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Sunday, October 26, 2008
Penn State ruins Pryor’s coming-out party
Penn State defeated Ohio State 13-6 on Saturday night, kicking the Buckeyes out of the national championship conversation.
The other big score was 2-0. As in OSU made two turnovers and PSU made zero. And while you’re throwing up goose eggs, consider that the Nittany Lions were not called for a single penalty, despite an Ohio Stadium record crowd of 105,711
At halftime, it looked like the team that forced a turnover would win. Sure enough, that’s what happened after OSU freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor fumbled at midfield in the fourth quarter.
After a mad scramble, Penn State recovered at the OSU 38 and went on to score the game’s only touchdown.
Pryor lost the ball fighting for a first down on 3rd-and-1. The ball was knocked out by Penn State defender Mark Rubin.
“He tried to slide outside,” OSU coach Jim Tressel said. “A helmet hit the ball or something hit the ball or whatever. It was unfortunate.”
Penn State kept Pryor on its radar all night. The Pennsylvania native, who talked tough all week, finished 16-for-25 passing with 226 yards. Decent numbers, but the numbers that killed the Buckeyes were the QB’s rushing stats: nine carries for 6 yards.
“He was under a little bit of duress,” Tressel said. “I thought he hung in there and did some good things.”
The way Pryor reacted after the game wasn’t good. He sat on the bench, head buried for several minutes. If you want to be a leader, it’s probably best to hold your head up and shake hands.
There are plenty of good days ahead for Pryor, but they might have to wait until 2009.
“We have to try to put this one behind us in the next couple days and move on,” OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman said.
QUICK HITS
— ABC play-by-play guy Brent Musberger uttered the dumbest sentence of the night when he wondered aloud whether there would be a quarterback controversy after Pat Devlin replaced Daryll Clark late in the game. Clark was, uh, injured, although he didn’t look like it.
— Just wondering … Did Tressel even consider putting Todd Boeckman in at QB to change these up a little?
— OSU’s defense looked good, but Penn State’s was better. The Buckeyes managed just 61 yards rushing on 31 carries. Ouch.
— The all-time series with Penn State is now tied at 12-12. OSU holds a 10-6 edge since PSU joined the Big Ten in 1993.
