Ohio State October 27, 2014
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VOLUME 77 ISSUE 7 Penn State vs. Ohio State October 27, 2014 The Letter Just a few days before Halloween, a Follow us on sold-out Beaver Stadium primetime Twitter and white out crowd was treated to a Check out the thrilling football finish, as the new Football Nittany Lions tricked 13th-ranked Letter Blog Ohio State with a stunning second- half comeback, before bowing in overtime, 31–24. PSU 0 0 7 10 7 24 “There are no moral victories at OSU 7 10 0 0 14 31 Penn State,” Coach James Franklin told the media in his post-game CONTENTS appearance. And the players smarted under the sting of defeat, after tasting what might have been the The Letter Big Ten upset of the year. Notes from the Cuff Other Sports But despite their third straight loss, after four season-opening wins, the News of Note two-touchdown underdog Nittany Lions made a statement before an ABC Game Photos Statistics television audience that this sanction-hampered team is not going to give up regardless of the profile of the opponent. At the same time, they served notice to the remaining five teams on their PAST ISSUES schedule that they are improving and intend to compete for a winning View past issues record and a bowl bid, after two years of uninterrupted Christmas vacations. There was no question about which was the more talented team on the field Saturday night. But there was also no question about which team played with the most heart. The 4–3 Lions, who have just one victory in four Big Ten outings, scared the life out of the Ohio State fans, who were sprinkled like red freckles in the white face of Beaver Stadium. FAN ZONE They feared a second blemish on the record of their now 6–1 Buckeyes, Football Schedule who remain undefeated in three conference contests. That could have Team Roster squashed the national playoff hopes of Coach Urban Meyer and his GoPSUSports.com charges, who own the nation’s longest active streak of 11 consecutive road Radio/TV Listings victories and are only one win shy of the Big Ten record of 20 straight Big Ten Football TV conference regular season wins set by the 2005–07 Buckeyes. Schedule Big Ten Standings After Ohio State took advantage of miscues by the Lion offense and Big Ten Schedule and Results punters to score on two short touchdown drives plus a 49-yard field goal, Penn Staters in the Pros the Lions could easily have folded their tents at halftime and crept silently into the night. For advertising info, However, a stalwart Lion defense contact: Angelo Scialfa not only kept the Bucks at bay in 609-259-1910 the second half but also inspired [email protected] the offense, igniting the rally with a 40-yard pick-six by defensive tackle Anthony Zettel on the third play of the third quarter. It was the third career interception and first-ever touchdown by the fiery Michigan native and the turning point of Saturday night’s game. With the wildly enthusiastic white- clad crowd urging them on, the Lions reversed the score by winning the second half, 17–0, and forcing the Buckeyes into their first overtime contest of the year. State’s defenders held the high- scoring visitors 39 points below their scoring average of 56 points in regulation time and less than half their average of 533.8 yards per game. At the same time, Penn State’s offense, which had been limited to a total of 78 yards passing and running in the first 30 minutes, erupted for 157 yards through the air after intermission. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg completed 21 of 33 attempts, leading to his unit’s first 10 points, after a string of four scoreless quarters. The first seven of those points were set up by Mike Hull’s fourth quarter interception of J.T. Barrett and 12- yard return to the OS-45. Sophomore tailback Akeel Lynch accounted for 12 yards on two rushes and freshman wide receiver Saed Blacknall accounted for 32 on three catches of Hackenberg aerials, climaxing with a magnificent 24-yard jump-ball catch over a Buckeye defender in the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown. With less than three minutes remaining, State mimicked its last-minute heroics of the UCF and Rutgers games, driving 77 yards in 19 plays, consuming all but nine ticks of the clock and culminating in Sam Ficken’s 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 17. The over-zealous student section began the well-known repetitive soccer cheer of “I believe that we will win.” And certainly all Michigan State fans jumped on the bandwagon with Penn State