Next up for Buckeyes: Nittany Lions
Penn State assistant coach Tom Bradley, who led the Nittany Lions' unsuccessful attempt to recruit Terrelle Pryor earlier this year, says he got a text message from Ohio State's freshman quarterback about a month ago, jokingly asking if he'd like a tour of Columbus.
No. 3 Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) won't need a tour guide to find its way to Ohio Stadium this Saturday night for what has become a battle of Top Ten teams now that OSU (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) has moved up to No. 10 in both major polls.
Ohio State used a 45-7 win over Michigan State on Saturday to return to the Top Ten for the first time since it was beaten 35-3 by Southern California on Sept. 13.
It was a game in which the Buckeyes' offense and defense both had many more good moments than bad.
While OSU coach Jim Tressel was glad to see improvement across the board, he wasn't ready to get overly excited.
"To become a good team we're going to have to play well every week. I don't know where our team is. We'll find out Saturday night against the Nittany Lions,"
he said.
Penn State is the biggest test for Ohio State since its deflating trip to USC. After beating Michigan 46-17 on Saturday, the Nittany Lions are averaging 45.4 points a game on offense and giving up just 11.8 points a game.
First-year starter Daryll Clark (63 percent completions, 1,531 yards and 11 touchdown passes) leads the high-scoring Penn State offense.
Tailback Evan Royster (893 yards, 10 touchdowns) and receivers Deon Butler (30 catches), Jordan Norwood (25 catches) and Derrick Williams (25 catches) are some of the other key players. Williams has also returned two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns.
Wide receiver Brian Hartline thinks Ohio State will go into Saturday night's game in the best frame of mind it has been in since the game at USC.
"We came in to the season with a one-loss is intolerable mentality. When you lose, you kind of get concerned for a while,"
he said. "After a game like this (the win over Michigan State) and watching practice the last couple weeks, I feel good."
Ohio State's often-criticized offensive and defensive lines were feeling better about themselves after the win over Michigan State.
The offensive line allowed only two quarterback sacks and helped the Buckeyes average 5.3 yards per rushing play. The defensive line, though it didn't get any sacks, got good pressure on Michigan State's quarterbacks and helped limit MSU's standout running back, Javon Ringer, to 67 yards.
The defensive line's highlight was end Thaddeus Gibson picking up a fumble and returning it 69 yards for a touchdown.
Gibson said the improvement in the defensive line the last two weeks resulted in part from "playing with more passion."
"We had to come together and make a change. And we did. Play with more passion, play with more intensity. Don't worry about making mistakes and make plays, just have fun and make sure you're going 100 miles an hour,"
he said.
Besides the Big Ten title and national rankings consequences, Saturday night's game will have Pryor, who grew up in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, going against the team that finished runner-up to Ohio State in the recruiting race to sign him.
"I really don't care, I'm in Ohio now. Jeannette is still my hometown, don't get me wrong. But this is where I am, I'm not at Penn State, I'm not in Pennsylvania. I'm here to make Ohio State happy, not make Penn State happy,"
Pryor said.
"It's going to be fun, they're a great team. We've got a big fight next week, a big game. We're hungry, we're hungry for more."
Penn State is 0-7 in Ohio Stadium since entering the Big Ten in 1993.
