Last year, for the whole first half, interstate rivals Ohio State (0-0) walked all over the Penn State men's rugby team(1-0).

The end result was a blowout 58-12 loss for the Ruggers and a long drive back home. From the start, the Lions were intimidated by the physical size of the Buckeyes and consequently were out hustled and outworked.

"We let ourselves get intimidated," Ruggers captain Brett Cowan said. "It showed and now we know what we have to do."

Against the Buckeyes, the Nittany Lions were down 24-3 at halftime and seemingly touched the ball only once during the entire half. It was a first half they would like to forget.

This year, although the Buckeyes are once again expected to be bigger than the Lions, and play with the same physical streak, the Ruggers say things will be different as they are better prepared.

"They are focused and they know what they are going up against," Penn State forward's coach Don Ferrell said.

One area that the Nittany Lions hope not to have a repeat performance in tomorrow's game is its tackling.

It was something they struggled with not only against the Buckeyes, but also throughout the season. The Lions cannot let tackling be an achilles' heel for them this weekend, if they are going to hang with the Buckeyes..

"We had a tough week of practice," Cowan said. "We did a lot of hitting."

Another key for the Nittany Lions will be to get off to a quick start.

Last season, it was a trend to get off to a slow start, something that repeated itself in their first game of this season. Although the Ruggers won their first game of this season against Kutztown 62-15, the score was tied at 12 at the half. Afterwards, the Lions proceeded to outscore Kutztown 40-3.

Against the Buckeyes, it was a different story as they grasped their first half opportunity before the Nittany Lions recovered in the second half but it was too late.

With last year's experience under its belt and the summer to think about the loss, the Ruggers are hoping that lightning doesn't strike twice.

"We have pretty good experience in the backs," Ferrell said. "This is a real big test for us and we are ready for the challenge."