Grading The Game: Buckeyes 38 - Penn State 14

Offense:  B+

After a poor first half of offensive play, the Buckeyes came roaring back in the second with 35 unanswered points. Tailback Boom Herron led the offensive resurgence with 190 yards and a touchdown on only 21 carries (9 yards per carry.) In total, Ohio State ran for 314 yards on the Nittany Lion defense, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt on 43 rushes. Complementing the ground attack, Terrelle Pryor was 8/13 (62%) through the air for 139 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. By no means extraordinary, Pryor was efficient enough passing to keep the Penn State defense honest. One of the touchdowns, in particular, provided a highlight reel moment, when the ball bounced off the hands of DeVier Posey 58 yards downfield before falling into the hands of Dane Sanzenbacher.

The receiving corps had limited opportunities with the Buckeyes passing so little, but DeVier Posey did lead the way with 3 catches for 63 yards. Two Buckeyes caught touchdown passes, with Jake Stoneburner joining the aforementioned Dane Sanzenbacher. As a whole, the group did a fine job blocking on the perimeter, and tight ends Stoneburner and Reid Fragel were an integral part of the rushing success. Fullback Zach Boren also continues to thrive in his role in the offense.

Defense: A-

A tale of two halves, indeed. Penn State offensive coordinators Jay Paterno and Galen Hall mimicked the Wisconsin gameplan against Ohio State, relying on quick throws and an inside running game to move the ball in the first half. But Ohio State responded in a different manner than it did against the Badgers, and Penn State did not score a single point in the second half against the Silver Bullet defense.

In fact, the box score alone does not even indicate that Penn State had the Buckeyes on the ropes for much of the first half. The Nittany Lions ran 65 plays for 273 yards for a below average mark of 4.2 yards per play. Ohio State effectively shut down the rushing attack and put all of the pressure on McGloin; this pressure led to a complete implosion by the junior signal caller, who tossed two pick sixes to Ohio State defensive backs before being benched in the fourth quarter.

Special mention must go to cornerbacks Devon Torrence and Travis Howard, the recipients of McGloin's interceptions. Both were majestic, but Torrence's completely changed the tone and momentum of the game in one play. Penn State went from leading to falling behind in a debilitating fashion.

Special Teams: B

There were no obviously impactful plays made by special teams, but the coverage units played well and prevented Penn State's special units from making any obviously impactful plays themselves. Reserve linebacker Dorian Bell did have a great moment on one particular kickoff coverage when he single-handedly knock through the Nittany Lion blockers and tripped up the return man. Unfortunately, Penn State running back Stephon Green was roughed up during the skirmish, but it was a great play nonetheless.

Placekicker Devin Barclay made his only attempt, a chip shot that started off the scoring.

Players of the Game: Devon Torrence and Boom Herron. Torrence's interception acted as the turning point, and Boom Herron provided continuous offense throughout the game. Honorable mention goes to Travis Howard for his pick six, and the second half effort of the offensive line for their integral part of the victory.

Herron's Career High In Rushing, Defense And Terrelle Pryor All Add Up To Ohio State Win

Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Dan Herron ran for a career-high 190 yards and a touchdown, as eighth-ranked Ohio State used a huge second half to beat Penn State, 38-14, in a Big Ten clash from the Horseshoe.

The Nittany Lions held a 14-3 lead at halftime, but the Buckeyes dominated over the final two quarters, putting up 35 points while holding Penn State scoreless. Devon Torrence and Travis Howard each returned an interception for a score in the second half.

Terrelle Pryor threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, for Ohio State (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten), which kept pace for the conference lead with Wisconsin and Michigan State. The Badgers used an 83-20 thrashing of Indiana to improve to 5-1 in the Big Ten on Saturday, while the Spartans had a bye.

A big difference in the game was rushing. The Buckeyes accumulated 314 yards on the ground compared to 113 for Penn State.

Matt McGloin passed for 159 yards and two first-half touchdowns on 15-of-30 efficiency, but threw the two costly picks as the Nittany Lions (6-4, 3-3) had a three-game win streak broken.

"We didn't execute quite as well. Ohio State played the run better," Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said of the second half. "I didn't think they did much different but maybe played with more intensity. I give Ohio State some credit. They played better in the second half."

Penn State was coming off last weekend's comeback victory over Northwestern, which gave Paterno his 400th career victory. Paterno looked to be on the way to No. 401 after a strong first half, but Ohio State took over coming out of the break.

