Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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You won’t see many much more of a contrast between a first half and a second half than in Ohio State’s 38-14 victory over Penn State at the Horseshoe Saturday evening. The Buckeyes were beaten soundly for the first thirty minutes, unable to get into a rhythm offensively and befuddled defensively by sophomore quarterback Matt McGloin, who did something no Joe Paterno team had ever done in the Horseshoe- twice over. At halftime the Buckeyes trailed 14-3, the crowd was completely out of the game, and Penn State was getting the football to start the second half.

That second half would be a completely different story. The Buckeyes got down to business on the ground, with Daniel Herron having a career day and Terrelle Pryor and Brandon Saine chipping in for support. The defense came down on McGloin like a ton of bricks, intercepting him twice for touchdowns before chasing him from the game altogether. After being whipped up front the entire first half, Ohio State repaid the Lions with interest on both sides of the ball in the second. The result was 35 unanswered points, a rout on the scoreboard, and continued life for BCS and Big Ten title hopes in Columbus.

Good-but-not-Good-Enough Start: The first half didn’t begin like one that would be fraught with anxiety for the home team. After Herron opened his big game with two gains for 19 yards, Pryor found DeVier Posey deep down the near sideline for 49 yards and a first down at the Penn State 12. Had the Buckeyes taken it in from there they might have avoided what followed. But they didn’t. Three plays resulted in a gain of one yard and Devin Barclay had to come on for a 26-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. That would be the start of a very frustrating half of football for Ohio State.

Matthew Mc-Who? Penn State’s response- and a remarkable stretch for unheralded sophomore Matt McGloin- came on its second possession. McGloin moved the Lions 67 yards in ten plays, hitting five different receivers on the impressive drive. The last three completions went to receiver Justin Brown; including the 23-yard touchdown in which Brown turned around Andrew Sweat and got wide open for the easy score. All of a sudden Penn State, a three-touchdown underdog going in, owned a 7-3 first-quarter lead.

Say What? The McGloin-to-Brown connection was the first touchdown pass a Joe Paterno-coached Penn State had ever completed in Ohio Stadium. That’s in ten games dating back to the 1975 season. (No, Zach Mills’s touchdown toss to Chris Gamble in 2002 doesn’t count.)

It Gets Worse: McGloin continued to show his hot hand after Ohio State punted on its next possession. The youngster from Scranton drove the Lions 82 yards on eleven plays, completing all four of his pass attempts on the drive. The fourth, a six-yard strike to Derek Moye, made it 14-3 early with less than four minutes gone in the second quarter. McGloin was on fire, hitting on nine consecutive attempts at one point, and Evan Royster and the rest of the Penn State running game was doing just enough to open up play-action opportunities for the youngster. McGloin repeatedly picked on cornerback Devon Torrance, who was burned often and committed the pass-interference penalty that set up the touchdown to Moye.

A Turning Point: After Ohio State’s next possession petered out in Penn State territory the Lions came out looking to perhaps land an early knockout punch. Starting at his own twenty McGloin guided his team sixty yards to a fourth-and-one at the Buckeye 20-yard line. Unwilling to settle for a field goal and a 17-3 lead, Penn State went for in on fourth-and-short for the third time in the half. The first two attempts were successful. This one was not. Jermale Hines stonewalled Silas Redd for no gain and Ohio State was off the hook. It was the first Buckeye counterpunch after Penn State’s opening flurry- and it would not be the last.

Ugly Numbers: Penn State’s first-half domination showed up on the stat sheet as well as the scoreboard. The Lions ran 39 plays to Ohio State’s 23 and outgained the Buckeyes 212-147. McGloin completed 13-of-17 in the half, including the two touchdown passes. Ohio State was fortunate not to be down by more than eleven points.

The Game Changes: Leading 14-3, Penn State got the ball to start the second half and drove into Ohio State territory before being forced to punt. The Buckeyes took over at their own four-yard line and promptly lost half the narrow distance to the goal on Bryant Browning’s false start, placing the ball at the two. Three plays later, on third-and-six from the eight, Dan Herron caught a flare pass, made a couple of defenders miss, and picked up the first down. That play finally got the Buckeyes rolling. Showing some rhythm for the first time all game they marched 96 yards in eleven plays, Herron doing the honors with a five-yard blast right up the middle. With more than half of the third quarter gone it was now 14-10.

Play of the Game: It came two minutes after Herron’s score and it was made by none other than Devon Torrance, who had such a woeful first half. On second-and-nine from his own 37-yard line McGloin’s coach-and-four finally turned back into a pumpkin. Torrance jumped a sideline route, juggled the ball several times, pulled it in and raced 34 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Pick-sixes have played huge parts in several of Ohio State’s wins over Penn State at the Horseshoe. This one proved to be the game-winner.

