In desperate need to get a score here and quick, Penn State will start the ball at their 40 yard line. Clark end pretty much any chance for a Nittany Lion comeback as he throws an interception into what football writer Matt Fortuna calls triple coverage.
We're heading down to the field now as it looks like Ohio State will close this one out.

***
Ohio State starts the fourth quarter with the ball in Penn State territory. The Nittany Lions will need a stop here if they want to stay in this game and keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive thanks to today's Northwestern upset of Iowa.
The Penn State student sections gets loud with Ohio State facing a big third down on the 49 yard line.
With all of his receivers down field and covered, Pryor tucks the ball in and runs for a huge 12-yard first down to keep this Buckeye drive going.
Thins continue to get worse for Penn State as Ray Small picks up another OSU first down on the reverse.
Ohio State looks to be picking up momentum late in this one as Penn State is trying to stay in the game. Pryor and the Buckeyes continue to move the chains with a third down completion to Boren to get closer to increasing an already ten point lead.
The Buckeyes pick up another key third down on this drive as Brandon Saine lunges into the end zone to put PSU behind by more than two scores.

***
Clark comes out throwing with a completion to Shuler for eight yards, followed by a one-yard run by Royster.
Facing a key third down, Penn State pitches the ball out to Royster for a big loss.
Boos come down from the stands as the fans question Paterno's play call on such a pivotal third and short.
After a booming punt by Boone, Ohio State responds with a huge 45-yard punt return.
The punter Boone saves seven for the Nittany Lions as he finds a way to tackle the return man.
At the end of the third quarter, Ohio State leads 17-7 with 15 minutes left to play.
Penn State needs to find something on offense if they hope to come back and pull out a victory against a stingy Buckeye defense.

***
The two punters are really earning their scholarships in this one.
Looking for a big play, Pryor throws the ball downfield and hits DeVier Posey for a 62-yard touchdown.
Just like that, the crowd is silenced and Ohio State got the break they needed to take control of the game.
Let's see how Daryll Clark and Joe Paterno respond to Ohio State's strike down the field. The Nittany Lions trail, 17-7 with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter.

***
The PA announcer just reported today's attendance marks the fourth highest ever in Beaver Stadium history.
As Penn State's offense prepares to take the field after yet another punt, the crowd erupts in a "We are" chant to make sure the fans don't fall asleep in another classic Big Ten slugfest.
The Nittany Lions gets back to business doing what it has all game- slowly running up the gut in hopes of finding a hole. On third down, Clark takes the ball himself and runs into a wall of OSU defenders forcing another punt.

***

The offenses continue to try and chip away at their opponents as Pryor dumps the ball off for a 4 yard gain to set up third down.
Pryor throws a bullet to his receiver to pick up a first down as OSU passes midfield into Penn State territory.
On first down, Bowman records his eighth tackle of the game knocking Ohio State back two yards.
Ohio State's punt team comes back onto the field as Pryor walks off the field in anger after a failed third and two conversion.

***
Penn State starts the drive on their own 15 yard line and the crowd lets out a loud sigh as Royster seems to have slipped while trying to hit the whole for no gain.
On second down, Clark rolls out and hits his receiver Zug for a 5 yard gain.
A gain of two leads to fourth down and boos from the Penn State fans who have grown restless into the evening.

Ohio State's offense is back on the field as some life seems to have been pumped back into the fans as Penn State looks to hold the Buckeyes to another punt.
***

The Buckeyes are driving after a gain of 15 on a run by the Ohio State back.
After a short gain, Ohio State is stuffed on 2nd and 7 by a swarming Pen State attack.
On third and long, Pryor's pass sails over the head of his receiver leading to yet another Ohio State punt.
Looks like the second-half is going to come down to special teams, field position and defense. Did anyone expect anything else from these coaches and teams?
Like last year, a late turnover could be the difference in this one.

***
After a sack on Clark and a holding penalty, Penn State faces a long third down.
Under heavy pressure from the Ohio State front four, Clark throws a ball that goes in and out of a Buckeye defenders hands.
After a 51-yard punt by Penn State, the Nittany Lions receive some help from the Buckeyes as the Ohio State return man is tackled by his own teammate.

After a six yard gain by Ohio State, a timeout is called on the field as an Ohio State lineman is on the ground hurt.
With help from his trainers, J.B. Shugarts walks off the field to applause from the crowd.
***

Hey football fans, Lady Lions reporter Alex Angert here to blog the third quarter for you. As we all await tomorrow afternoon's women's basketball matchup between Penn State and IUP, I guess I'll keep you posted on this little showdown we have going on in Beaver Stadium versus Ohio State.
We've got a defensive showdown on our hands as Ohio State leads 10-7 after some questionable first half calls (or lack there of).
The sun has gone down and the lights have been turned on as we are underway in the second half with Penn State opening the half after a 15-yard kick return by Powell.
After a third down conversion by Zug, Penn State is moving the chains.

