Ohio State bucks Lions, 28-9

By CHRIS MASSE
and DON STEWART
Collegian Staff Writers

COLUMBUS - For the second time in three years, Penn State's drive for a national championship stalled at Ohio Stadium.

No. 1 Ohio State turned a Kevin Thompson fumble and a Pat Pidgeon blocked punt into 14 points on its way to a 28-9 victory. Held to a sub-par 326 yards and two touchdowns offensively, the Buckeyes used an aggressive defense and special teams to foil the Nittany Lions' upset bid.

"I think we could have played a little bit better offense than we played today," Ohio State coach John Cooper said. "But we did what we had to do to win the game."

Penn State (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) stifled the Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0) throughout the first half and used a 42-yard field goal by Travis Forney to build a 3-0 lead late in the stanza.

Then disaster struck.

Facing a second-and-ten from his own 13-yard line with a little more than four minutes remaining in the half, Thompson rolled out and was hit by Ohio State linebacker Jerry Rudzinski. The quarterback fumbled the ball and the senior linebacker recovered in the end zone.

The Buckeyes suddenly found themselves ahead 7-3.

"I think it was a momentum shift" Rudzinski said. "It fired up our special teams and it fired up our offense."

Things got worse for Penn State before it could reach the locker room for halftime. Ohio State's offense found a rhythm for the first time with 1:48 remaining. It put together a nine-play, 51-yard scoring drive that quarterback Joe Germaine capped with a 20-yard scoring pass to tailback Michael Wiley.

Penn State had a chance to redeem itself on its first possession of the third quarter, but instead dug themselves an even deeper hole. Percy King broke through the Lions' line and blocked Pat Pidgeon's punt. Joe Cooper recovered the loose ball in the end zone to give Ohio State a 21-3 cushion.

"We can't make those silly mistakes and expect to win," Penn State wide receiver Joe Nastasi said. "They're momentum killers."

The Lions did not roll over after the third Buckeye touchdown. They cut the lead to 12 after Mike Cerimele scored his fifth touchdown of the year on a one-yard run with 9:41 left in the third quarter. Cerimele's run was set up by a David Macklin interception and a 37-yard leaping reception by Nastasi.

That, however, was as close as Penn State would get. Ohio State shut down the Lions' offense the rest of the way and put the game away when Joe Montgomery scored from one yard out late in the third quarter.

Despite the loss, Penn State coach Joe Paterno was not entirely disappointed with his team's effort.

"I was encouraged by a lot of things," he said. "We want to be a little more cohesive on offense. That's our biggest problem right now."

Game four: Penn State vs. Ohio State