COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ed Johnson unwrapped the tape on his hands while heading to the locker room. The Penn State defensive tackle didn't say a word, didn't glance up.

Maybe he didn't want to see the final scoreboard that read: Ohio State 28, Penn State 6. Maybe he didn't want to see another defensive effort squandered by the Nittany Lion offense.

Whatever the reason, Johnson later cleared up the "maybes" by sharing just what was on his mind at the Horseshoe.

"Going through my head was, 'What can I do? What else can we do as a defense? What can we do to help us?' " he said. "Obviously more than we did today. I can't really pinpoint it -- but more than we did today."

It didn't seem like more could've been asked of the defense. Johnson and company recorded two interceptions, limited Heisman hopeful Ted Ginn Jr. to 15 yards and held No. 1 Ohio State scoreless at halftime -- the first time the Buckeyes didn't score in the first half since last year's matchup against Penn State.

"It's disappointing, but what can you do?" said cornerback Justin King, who had one of those interceptions. "You just gotta let it go and keep fighting."

King exited the field while a sea of red-jerseyed fans chanted, "Not in our house!" It was in stark contrast from last year's scene at Beaver Stadium.

At the start of the game it appeared as if the Lions were unable to capitalize, in what became an unfortunate pattern for Penn State.

When junior linebacker Dan Connor intercepted a pass to open the second half, the Lions offense moved the ball only one yard. They were only 26 yards away from the end zone to begin with, and kicker Kevin Kelly ended up booting the field goal attempt wide to the left.

"The score doesn't justify how close the game was," Derrick Williams said. "We had our shots; we just didn't make plays."

The Lions completely lost momentum in the fourth quarter, while the crowd shouted in unison its trademark "O-H, I-O." When Penn State was one yard away from a touchdown -- three feet from a completely different game -- lineman Rich Ohrnberger committed a false start on 4th-and-1. The Lions were then forced to settle for three points, putting the score at 14-6.

And it just went downhill from there.

Anthony Morelli tossed two interceptions -- both were run back for touchdowns -- as the Buckeyes quickly transformed the face of the game. No one wanted to discuss it much after the contest.

"It's quiet right now. Not a lot of guys are talking that much," Connor said. "But this is a good learning experience ... We came out and we proved that we can play, and we proved it on a national scale.

"Hopefully, we can learn from here and take a step forward."