Ohio State-Penn State: Dissappointing Day for Nittany Lions

The day started out on a very positive note in sunny Happy Valley.  While some of the games earlier this season had terrible weather, that was not the case on Saturday.  The sun was out and it was rather warm for a November evening. 

The day started out well as the announcer at Beaver Stadium announced the final score of the Iowa game.  In a huge upset, Northwestern had defeated Iowa 17-10. 

The crowd cheered, as this meant Penn State was in a three-way tie for first place with Ohio State and Iowa. 

Little did the crowd know, this was one of the last things they’d have to cheer about on this day.

In a must-win game for a chance at a Big Ten championship, Penn State took on the Ohio State Buckeyes.  The atmosphere was electric, as it always is when the Buckeyes come into town.  The student section was dressed in all white, hoping the “white out” could help Joe Paterno's boys defeat their rivals. 

However, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and the rest of his team had a different outcome in mind.

Pennsylvania’s own Terrelle Pryor came into State College and led his team to a 24-7 victory.

His stats weren’t great, but he came through with many big plays at big moments.  There has been one stat that has haunted Pryor throughout the season: turnovers.  But on this day, Pryor took care of the football. He had three touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over once.

The first touchdown came early. Pryor scored on a seven-yard run as Ohio State took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Penn State tied it up in the second quarter, as their quarterback Daryll Clark scored on a one yard run.  This would be the last time the Nittany Lions would score, as Ohio State would score 17 unanswered points en route to the win.

As disgruntled fans left Beaver Stadium, I couldn’t help but hear blame being passed around. 

Some blamed the coaching as they said the play-calling was terrible. 

Some blamed a lack of preparation. 

Some blamed the quarterback. 

Some blamed the offensive line. 

All in all, if you weren’t dressed in red, you didn’t leave that stadium too happy.

Fans must know, the season is not yet over.

Sure the ultimate goal, which is a Big Ten title and/or a BCS bowl game is basically out of the picture. But Penn State is still in good shape to find themselves in a very good bowl game. 

A January 1^st bowl game always means you had a respectable season, as most of the best games are on that day.  If Penn State wins out, it will end up in either the Outback Bowl or Capital One Bowl, both of which are in Florida. 

These are very respectable bowl games, so hopefully our Nittany Lions can get there!