rooters. In the first overtime, Hamilton snagged an 18-yard sideline pass from Hackenberg then outleaped the Scarlet and Grey secondary to haul in a 12 yarder at the two-yard line. Two plays later, Bill Belton lined up in the wildcat formation, took a direct snap, faked a handoff to Lynch and slashed through the left side for a touchdown. J.T. Barrett’s beautiful fake handoff to Ezekiel Elliott and 17-yard run around left end set up his five-yard burst up the middle for Ohio State’s tying touchdown. Mike Hull was called for an unexplained 15-yard penalty for an illegal attempt to block the extra point kick, which was then inexplicably assessed on the Buckeyes’ possession to start the second overtime—thus giving them a greatly shortened distance from which to score their second OT TD on rushes by Elliott and Barrett. Penn State’s ensuing possession started at the 25-yard line and ended on a fourth-and-five play, when defensive end Joey Bosa blasted through the line and knocked Lynch into Hackenberg’s legs for the fifth and game- winning sack of the Lion QB. The usual traffic jam following a night game was magnified by the fact that hardly any of the 107,895 ticket holders comprising the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium since the 2011 Nebraska game left before the visitors tallied two touchdowns to the home team’s one in overtime. The annual Penn State White Out lived up to previous spectacles, and the Alma Mater and “We Are …” shouts rang out as lustily as when the Lions win. Despite losing the battle in the second overtime, Penn State nonetheless got off to a good start on the second half of its season, which will continue unabated every Saturday in November. The Big Ten scheduling computer deprived Penn State fans of any home games in the prime football month of October until its last Saturday. But the weather gods made up for it by providing a magnificent sunny and warm autumn weekend in Happy Valley that was filled with Friday night activities, including successful soccer, ice hockey and volleyball contests and this year’s Rally in the Valley in Rec Hall. The 8:14 p.m. Saturday kickoff for ABC gave returning alums plenty of time to enjoy the past-peak but still colorful campus trees and shrubs or to join the festive fans strolling along College Avenue and signing the huge 409 poster honoring the memory of beloved Coach Joe Paterno. With former Penn State All-America linebacker Shane Conlan—State’s newest selection for the College Football Hall of Fame—looking on, Mike Hull’s personal and game-high 19 tackles maintained his standing upon the top of the Big Ten tackle ladder at 11.9 stops per contest. His Saturday total was the most for any Penn State defender since Gerald Hodges had an identical 19 against Illinois in 2011. DaeSean Hamilton’s 14 catches broke the Penn State record set by Freddie Scott, when he grabbed 13 against Wisconsin in 1995. Hamilton’s 126 yards gave him his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season and raised his total to 686—just six short of Deon Butler’s freshman season record. Christian Hackenberg’s 224 passing yards on 31 completions kept him in first place among Big Ten passers with 165 completions and an average of 265.9 yards per game. A comparison of the 31–24 overtime loss with last year’s 63–14 drubbing by the Buckeyes, emphasized how much more improvement the Lions made during their second bye week this season than they did in the first bye week before their 18–13 loss at 3–5 Michigan on Oct. 11. “We’re that close, we really are,” Coach Franklin told the media. “I truly believe with a little bit of patience, a great attitude and tremendous work ethic, we’ll get where we want to go.” He said, “We have an issue punting the ball,” and added that “we have a lot of things we need to correct, but we’re making progress.” “These guys believe in themselves and they believe in the program,” Franklin claimed. Next week, Penn State entertains new Big Ten foe Maryland for the first time since 1992 in a contest that will kick off at noon and be televised by ESPN2. For the Glory, [PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION] Published by Penn State Alumni Association Copyright © 2014 Penn State Alumni Association. All rights reserved. Part of your Penn State Alumni Association's mission is to strengthen the connection of alumni to the University and to provide valued services to members. The Football Letter is just one of the many benefits of membership provided to support that mission. Powered by IMN™ VOLUME 77 ISSUE 7 Penn State vs.