All He Does is Catch Touchdown Passes: Dane Sanzenbacher was the invisible man for much of Saturday’s action. Not only did he not make a catch for three quarters-plus, he was rarely even targeted. Nor was he targeted on his eighth touchdown reception of the season five minutes into the fourth. Facing second-and-long from his own 42-yard line Pryor went deep to Posey, who was double-covered at the goal line. The pass deflected off Posey’s hands and went right to Sanzenbacher, who was trailing the play. Dane neatly picked the ball out of the air and raced into the end zone, giving Ohio State a 24-14 lead with 9:58 to play.

Knockout Punch: It came barely a minute after Sanzenbacher’s freak touchdown and again it came courtesy of the defense. On second down from the Penn State 19-yard line, McGloin was intercepted again, this time by Travis Howard. The redshirt sophomore from Florida weaved his way thirty yards for Ohio State’s second defensive touchdown of the half, and at 31-14 the rout was on.

Boom Shaka-laka: As well as the defense played, the second half really belonged to Daniel Herron. The junior from Warren piled up 121 rushing yards on fourteen attempts after halftime, scoring the touchdown that started the revival. Boom totaled a career-high 190 yards on 21 carries for the game and more than any other player provided the jump-start to what had been a flat, listless Buckeye football team.

Quite the Turnaround: The competitive difference in the second half was vividly reflected not only in Ohio State’s 35-0 advantage on the scoreboard, but in the overall statistics. The Buckeyes outgained Penn State 306-60 and ran 33 plays to the Lions’ 26. After his brilliant first half Matt McGloin experienced a nightmare in the second, hitting 2-of-13 passes for 18 yards and getting intercepted twice for touchdowns before being benched late in the fourth quarter. Penn State went 0-of-6 on third-down conversions in the second half as well.

Part of the problem for the Lions was injuries that knocked both Evan Royster and reserve running back Stephfon Green out of the game for the balance of the last thirty minutes. With Penn State’s rushing game crippled the Buckeyes had no need to honor the play-fakes that had been so profitable in the third period. Ohio State’s front four turned up the pressure while the secondary eschewed the soft zones that had been the bane of their existence in the first half. The result was a Buckeye runaway.

Terrelle Pryor’s Line: 8-of-13 passing for 139 yards, two touchdowns and an interception; 49 rushing yards on nine carries. With Penn State’s offense dominating the ball Pryor was almost a non-factor in the first half. He got it going in the second, especially with his legs, but also threw a bad interception early in the fourth quarter with Ohio State driving and the game still in doubt at 17-14. It was, on the whole, not a vintage performance for the junior from Pennsylvania, who will be returning for his senior season and, hopefully, another shot at that elusive second BCS Championship for the Ohio State program.

Running Wild: Led by Boom’s big day the Buckeyes rolled up an imposing 314 yards on the ground. Pryor helped with his 49 yards while Brandon Saine, the forgotten runner, added a productive 46 on eight carries, including a 19-yard end-around that set up Ohio State’s first touchdown. The Buckeyes averaged a brisk 7.3 yards per carry on the day.

 

Around the Nation

Game of the Week- Northwestern/Iowa: The Big Four is now the Big Three, thanks to the Hawkeye nemesis from Evanston. Northwestern knocked off Iowa for the third year in a row and the fifth time in six games, coming from behind to edge the Hawkeyes, 21-17. Iowa led the Wildcats 17-7 and were driving early in the fourth quarter when Ricky Stanzi was picked off. Dan Persa then led touchdown drives of 85 and 91 yards, throwing touchdown passes to end both.

Unfortunately Northwestern suffered a devastating blow when Persa tore his Achilles tendon on the game-winning touchdown play with 1:22 remaining. He’s done for the season, meaning that while at 7-3 the Wildcats are on their way to a bowl, they’ll be making the trip without their do-it-all player under center. Shades of 1995, when Pat Fitzgerald was lost with an injury late in Northwestern’s Rose Bowl season.  

Iowa’s loss leaves a three-way tie for the Big Ten lead between Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State. If all three teams win out the Badgers will likely get the automatic BCS spot based on their higher place in the rankings. If Wisconsin and Michigan State finish tied at the top the Spartans get the auto-bid based on their head-to-head victory over the Badgers. If Wisconsin and Ohio State finish tied the Badgers get the nod based on their victory over the Buckeyes. If Ohio State and Michigan State finish tied the Buckeyes get the bid based on their higher BCS ranking. It’s that simple.

