In just five games McGloin has a total of seven TD passes and one on the ground, against just a single interception while Bolden has more picks (seven) than passing scores (five). Perhaps some of that went into the decision, made on Tuesday, to give McGloin the start this weekend against the Buckeyes

“We’re not playing around,” noted Terrelle Pryor after the win against Minnesota. “You have to show them we’re coming in and taking something.”

Pryor was credited with 277 yards and three touchdowns as he and the Buckeyes steam-rolled the Golden Gophers back into their holes. Dan Herron rushed for 114 yards and a TD, and DeVier Posey logged six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, as Ohio State piled up 507 yards of total offense.

Pryor, who shunned Penn State when making his college commitment, is fourth in the conference and 22nd in the nation in total offense with 273.3 ypg. Recognized more as a running quarterback when he first came in, Pryor has been focusing a lot more on staying in the pocket and doing damage with his arm, resulting in a completion rate of 67.6 and a total of 20 TDs, against just seven interceptions. Pryor also has four TDs on the ground, but now the role of primary ball carrier seems to be in the hands of Herron who is averaging close to five yards per carry and has a team-best 12 TDs.

The defense for the Buckeyes has been outstanding this season, ranking third in the nation with just 234.2 ypg allowed and 13.6 ppg permitted. The run defense has allowed just 84 ypg, but that also has something to do with the fact that opponents are often fighting from behind and have to conserve the clock. Then again, the pass defense has held those same foes to a mere 150.2 ypg and that’s tops in the Big Ten and third in the country this week.

Add to all of that the best turnover margin (+1.44) in the nation and there’s little this OSU program can’t do.

As great a win as it was for PSU and Paterno, the excitement will be short- lived after Pryor and the Buckeyes get done with them on Saturday.