STATE COLLEGE — The Ohio State Buckeyes are back in control of the Big Ten title race.
Terrelle Pryor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his return to his home state, Ray Small burned No. 11 Penn State with two long punt returns and No. 15 Ohio State won a duel of the league’s top two defenses in a 24-7 victory Saturday.
The Buckeyes (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) got an added bonus, too: A tie for the conference lead with Iowa after Northwestern handed the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season earlier Saturday.
Left for dead in the Big Ten after a demoralizing loss at Purdue last month, Ohio State’s hopes for a fifth straight league title look much brighter. A showdown with Iowa at the Horseshoe awaits next week.
They’ll head home to Columbus with a confident Pryor, the western Pennsylvania native who came up with several clutch plays in a game against the team he turned down as a highly touted high school recruit.
Thanks in large part to the dual-threat phenom, Ohio State scored the game’s final 17 points to silence the crowd of 110,033, the fourth-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.
Most of those fans went home very disappointed.
Leading by three, Pryor connected with open receiver Devier Posey in stride down the left sideline for a 62-yard touchdown pass with 1:47 left in the third to extend the lead to 17-7 over Penn State (8-2, 4-2).
A pumped Pryor rushed down the field to meet Posey, then skipped back to the sideline in delight.
All that criticism for his inconsistent play this year might seem like a distant memory.
After another three-and-out by quarterback Daryll Clark and the Penn State offense, Small lit up the Nittany Lions porous punt coverage unit for a 45-yard return to the Penn State 47 to end the third quarter.
Getting good protection, Pryor led the Buckeyes again on a drive with two third-down conversions before rolling right to hit Brandon Saine for a 6-yard touchdown pass on another third down play to give Ohio State a 17-point cushion.
Fittingly, Saine dived into corner of the end zone in front of the sliver of cheering Buckeye fans dressed whose scarlet gear stood out in the sea of blue and white.
Pryor finished 8 for 17 passing for 125 yards, and rushed for 50 yards on five carries.
He also had a 7-yard TD run in the first quarter, set up by a 41-yard punt return by Small to the Penn State 9.
Special teams, especially the punting unit, has been a season-long problem in Happy Valley, and the miscues set back Penn State again on Saturday.
Ross Homan’s diving interception of Clark with 9:20 left – Penn State’s first interception in four games – sent a flurry of Nittany Lions fans scurrying for the exits.
Clark’s touchdown plunge from yard out on fourth down capped a nice second-quarter drive to tie the game at 7.
Otherwise, the Buckeyes kept Penn State’s dangerous quarterback in check, thanks in large part to a defensive line that got consistent push.
Cameron Heyward had two sacks in the first three quarters alone.
Clark finished 12 of 28 for 125 yards and the interception. He ran for 20 yards on 11 carries. Evan Royster managed just 36 yards on 13 carries, and a couple dropped passes didn’t help the offense, either.
The 300th game in the
50-season history of Beaver Stadium will be one that most Penn State fans will want to forget.
College
Pryor leads Buckeyes past Nittany Lions
- College
-
-
MAC honors Roberts
Forest Hills graduate and former Delweld MVP George Roberts was named Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Year in baseball on Tuesday.
-
Sentence given, but Rutgers webcam saga not over
The legal saga is far from over for a former Rutgers University student sentenced to 30 days jail for using a webcam to spy on his roommate kissing another man. The cultural fallout could continue, too.
Dharun Ravi, 20, was sentenced Monday, two months after a jury convicted him of 15 criminal counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation and seven counts dealing with covering up a crime.
-
Paterno's family to get $13.4 million pension
Joe Paterno earned a state pension of $13.4 million for his 61-year coaching career at Penn State.
Paterno's family said Tuesday through a spokesman that Paterno's widow, Sue, would receive an initial payment of $10.1 million by the end of May, with the rest to be paid out over the next two years.
-
O’Brien keeps message fresh in selling Penn State
After three weeks of crisscrossing the Northeast to rally and re-assure the Nittany Lions faithful that all will be well in Happy Valley, Bill O’Brien still had fresh material when the Penn State coaching caravan reached its 18th and final stop.
-
[VIDEO] Panthers eager to renew PSU rivalry
It didn’t take Steve Pederson long to realize how important a renewal of the Pitt-Penn State football rivalry is to local fans.
Even the invocation at the Johnstown Panther Club’s fifth annual spring event at Sunnehanna Country Club on Thursday night included a request for the teams to meet on the field again. -
Penn State coach stops in Altoona
Bill O’Brien has quickly put to rest any notion that he plans to stick around as long as the last Penn State football coach.
Don’t expect his tenure in Happy Valley to last 46 years. -
Shepherd takes WVIAC championship
Shepherd recorded a 10-5 victory over Alderson-Broaddus in the WVIAC baseball championship Sunday afternoon at Point Stadium, earning a spot in the NCAA tournament with the league’s automatic bid.
-
Mount falls in title game
Mount Aloysius’ Cinderella run through the AMCC playoffs came to an end Saturday, as the No. 6 seed Mounties fell to top-seeded La Roche 14-4 in the AMCC Championship game.
-
Shepherd advances to title game
Shepherd advanced to the WVIAC Championship by defeating West Virginia State on Saturday at Point Stadium.
The conference title game will be played at 1 p.m. today at the Point. -
Two UPJ players earn WVIAC first-team honors
Pitt-Johnstown sophomore catcher Kyle Morrow and sophomore second baseman Jake Warner were named first-team All-WVIAC baseball, while senior outfielder Drew Westover and sopohomore right-hander Derek Younker each earned a spot on the second-team.
- More College Headlines
-
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