The Buckeyes forced the Lions to punt before taking over deep in their own territory. But in moving up the field, Ohio State faced only one third down -- which Pryor converted with an 11-yard pass to Herron.

Brandon Saine's 19-yard run moved the ball to the five, and Herron got into the end zone on the next play. He ran between the tackles, essentially untouched, to get across the goal line and end the 96-yard drive with 6:33 left in the quarter.

On the fourth play of Penn State's ensuing drive, Torrence's interception put Ohio State in front. Torrence was lined up across from PSU receiver Derek Moye, but dropped his coverage as he saw McGloin start to pass to the left flat. Torrence jumped in front of the intended receiver, secured the ball after initially bobbling it, and ran 34 yards for a touchdown and 17-14 OSU lead.

The Buckeyes' offense was threatening on a drive that spanned into the fourth quarter, though Malcolm Willis picked off Pryor at the PSU 2. But after the Lions failed to gain a first down and had to punt, OSU's offense took over at the PSU 45.

Ohio State was pushed back to its own 42 after a holding penalty, but the hosts scored on the next play thanks to an opportunistic Dane Sanzenbacher.

Pryor aired out an end zone pass for DeVier Posey, who was double-covered and had the ball bounce off his hands. Sanzenbacher, left open, was only feet away and made the catch. The 58-yard play gave Ohio State a 24-14 lead with 9:58 on the clock.

"I knew he was next to me on the route but not right next to me then," Posey said. "I thought I came down with it but the defensive player knocked it out. I heard the roar and looked up and saw Dane with it in the end zone. I guess I kind of threw him an alley-oop."

Most hopes for a Penn State comeback disappeared about a minute later, when Howard returned an interception 30 yards for a TD.

Pryor's three-yard pass to Jake Stoneburner with 3:59 remaining completed the scoring.

Ohio State's victory snapped a string of home losses in the series against Penn State. Entering Saturday's game, the visiting team had won the last three, and the Lions got off to a good start in their attempt to make it four in a row.

Devin Barclay kicked a 26-yard field goal on the game's opening drive, but Penn State put together several long drives to take control.

Later in the first, Penn State started at its own 33 and reached the end zone in 10 plays. Evan Royster converted a fourth down with a three-yard run and McGloin -- a former walk-on who was making his first road start -- capped the march with a 23-yard pass to Justin Brown.

After a Buckeyes punt, the Lions began a drive at their own 18. PSU did not face a third down until it was 3rd-and-goal from the six, and McGloin cashed in with a connection to Moye nearly four minutes into the second quarter.

Penn State was back in Ohio State territory on its next touch, but turned the ball over on downs.

"Our guys went out the second half and took over, but I think it was fueled by how hard that defense fought in that last series that they had to stop them," said Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.

Pryor, who completed 8-of-13 passes, ran for 49 yards for OSU...Royster led the Lions with 49 rushing yards, while Stephfon Green had 18, but both backs dealt with injuries during the game. Green was carted off in the second half, but appeared back on the sideline shortly thereafter...Penn State linebacker Mike Mauti did not play in the second half because of a shoulder injury...Posey led the Buckeyes with three catches for 63 yards...Brown had five grabs for 64 yards for PSU...Ohio State leads the series, 14-12. Despite the recent trend, the home team has won 13 of the 18 meetings since the Nittany Lions began Big Ten play in 1993.

College Football Week 11 Viewing Schedule

All times Eastern

TIME	GAME	TV	LINE
12:00	Iowa at Northwestern		IA -10
12:00	Indiana at Wisconsin		WISC -21.5
12:00	South Florida at Louisville		UL -2.5
12:00	Michigan at Purdue		MICH -13
12:00	Ole Miss at Tennessee		TN -2.5
12:30	Kansas St. at Missouri		MU -13
2:30	Utah at Notre Dame		UT -5.5
3:30	Penn St. at Ohio St.MAP		OSU -18
3:30	Texas Tech at OklahomaMAP		OU -15
3:30	Virginia Tech at North CarolinaMAP		UNC -3.5
3:30	Georgia at Auburn		AUB -6.5
3:30	Syracuse at Rutgers		SYR -2.5
4:00	San Diego St. at TCU		TCU -27
7:00	South Carolina at Florida		UF -6.5
7:00	Texas A&M at Baylor		A&M -3
7:00	UTEP at Arkansas		AR -28.5
7:15	Mississipi St. at Alabama		BAMA -13.5
7:30	Oregon at California		ORE -19.5
8:00	USC at ArizonaMAP		AZ -4.5
8:00	Clemson at Florida StateMAP		FSU -5.5
8:00	Oklahoma St. at TexasMAP		OSU -5.5
8:00	Tulsa at Houston		UH -2.5
10:30	Nevada at Fresno St.		NEV -8

