Turns out Braxton Miller is okay. The Buckeyes’ sensational sophomore proved too much for Penn State to handle, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for a third, as OSU stayed unbeaten with a 35-23 win in Happy Valley. Ohio State (9-0, 5-0) assumed sole possession of first place in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten, while Penn State (5-3, 3-1) saw their winning streak end at five games.

OSU linebacker Ryan Shazier returned a Matt McGloin interception for a touchdown to break a 7-7 tie in the third quarter, and the Buckeyes went on to dominate the quarter with a bruising no-huddle rushing attack featuring Miller, Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith. Miller quieted the white-clad crowd with two touchdown runs in the period, including a 1-yarder of the ankle-breaking, jaw-dropping variety that has become his trademark, as the Buckeyes surged to a 28-10 lead.

The Nittany Lions would make it interesting with a long touchdown drive early in the 4th quarter, but Miller put it out of reach with a 72-yard touchdown pass to Jake Stoneburner on a 3rd-and 5 play with six minutes remaining. The Ohio State defense didn’t allow a touchdown until the 4th quarter, and the Buckeyes once again survived a blocked Ben Buchanan punt for a touchdown.

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- Saturday, October 27, 2012

- Beaver Stadium - State College, PA

- Ohio State at Penn State

- 5:30 PM ET

- TV: ESPN -


The Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley Saturday for a nationally televised showdown against the Nittany Lions of Penn State. At stake is a leg up in the race for Big Ten’s Leaders Division championship, the only prize either team is eligible to claim in 2012. Penn State has won five in a row after dropping their first two games of the year, while Ohio State is unbeaten in the first eight games of the Urban Meyer era in Columbus.

The 9th-ranked Buckeyes are the nation’s only 8-0 team, but getting there has been anything but easy. They have squeaked out wins over Indiana and Purdue, two of the lesser lights of the conference, the last two Saturdays. Slow starts have been the rule, as OSU has been outscored in the first quarter of their games 56-51.

Needless to say, the way this Ohio State team has managed to overcome that disadvantage so often, and keep coming out on top has been something special to watch. Like most people watching, I thought the other shoe was finally dropping last week against Purdue, but the Buckeyes had yet another comeback in them.

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Ohio State lost a lot of battles on Saturday afternoon, lost Braxton Miller- but won the war with a 29-22 overtime victory over Purdue that is potentially one the ages, depending on how this wonderfully strange season turns out.

How the Buckeyes won remains almost inexplicable. For more than 59 minutes they seemed destined to lose. Purdue did almost everything right. They scored on offense, defense and special teams, forced four Ohio State turnovers and did the one thing almost guaranteed to deliver their first win in Columbus since 1988- they knocked out Braxton Miller, kayoing the Buckeyes’ main man with (literally) a hospital shot.

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As most conference teams reach the halfway point in Big Ten action, the contenders are beginning to separate from the pretenders, and Week 8 went a long way toward sorting that out. This coming weekend features two matchups of teams with the best records in their respective divisions, one of which could determine a Big Ten championship game participant, the other...not so much.

Michigan travels to Nebraska to determine who will be the Legends Division favorite going into November, while in Happy Valley, Ohio State and Penn State match unbeaten conference marks, with not much more than bragging rights and momentum for 2013 on the line. But this is a recap, not a preview, so to the games we go...

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