Second Half Surge Propels Buckeyes to Victory

With four teams tied atop the Big Ten standings, every week, every game is vital and there is no room for error.

So when the Ohio State Buckeyes went into the locker room at halftime trailing the visiting Penn State Nittany Lions 14-3, there was an uneasy feeling inside the Horseshoe.

The uneasy feeling soon went away as the Buckeyes rattled off 35 unanswered second half points on their way to improving their record to 9-1 (5-1 in the Big Ten) with a 38-14 victory.

It was apparent from the beginning that the Nittany Lions, angry that they weren't given much of a chance, appeared to be a team that was rested and focused early.

Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin threw touchdown passes to Justin Brown on a 23-yard score and Derek Moye on a 6-yarder. They were the first touchdown passes Penn State had thrown in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993, and gave the Nittany Lions the most points they've scored there in that span.

After being dominated for the entire first half, the Buckeyes began to gain some momentum when they drove 96 yards to bring them within 4 points. For the most part, they stayed on the ground, with Boom Herron, who had a career-best 190 yards on 21 carries, going the final 5 yards through a huge hole provided by the offensive line for a touchdown.

It was then the turning point came in the game as McGloin fired a pass into the left flat meant for Michael Zordich but instead Devon Torrence tipped and snagged the pass and returned it 34 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Ohio State then forced a punt and on second-and-23 from his own 42, Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor launched an arching pass down the middle of the field for DeVier Posey, with D'Anton Lynn and Drew Astorino pounding him as the ball arrived. But the ball conveniently shot directly to Dane Sanzenbacher trailing the play. The freak play seemed to really deflate Penn State.

Sensing an opportunity to take complete control of the game, the Buckeye defense once again made a big play as Travis Howard took another interception back for a touchdown.

Pryor then capped off the win by hitting tight end Jake Stoneburner for a 3-yard touchdown pass.

Pryor didn't have one of his better performances as he completed 8 of 13 passes for 139 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The victory sends the Buckeye into a critical showdown at Iowa next week tied for first place in the conference with Michigan State and Wisconsin.

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