Penn State Stops Ohio State's Rushing Attack On The Way To A 13-6 Victory

One of the most feared running attacks in college football this year is that of the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Their running game features Heisman candidate Chris "Beanie" Wells, along with the No. 1 recruit in the nation, Terrelle Pryor.

Wells is a bruising running back who will break for a big gain every once in a while, while Pryor is a big guy who loves to scramble when the pocket collapses or he can't find an open receiver.

Ohio State, having an outstanding rushing game from both their quarterback and their running back, will run the option quite often.  In their game against Penn State, they probably ran the zone-read option more than any other play.

Penn State has one of the best rush defenses in the Nation.  With every star running back they face, they continue to show why.  The Nittany Lions have been able to stop Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, Purdue running back Kory Sheets, Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill, and Ohio State running back Beanie Wells on their way to their current 9-0 record.

Every year, PSU has shown that they can compete with the best of rushers. Penn State's defensive line and linebackers are the reason for this—maybe that's why they're called "Linebacker U".

Saturday night, Ohio State was looking to dominate on the ground and come out with a win.  A quick summary of Ohio State's rushing attack in this game would be: STUFFED!!!  The Buckeyes had a total of 61 yards rushing.

Chris "Beanie" Wells carried the ball 22 times for 55 yards, which is 2.5 yards per carry.  This was by far the worst performance for Beanie this season.  Pryor carried the ball nine times for six yards, which is .667 yards per carry. 

Altogether, Ohio State rushed 31 times for 61 yards, which is just under two yards per carry.  Both Pryor and Beanie had their worst rushing games of the season, and it was also Ohio State's worst rushing performance as a whole this season.

As I said in my previous article, when Ohio State is unable to rush the ball, they don't score offensive touchdowns.  Against Purdue we saw this, and PSU was able to limit the running game even more, and Ohio State scored even less points this time.

Penn State, meanwhile, had six players contribute to the rushing game, where they totaled 37 rushes for 160 yards, which is 4.3 yards per carry, and they scored a rushing touchdown.

The passing game was a different story.  Daryll Clark went 12-20 for 121 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.  Terrelle Pryor went 16-25 for 226 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. 

However, many of Pryor's completions were just balls that were up for grabs, and his receivers were able to come down with them.  Another completion was from a blown coverage, and then the rest were from half-ending and game-ending drives, where PSU played a soft zone and let Ohio State throw the underneath balls.

This game basically came down to mistakes.  Penn State had no turnovers, and no penalties.  Although Deon Butler was called for pass interference, Ohio State declined the penalty and it therefore does not count.  Ohio State committed four penalties that cost them 48 yards.  Ohio State also had a fumble and an interception.

Ohio State's fumble came on a 3rd and inches play, when Ohio State had the lead 6-3 early in the fourth quarter.  Pryor was running a quarterback sneak, but the middle got jammed up, so Pryor decided to bounce to the outside. 

Before Pryor was able to make it to the first down marker, safety Mark Rubin knocked the ball out of Pryor's hands, and after a long and nauseating scrum for the ball, the Nittany Lions recovered.  Linebacker Navarro Bowman was able to come up with the ball.

After that fumble, Penn State was able to score the go-ahead touchdown on a 1 yard quarterback sneak from back-up quarterback Pat Devlin, since Clark was hurt earlier in the quarter.  Penn State tacked on a field goal after draining away more of the clock, and they gave the ball back to Ohio State with just over a minute left.

Pryor began to throw to open receivers, who found holes in Penn State's zone coverage.  They drove down the field with no timeouts left, and were soon looking as if they were going to send the game into overtime.

Pryor threw it from his own 43 yard line to the endzone with just over 30 seconds left.  There was one receiver, who I believe was Hartline, and three Penn State defenders were in the area of the ball.  Penn State cornerback Lydell Sargent intercepted the ball, and then Devlin ended the game by kneeling the ball.

Overall, this was a defensive battle where the better team won.  Both teams came out and played conservative.  However, if Penn State didn't play conservative and used their Spread HD offense, they probably would've racked up 40 or more points, as USC used a similar offense against Ohio State earlier in the year.

Ohio State took more chances than Penn State, which was surprising because Penn State has the better and more balanced offense.  Penn State, however, always plays with a conservative gameplan in the 'Shoe, and they always play not to lose.  Usually when a team plays not to lose, they end up losing, but Penn State is such a well rounded and such a great team that they were able to come out with a victory.

Penn State did not play to win, they did not win pretty, but they won.  Whether it is a blowout or a last second victory, a domination or a well fought battle, a win is a win.  Pretty or ugly, it doesn't matter, as long as you come out on top.  Penn State faced a formidable opponent in Ohio State last night, and they came out with a victory, in front of a record crowd in the 'Shoe.

Penn State has broken every curse they have faced so far this year, and their National Title hopes are getting better each week.  First, Penn State won their Big 10 opener for the first time in a few years.  Next, they broke the 9 game losing streak against Michigan.  Then, they broke the curse of scoring 10 or less points in the 'Shoe in the last seven visits.  Finally, they broke the curse of losing at the 'Shoe since joining the Big 10. 

Penn State is an amazing team, they are the team to beat, and they are the best team in the country, regardless of their ranking.  If Penn State holds on for the next four weeks, and either Texas or Alabama loses, or if they just drop below PSU in the rankings, the Nittany Lions will be in Miami for a National Championship, where they deserve to be.