Katzenmoyer hype bigger than his bite

It was a big week for Ohio State middle linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer.

In the week leading up to Saturday's contest against undefeated Penn State, though, the performance against the Hawkeyes somehow became more than great, and Katzenmoyer's stature in the world of college football skyrocketed to near mythic proportions.

The hype seemed worthy of something a little more prodigious.

As the Buckeyes prepared for Penn State, the great Andy Katzenmoyer somehow became the college football equivalent of the guy who discovered penicillin.

Alas, Katzenmoyer couldn't live up to such expectations -- at least for this game.

The Buckeye linebacker managed to log eight tackles in Ohio State's 31-27 loss to Penn State on Saturday, but it was a vast difference from the week before.

Penn State running back Curtis Enis said the reason for the change was rather simple.

"First of all, we blocked him," Enis said. "When I saw film against Iowa and he was making a lot of plays, he was unblocked. We had a lot of guys that were disciplined and staying on their blocking."

Staying on their blocking against Katzenmoyer, though, is not without consequence.

"The kid is strong," Enis said. "I went to pass block him, to cut him on his legs, and I got a stinger. My whole left side went numb."

The blocking helped open some running lanes for the Penn State ground attack. Enis and fullback Aaron Harris combined for 307 yards rushing on 35 carries. Enis alone had 211 yards rushing -- the first player to run for more than 100 yards against Ohio State this season.

"They were blocking me very well," Katzenmoyer said. "They also had a great scheme against us and they came out and played great. We knew what they were going to do and we just couldn't stop it."

Joe Paterno, who has seen some great linebackers in his 32 years at Linebacker U., was still impressed with Katzenmoyer, despite his average game.

"Katzenmoyer's a great football player," Paterno said. "For a big guy, he plays as well laterally as I've seen. We were trying not to do too much laterally. We won the game trying not to run the stuff he runs down."

Despite an average game, Katzenmoyer has run down opposing ball carriers for 41 unassisted tackles this season -- tops on Ohio State.

This week, as Katzenmoyer and the Buckeyes prepare for Indiana, the hype of last week will likely subside.

It remains to be seen whether Katzenmoyer can make an extraordinary impact once again, or whether he was declared a deity before ever truly performing any miracles.