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OHIO STATE NOTES
Buckeyes, Illini likely will be on BTN
Sunday, October 28, 2007
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Each remaining game for Ohio State is critical for its Big Ten and national title hopes, but fans probably will have to hop to their nearest sports pub to see the team face Illinois on Nov. 10.
Steve Snapp, OSU's associate athletic director for broadcast services, said he's "99.9 percent sure" the clash with the Illini will be shown on the Big Ten Network, which isn't available to basic-cable subscribers in the Miami Valley.
Extras
Each Big Ten team is required to play one league game on the network. The Buckeyes already have appeared three times on the BTN, all nonconference games.
Showing support
Penn State fans showed some creativity with clever handmade signs.
Painted on one bedsheet was "Kiss Connor's Butkus," a reference to senior linebacker Dan Connor's bid to win the Butkus Award as the top linebacker. And a hand-held poster said, "My girlfriend gave me Laurinaitis."
Trying to get some air time on the ABC-TV broadcast, some students hung a sign that said, "We waited in line six days to see Another Buckeye Crushed."
All white — almost
Penn State pulled off the "white-out" in Beaver Stadium as planned, although a few specks of scarlet could be seen among the sea of white in the massive student section.
Two Buckeye fans, one wearing a No. 10 jersey and the other No. 35, sat about 10 rows up, while two other fans wearing No. 4 and No. 7 jerseys sat alone elsewhere among the white-shirted mob.
The Buckeyes sold 4,000 tickets, the normal allotment given to visiting teams. They were bunched in a corner of the 107,000-seat stadium.
Pretorius connects
OSU's Ryan Pretorius kicked a season-long 50-yard field goal on the opening possession. He was second in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage going into the game. He kicked two more field goals in the fourth quarter. He's 16-for-19. He belted a career-long 52-yarder last season.
Florida prospect commits
The Buckeyes picked up their 13th verbal commitment in the 2008 recruiting class with the addition of Miami, Fla., cornerback Travis Howard, who turned down offers from Miami, Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia Tech.
The 6-foot, 170-pound senior, who has been timed in the 40 at 4.43 seconds, is the high school teammate of Etienne Sabino, the top-rated middle linebacker in the nation. Sabino visited OSU last weekend and is being recruited by all the Florida powers.
The No. 1 senior in the nation, quarterback Terrelle Pryor of Jeannette, Pa., is scheduled to take an official visit to OSU this weekend for the Wisconsin game. The Buckeyes have about 16 scholarships to dole out in the '08 class.
Buckeye bits
• Todd Boeckman's 60-yard completion to Ray Small in the first quarter was the longest play from scrimmage allowed by Penn State this season.
• The Buckeyes' 91-yard, 15-play touchdown march in the second quarter was the longest scoring drive by a PSU foe this year.
• OSU coach Jim Tressel chewed out senior linebacker Larry Grant for a late-hit penalty during a punt return. The personal foul forced the Buckeyes to begin a second-quarter possession at their 11-yard line.
• With his team trailing 17-7, Joe Paterno was booed for passing up a fourth-and-2 gamble at the OSU 38-yard line with two minutes left in the first half. Jeremy Boone punted the ball through the end zone.
