Though it seemed probable that last Saturday's struggle between then-No. 16 Penn State and then-No. 6 Ohio State would be a defensive battle, in the days leading up to the game, there was a lot of talk about the explosive offensive players on both teams.

But in a game that featured a very limited amount of offense -- 425 yards to be exact -- the playmakers from both squads found themselves marginalized by outstanding defensive efforts.

In fact, the showdown between two similar signal callers -- the athletic, dual-threats Michael Robinson and Troy Smith -- was decided not by which quarterback made the most plays, but instead which quarterback made the fewest mistakes.

Robinson ended up completing 11-of-20 passes, but only threw for 78 yards.

Still, the senior ran the offense efficiently and picked up 54 yards on the ground on 14 attempts, including Penn State's first touchdown.

Maybe even more importantly, Robinson was not sacked and did not turn the ball over against an outstanding Ohio State defense.

"I thought he played a great football game," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "He really didn't make any major mistakes."

"I threw the ball away when I had to, and I didn't force anything," Robinson said. "We felt like we could run the ball on them, our offensive line did a great job and things worked out."

Smith, on the other hand, struggled, and Penn State's defenders almost to a man said that practicing against a similar athlete in Robinson day in and day out helped them contain Ohio State's mobile quarterback.

"It wasn't a big change for us, we face an athletic quarterback in practice every day," defensive end Matthew Rice said. "We just wanted to keep pressure on him constantly. We know he's the kind of quarterback who can threaten you with the run and with the pass."

Smith completed 13 passes in 25 attempts mostly throwing underneath Penn State's zone coverage, but he also turned the ball over twice and was sacked five times which nearly negated his 53 positive rushing yards.

"He played hard, he was under a lot of duress, and I would have to watch the film closely to make too many comments," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "The thing about Troy Smith, he'll keep working, he's a fighter."

Former freshman phenom Ted Ginn, Jr. also struggled, continuing his season-long sophomore slump.

Until he caught a 26-yard pass on Ohio State's final offensive series, the electric receiver/return specialist was a non-factor.

Every time Ginn caught the ball, he seemed to run laterally and, in addition to catching two other balls for only 14 yards, he had only 64 yards on six combined kick-off and punt returns.

Ohio State's other starting receiver, the equally swift Santonio Holmes, had four catches but was also held below 50 yards.

Penn State safety Calvin Lowry was not surprised.

"It was nothing, he was fast, but we've got fast guys in the secondary," Lowry said. "All you heard all week was about their speed but, you know, we're not slow. Nobody on our team is slow."

Penn State freshman wideout Derrick Williams, a player who was compared to Ginn repeatedly in the offseason, had what may have been his quietest day in a Penn State uniform but still scored one of Penn State's two touchdowns despite only touching the ball five times.

Williams' fellow freshman Jordan Norwood paced Penn State's receivers with another strong performance, making five catches, but the deep threat presented by Williams and Penn State's other speedsters still opened other things up for Penn State's offense.

Still, in a match-up between two teams that looked similar at numerous positions, the only units that truly lived up to the hype were the linebackers and defensive backfields of both teams, a fact made crystal clear by the 17-10 final score.