Complete Week 11 TV Line Up

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Five For Penn State: What You Need To Know As The Bucks Play the Nittany Lions

1. Matt McGloin. The redshirt junior quarterback has replaced true freshman Robert Bolden as Penn State's starter after putting together two strong performances in consecutive weeks. McGloin threw for 475 yards and five touchdowns in the two games, and perhaps most importantly, did not turn the ball over once in either contest. He will face a new and more difficult challenge this Saturday when he takes on the Silver Bullets in the first road start of his career. Performing well against Michigan and Northwestern is one thing, but continuing that strong performance against a defense the caliber of Ohio State's is a more difficult challenge. If Penn State hopes to score enough points to win, McGloin will have to play well.

2. Defensive Philosophy. Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley is intrinsically identifiable with his 4-3 Over, Cover 3 defensive philosophy. After taking over defensive duties for PSU, Bradley refined his system to a core philosophy that emphasizes avoidance of big plays, tough run defense, and sound zone coverage. There is nothing schematically unique to what the Lions do, but their strict adherence and belief in the system has created a distinct "brand" of defense tied to the Penn State defense. For more on the defensive scheme, see Along the Olentangy's breakdown.

3. Nittany Kittens in Columbus. Over the past twenty years, Penn State has played eight games at Ohio Stadium, and the most points they've scored in any one of those games is 13. The Nittany Lions average eight points a game on offense when playing in Columbus, and they are only 7-1 in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten, with the lone victory taking place on their last visit, in 2008. In that win, Penn State was able to rely on a great defense and poor Ohio State offensive play to minimize the effect of their own poor offensive play. Ohio State's offense is one of the best in the Big Ten this season, while Penn State's defense is not nearly as good as it was in 2008. Clearly, there's a trend to struggle offensively on the trip west from State College, and the Nittany Lions can't rely on their defense to bail them out again this season.

4. Jim Tressel's Bye Week History. I do not accept that this is anything but the result of small sample size and coincidence, yet Jim Tressel's 2-4 record after bye weeks is still worth a mention, if not simply because so many people are pointing to it as an issue. Ohio State's last loss after a bye week, in a bit of cosmic convergence, came against Penn State in 2005, although it's important to note that the game was in Happy Valley, and against a much better Penn State team. And, like Jim Tressel said in his press conference on Tuesday, if Ohio State wins this weekend it will become a total non-issue, and if they lose, it will take on importance even if it really is a meaningless coincidence.

5. Ohio State's defensive line vs. Penn State's offensive line. This was the defining matchup in last season's game, with the Ohio State defensive line mauling the linemen from Penn State. The Nittany Lions reverted to Nittany Kittens again, with a nonexistent running game and trouble keeping QB Daryll Clark upright. Ohio State's defensive line does not have as much depth as last season, but Penn State's offensive line has struggled against every talented defensive line they've faced. They will have to raise their game this weekend if Penn State is to come away with the upset.

Buckeyes Open As Huge Favorites Over Penn State

Penn State has won 3 straight games, but Las Vegas doesn’t seem to be giving JoePa’s team much of a chance against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 17.5 point favorites over Penn State, a huge number for two storied football programs.

Penn State is just 4-4 against the spread this season, while Ohio State is 7-2. The Buckeyes have won 3-of-4 against Penn State, including a 24-7 win in Happy Valley last season. Penn State’s last win came in 2008 – a 13-6 win over the Buckeyes in Columbus.

Buckeyes To Host Nittany Lions After Week Of Rest

Ohio State gets back to work today with a date this Saturday against Penn State at the 'Shoe on the horizon.  Ohio State has won 2 straight games since their loss to Wisconsin and are looking to finish the season in dominating fashion as they continue to hope for a BCS Bowl berth.

Penn State is not having the season Joe Paterno hoped for, but at 6-3  they are hoping for a big bowl too.  A win in Columbus against the Buckeyes would go a long way in that effort.  The Nittany Lions beat Northwestern on Saturday 35-21 to give Paterno his 400th career victory.  Penn State comes in having won 3 straight games.

The  Buckeyes were off on Saturday, a week after blasting Minnesota 52-10 on the road.