Public “Lynch”-ing: The Big Ten has already seen one coach fired during the season. Based on Indiana’s performance at Camp Randall Stadium, Tim Brewster might have company soon among the terminated. In giving up 83 points- the most scored by a Big Ten team in sixty years- the Hoosiers pretty much just laid down and died. Hoosier defenders basically stood around and watched while Wisconsin run up 66 points in the last 35 minutes of the game. There was no hitting, no tackling, no physicality and no desire. Even by the not-so-lofty standards of Indiana University football it was a disgraceful performance.

I don’t know if Bill Lynch is on the hot seat or not. I do know that Indiana is 5-25 in Big Ten games since Lynch took the job, 1-14 in Big Ten road games, and just gave up 83 points in a conference game. That should do it, right?

As for Bret Bielema running up the score, what’s he supposed to do- tell his players to take a knee the entire fourth quarter? This wasn’t Evansville he was playing. Indiana is a conference opponent. If they’re giving up 83 points, that’s on them. The Hoosiers weren’t putting forth the effort. Wisconsin was under absolutely no obligation to follow suit. The Badgers are going for a Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl berth. They and their coach have better things to do than safeguard the dignity of Indiana University football.

Oregon Survives: The Ducks weren’t impressive in their 15-13 squeaker over California in Berkeley, but style points don’t matter at this stage of the game- survival is the only imperative. More importantly the Ducks are just about out of the rough stuff on the schedule. The final two games are at home against fading Arizona and on the road against an Oregon State team that lost to Washington State in Corvallis on Saturday. Win them both and Oregon can punch its ticket for the desert.

But there are questions about this almost unquestioned BCS lock. Oregon is a different team away from Autzen Stadium. The Ducks can be muscled defensively, although Cal certainly didn’t do much against them. You might not be able to stop Chip Kelly’s offense when it’s on the field, but you can keep it on the sidelines by controlling clock and wearing down that defense- exactly what Ohio State did in last season’s Rose Bowl.

Put the Ducks back into the Rose Bowl against either Ohio State or Wisconsin and I’d favor the Big Ten team. But they’re not going to the Rose Bowl.

Finally: Not since 1969, when they won the ACC crown, have the South Carolina Gamecocks been able to call themselves champions. They aren’t champions yet this year, either. But after throttling Florida 36-14 Saturday night in the Swamp, South Carolina is the winner of the SEC East and will meet Auburn for the second time this season in the conference title game in Atlanta. After being blown out at home by Arkansas a week earlier the Cocks put it altogether against Florida, outgaining the Gators 395-226 and getting 212 yards and three scores out of Marcus Lattimore.

It’s been a long time for this star-crossed program. But the Cocks are finally on the cusp of something they’ve been seeking for more than a generation. Their division title is well-earned: South Carolina really is the best team in the SEC East- such as it is- and should be in this position.

And do not by any means count out the Cocks in the SEC Championship Game. They had Auburn on the ropes on the Plains before melting down in the fourth quarter, and they’ve got the running game, the defense and maybe, just maybe, the quarterback to give the Tigers everything they can handle. South Carolina knows it can beat Auburn and, having dispatched Alabama and Florida, knows it can win the big games against the blue-blood set of God’s Conference. You still never quite know which Cocks team will show up on a given day. But when they’re on, they have the talent and the coaching to take down just about anyone.     

Rocky Mountain: TCU remained unbeaten but looked only sporadically impressive against San Diego State. After spotting the Aztecs two touchdowns in the first six minutes the Horned Frogs ran off 37 unanswered points to take a 37-14 third-quarter lead. Then they went flat again, giving up three touchdowns in less than a quarter and hanging on for a 40-35 win. San Diego State is 7-3 with those three losses by a combined twelve points, but TCU should have won this game big- and didn’t.

The team the Frogs thumped last week didn’t do them any favors either. Fresh off its 47-7 home loss to the Frogs, Utah went to South Bend and was whipped 28-3 by a Notre Dame team that lost at home to Tulsa two weeks ago. The once-potent Utes couldn’t even crack the end zone against an Irish defense that came into the afternoon ranked a modest 77^th nationally.

Actually, the more you look at the Mountain West aside from TCU, the less impressive it is. Utah has lost its last two games by a combined 98-10 and its best win this season is at home, in overtime, over Pitt. San Diego State and Air Force are okay, not great. BYU is just now recovering from an awful first month-and-a-half of the season. And the bottom four of the conference is wretched. I have banged the drum for the Mountain on the strength of its depth. That depth is nowhere to be found this season. Boise would run the table in that conference, probably pretty easily. Which makes you wonder why, exactly, TCU is ranked ahead of Boise in the first place.

