COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State Buckeyes were put in an unfamiliar situation on Saturday -- unfamiliar for all of two minutes and 43 seconds.
The No. 3 Buckeyes had never trailed an opponent this season until Penn State took a 3-0 lead early in the first half.
Penn State had just taken the ball 53 yards after the opening kickoff, culminating in a 29-yard Craig Fayak field goal. The way the ball caromed off the left upright before trickling through should have given the No. 16 Lions an indication of how the day would go.
But John Cooper and company showed the 95,060 fans at Ohio Stadium that the only thing they needed to worry about was how much snow would accumulate during the course of the game.
"It's a great victory for us," Cooper said afterwards. "Any time you can hold an explosive football team like Penn State to two field goals, obviously you've got to be very happy about that."
Fayak was the only offense the Lions could muster as he added a 49-yarder on Penn State's second drive. After that, it was all Buckeyes.
Raymont Harris led the way with a career game -- 151 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries on a field "reminiscent of a pig sty." The snow never let up, and neither did the Buckeye rushing attack, which tallied 224 yards on the day en route to a 24-6 win.
"Every time I step on the field, I want the ball," Harris said. "When we needed to score or we needed first downs, I was like, 'Give me the ball, I'll come through.' "
Harris' backfield mate, Butler By'not'e, chipped in with one touchdown and 42 yards on 15 carries. With some of the holes the offensive line was creating, even Brutus the Buckeye, Ohio State's mascot, could have had a decent day rushing the ball.
"We said in the locker room that if we were going to win the game we're going to have to run the ball," By'not'e said.
On the other side of the field, it was almost the same story -- just different results.
Sure, Ki-Jana Carter got his 100-yard rushing game, 123 yards on 24 carries to be exact, but the key stat for him and the rest of the Penn State offense was under the touchdown column -- zero.
After the opening two drives, Penn State's possessions ended in every way but paydirt --everything from the standard punt to a blocked field goal and turnovers.
"We didn't throw and catch well today and we had some bad penalties," Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said. The throwing and catching part was personified in quarterback Kerry Collins, who ended the day with a stat line scarier than some of the Halloween costumes donned by fans: 13 of 39 passing for 122 yards and four interceptions.
Whether the weather and poor field conditions played a part in it or not, Penn State at times appeared unable to do anything right. Twice in the second half Penn State started drives in Ohio State territory, both times coming away empty.
"We just came up short and hurt ourselves," defensive tackle Lou Benfatti said.
In the third quarter, a 30-yard field goal attempt by Fayak -- blocked. Ohio State ball. In the fourth quarter, Stephen Pitts, after picking up most of the yardage on a drive, fumbled at the 7-yard line. Ohio State ball.
"I think probably they were their own worst enemy out their today," Cooper said. "They dropped some passes -- some key third-down passes."
Up 17-6 at halftime, the Buckeyes weren't completely safe yet. Harris saw the task at hand, and gained 57 of the drive's 68 yards on seven carries. It was the only score of the second half.
"We felt we attacked their defense in the right areas," Cooper said. "It was really a solid victory for us."
Notes:
-- Craig Fayak's 49-yard field goal in the first quarter gave him 249 career points, surpassing Lydell Mitchell's old total of 246, to become Penn State's all-time leading scorer.
The 49-yarder was also the second-longest field goal of the senior placekicker's career as a Lion. His longest was a 50-yard boot against Alabama in 1990.
-- With his 123 yards, Carter became the first running back this season to top the century mark against the Buckeyes.
