Early Thoughts on Penn State / Ohio State

[Former Wildcat]

OSU has not looked great for the past month but they did destroy MSU. They racked up 270 yards in the first half and held MSU to 60. In typical Tressel fashion, they reigned the offense in and just rode the lead the rest of the game. I don't think Pryor threw more than 2 passes in the second half.

I think this will be a tight game and it will be determined by how well Pryor plays. If Tressel allows him to throw early and he makes good decisions, I think OSU can really score on Penn State. The strength of PSU's defense is the line, but Pryor's size, speed and ability to move can negate that. He needs to throw the ball away when a play is not there. Most of the sacks he has taken have been the result of him holding the ball. If they can throw early, then Beanie becomes more of a threat and he has a history of really showing up in big games. If Tressel does not throw on 1st down and overcommits to the run early, I think OSU will have real trouble moving the ball. Typically, Tressel has a good game plan in big games.

On defense, OSU needs to get some pressure with their front four. Their linebackers and secondary are by far the best PSU has seen, but their line had trouble getting pressure until last week. Clark has not faced a secondary with corners like Jenkins and Chukwa, who are two of the best in the conference. If PSU is forced to throw, like OSU I think they will struggle.

I think the X-factor will be the 'Shoe at night. The last night game at the 'Shoe was the 2005 Texas game. That Texas team was awesome offensively, and OSU's defense played them better than anyone that year. If not for a dropped TD pass, OSU probably wins that game. The reason was the crowd. OSU was not as good as Texas, but the crowd was insane. It was like the crowd that OSU faced in Happy Valley a few weeks later. In that game, the crowd was a major factor in PSU's win. If the crowd has the same energy as 2005, I think OSU wins. However, there is no guarantee that the crowd will be as energetic. PSU has not had a crowd like the 2005 OSU crowd since. Last year, OSU dominated PSU in a "white-out" game and the crowd was not the same. Part of that is because OSU took them out of the game early. PSU must do the same thing this year. I think a close game in the 4th quarter favors OSU.

[vman]

Great points FW!

[ham55]

That's what we've all been missing. Thanks Former Wildcat.

Ohio State did rack up 270 in the first half vs. Michigan State, but I can assure you PSU will not turn the ball over 5 times in the first half Saturday. If they want to win, they can't turn it over. Period. They've done a good job to this point not turning the ball over, but that's because of the lucky bounces they've had in recovering their own fumbles. They must ball protect this week.

[frostlion]

I plan to sit down and watch the game after I go watch Pitt beat Rutgers in the pouring rain...Hopefully, The Jokester will have windshield wipers on his coke bottle glasses...Oh wait, he'll be on the changing table in the press box keeping Depends, Inc. in business...

tOSU 26
PSU 20

Wow, you look like the biggest idiot since the person who wrote the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline. Must be a pretty horrible day.....Pitt gets destroyed by a team with 2 wins, and Penn State beats a top 10 team....

[nLions1]

That was probably the most boring game ever. I was expecting some high scoring, offenses driving, play after play type of game. It was all defense, all day. Defense wins championships, and I think Penn State just proved something tonight. With the bye week coming up for PSU hopefully Clark will recover from whatever injury it seems he might have had. I think he just got his bell rung a little, and lost his poise midway through the game. Devlin did a good job as the backup though. He managed time well, didnt make any serious mistakes, and did what he had to do to inch out the win.

That Pryor fumble that PSU recovered was HUGE. Before that happened I said "Penn State needs a big play here, turnover, fumble anything!" Sure enough it happened, and I was ecstatic. It definitely was the turning point and game changer.

The final pass by Pryor nearly gave me a heart attack. I was brought back to earth that PSU hadnt wont a game at the horseshoe in nearly 30+ years, and I think my heart may even had stopped beating momentarily. Thankfully it was intercepted, and with a simple knee down, PSU pulled out a big one.

Iowa will be another tough one, as well as Michigan St. I would hate for the Lions' season to go downhill with a season finale home loss to the Spartans. Seems like everything is going just right now, and hopefully it stays that way...

[ham55]

The Pryor fumble wouldn't have happen had it not been for a favorable spot in PSU's favor. That's right, Penn State got a call, on the road, in a game that really really mattered! On the Wells run prior to the QB sneak attempt by Pryor, I thought he had gained the yardage easily to get the first down. The ref ran in and spotted the ball extremely short from where I thought he was, and everybody else in the 'shoe, as well. My brother looks at me and says, "they got a favorable spot there, make this hurt." And did they ever. Mark Rubin made the play of his life to this point with the strip and Mo Evans had the presence of mind to knock Wells from the ball, and push the ball away from another potential OSU recover-er. Navarro Bowman came up huge again in the spotlight of a big time game for Penn State, and found the ball at the bottom of the pile.

Penn State's ability to control the running game with only committing 7 to stop it in this game was huge. They forced Pryor to make plays through the air. Running lanes that looked like they were there were taken away extremely fast by the PSU speed in the LB core and by the safeties playing extremely disciplined.

This is the same team that hung 38 on Penn State last year @ Beaver Stadium. What was the only difference in personnel? The Quarterback for Ohio State. I said I believed Penn State stood a better chance vs. Ohio State with Pryor @ QB than Boeckman, and the 6 points show my beliefs were accurate.

TAE sent me a text after the game, saying how his dad thought this was the single best defensive performance Penn State has ever had. In my life time, I can't argue with that statement. Any other opinions?

[PittPanthers2540]

penitentiary err i mean penn state impressed me with last nights W...

but honestly this team is over-hyped and takes too much pride in bullying others such as coastal carolina and altoona high :lol:

they'll have a rude awakening when they play a real team....

and for all of you who will say "look at your username, your just mad pitt lost" .... you're right i am mad pitt decides to play to the level of their opponent... i don't know how you can beat s.florida, humiliate navy, and then just not show up for the next game... Wannstedt needs to go

[nLions1]

they'll have a rude awakening when they play a real team....

uhh...isnt Ohio State a real team? They were ranked top 10 when PSU played them, with their only loss coming from USC.

[PittPanthers2540]

osu didn't exactly put up a good fight against usc...

and i think my own beloved panthers proved that beating a top ten team doesn't make you that great

[ham55]

Keep hating, buddy. They're 9-0 and ranked 3rd in the Nation. When your opinion matters, they'll give you a vote and you can vote Penn State where ever you'd like to.

Out of curiosity, where do you think Penn State should be ranked since they're "overrated"?

I guess losing to a 3 win Rutgers team and 3 win Bowling Green team is "playing up" to their level? What's that say about Pitt's level when you lose to two teams like that? Remember Rutgers didn't score 54 through 4 games this year, and they did it in 4 quarters on Saturday AT HEINZ FIELD!