By the Way: Don’t tell me Boise and TCU and non-BCS schools in general are getting “screwed” or “hosed” by the BCS system. The BCS has been the best thing that has ever happened to those programs. Remember the 2006 Boise State team that beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl? The BCS is the reason Boise played in that Fiesta Bowl and not the Humanitarian Bowl. It’s the reason Hawaii got a Sugar Bowl bid a few years ago and not an Aloha Bowl bid or whatever. The BCS is the only reason schools like those are even in the discussion.  

 

Winners of the Week

Northern Illinois: The Huskies have virtually clinched the MAC West after dropping a 65-30 Thursday-night hammer on their main competitors from Toledo. Quarterback Chandler Harnish was the main man, totaling 311 yards and two touchdowns with his arm and legs. A win over either Ball State or Eastern Michigan puts NIU in the MAC title game for the first time since 2005.

Florida International: Going into this season the Golden Panthers were 9-39 in four years as an FBS school. They’re only 4-5 this season but they’re 4-1 in the Sun Belt and in control after thrashing perennial kingpin Troy on the road, 52-35. Wins in two of the final three games would clinch the Sun Belt title and a bowl bid for FIU.

Texas A&M: The 7-3 Aggies roared back from a 30-14 first-half deficit to top Baylor, 42-30, and clinch a winning record for the first time under Mike Sherman. With losses to both Oklahoma schools hopes of a Big 12 South title are all but gone, A&M can still put a stamp on its renaissance with victories over Nebraska and Texas in its final two regular-season games.

Service Academies: All three won on Saturday and have at least six wins, meaning all three will likely be going bowling this season. The much-improved Army Black Knights will have a shot to knock off Navy in Philadelphia on December 11^th- something they haven’t done since 2001.

Washington State: After sixteen consecutive Pac-10 losses the Cougars finally broke through, disposing of Oregon State in Corvallis, 31-14. Quarterback Jeff Tuel was on point with 157 passing yards and 79 rushing yards while the Washington State defense held the stumbling Beavers to just 261 total yards. The win, plus a higher recent level of competitiveness overall, likely saves Paul Wulff’s hide for at least another season.

Losers of the Week

Illinois: The Illini blew their chance to all but clinch a bowl berth with an ugly home loss to dismal Minnesota. Illinois led the Gophers 34-24 midway through the fourth quarter but gave up two touchdowns in the final seven minutes to let it slip away. Now at 5-5 with consecutive losses to Michigan and Minnesota, the Illini have to win at least one of back-to-back road games at Northwestern and at Fresno State to go bowling in 2010.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers could have taken complete control of the Big East race with a win over Connecticut on Thursday night. Instead they watched helplessly as running back Jordan Todman rolled for 222 yards in a 30-28 Husky upset. All of a sudden the Panthers could find themselves out of first place with a loss at South Florida this coming Saturday.

Texas: Fans at Darrell K. Royal were treated to another frightful performance on Saturday as their Longhorns made it 1-4 in true home games this season with a decisive 33-16 loss to Oklahoma State. Prior to Saturday the Cowboys hadn’t won in Austin since 1944. It’s been a season of those kinds of milestones for Texas, which at 4-6 is in eminent danger of staying home at bowl season for the first time in thirteen years.

Giorgio Tavecchio: The Cal kicker drilled a 24-yarder to seemingly give the Bears a 16-15 lead over Oregon early in the fourth quarter on Saturday, but flinched before the snap and was called for illegal procedure, nullifying the score. Tavecchio was then wide-right on the re-kick from 29 yards out, keeping the Ducks in front. Cal never again threatened. A one-point lead with nearly a quarter to go isn’t exactly secure against the likes of Oregon, and the Bears might have lost anyway, but Tavecchio missed an opportunity to put some pressure on a Ducks team that has played from ahead all season.

Valparaiso: The Crusaders concluded a 0-11 season with a 37-15 loss at Morehead State, making them the only winless team in the entire FCS. Other than a 21-19 loss to Drake on September 25^th all of Valpo’s defeats came by margins of at least twenty points, including an 86-7 mid-October shellacking by Jacksonville. The only winless team in the FBS, Akron, still has a couple of games remaining.

 

Next: The Buckeyes face another stern task this Saturday when they head to Iowa City for a 3:30 meeting with the Hawkeyes. Last season’s meeting was an overtime classic. Iowa has struggled of late, losing to Northwestern and nearly losing to Indiana, but they ought to be a different animal back home among the corn-fed set.