***
OSU-10, PSU-7; HALFTIME
Here are some stats for all you readers out there...
Total Yards: OSU: 156-124 edge
Rushing yards: OSU: 123-44 edge
Passing yards: PSU: 80-33 edge
Time of possession: OSU: 15:49-14:11 edge

Offensive leaders for each team:
Passing: Clark, PSU-80 yards, 0:0; Pryor, OSU-33 yards, 0:0
Rushing: Herron, OSU-51; Royster, PSU-29
Receiving: Zug, PSU-70; Sanzenbacher, OSU-22

OSU ball at its 42; 0:26 left in the half.
Small handles the PR and brings it up to his 42.
Pryor keeps the ball and gets 11 yards for a FD to the PSU 46. Pryor has a wide open Sanzenbacher as the receiver was heading into the EZ, but Pryor throws just a bit too far ahead. Big break there for the PSU D. Pryor misses high on the next play to being up a third down with 0:05 left.

On the final play of the half, Pryor throws deep, but the ball gets batted down to keep it a 3-point game.

Alex Angert is taking over the third quarter. He's covering the Lady Lions for us, and the team plays a preseason game tomorrow at the BJC, so be sure to follow him and his beat partners for coverage throughout the season.

Thanks for following, everyone.
***
PSU ball at its 34.

A holding call pushes Penn State back even further for a first and 20. After an incomplete pass gets hindered by a fallen receiver, Royster gets four yards to bring up a third and 16. The Buckeys see an opportunity to get points before the half as they call a timeout. Clark simply hands the ball off to Royster to end the drive. Royster gets five yards.

Ohio State calls its final timeout of the half with 0:38 left.

***
OSU ball at its 21 with 2:10 in the half
Consecutive runs by Herron brings up a third and 9 with 1:22 left. Ohio State calls a timeout as this brings up an important play near the end of the half. Penn State still has plenty of time to get a score before halftime, so this play dictates a lot.

Herron gets it again but can get just two yards to bring up a punting situation. Penn State calls its second timeout of the half with 1:16 left.

Zug can't catch the ball cleanly but he falls on it. Close call there as the Lions' special teams continues to struggle mightily.

***
Some problems on the return for Penn State as a holding penalty call gives Penn State the ball backed up at its 7.

The PA just brought up the Iowa-Northwestern score again, much to the pleasure of the fans.

Royster spins and falls after a solid pickup of 4 on FD. Another carry for Royster and this one gets four more yards to bring up a third and 2. Zug comes through again as he gets wide open for a FD and 13 yards. Troutman is down, however, as there's a timeout for the injury. His teammates are huddled around him as Troutman gets up and walks off on his own power.

Stankiewitch has filled in for Troutman.

Clark gets hit hard but is able to get off a throw. Good coverage makes it fall incomplete as the QB was trying to hook up to Powell. After a 4-yard loss on second down, Penn State gets a lift from Zug again as the wideout makes something out of what looked like nothing and gives PSU a first down. BUT, the ball came out and Ohio State recovered it as Zombie Nation was blaring in the stadium. Strange sight/sound. The play is under review, however, and gets overturned. No surprise there.

Lions retain possession and a quick pass to Powell gets no yards. PSU still has it at midfield and Royster is out as a receiver but Clark misses him. Third and 10 for Penn State with just 2:24 left until halftime. Lions get a break with an offside call to make it a much more manageable situation. Pressure is on Clark again as his pass attempt to Zug falls incomplete.

Boone gets the snap to lead to a weird situation. The ball appeared to hit off a foot of OSU before the Buckeyes fell onto it in the EZ. Penn State wanted a safety call but the officials declare a touchback.

***
OSU gets the ball after the KR at its 19 as unsportsmanlike penalties offset.

Herron gets the pigskin on first down and gets three yards. Another run gets a couple as the Buckeyes are faced with a third-and-manageable five. Pryor then uses his wheels again to take it outside to the 48 yard line. Again, Pryor is a major threat with his feet and Penn State will need to clamp down on those plays.

A running play gets only one yard and sets the stage for another run for Herron as Lee makes the stop. Herron gets to the PSU 45 as the crowd comes to its feet for a third and short. Pryor finds Sanzenbacher open downfield for 22 yards. Ohio State now had two big plays on this drive, something the Lions talked about stopping all week.

A first down false start penalty pushes the ball back to the 28 and Ohio State commits another penalty, this time holding. First and 25 way back to the 38 now. Sanzenbacher gets the carry and gets four yards as the PSU defense does a good job on the tricky play. A basic run this time sees Herron get five yards. Third and 16 for OSU, exactly what the Buckeyes want to avoid. A short pass gets stopped by Lee and Astorino for four yards. Barclay is brought on for the kick. This will be interesting considering Pettrey's injury. Ohio State gets a break as an illegal contact penalty pushes the ball to the 20. Barclay drills the 37-yard kick to give his team the lead.
OSU-10, PSU-7; 5:54 left in the half

***
The running game continues to get momentum as Clark keeps the ball for another first down after six yards.

At the OSU 17, Penn State keeps the ball on the ground, this time with Joe Suhey. Suhey nets four yards. The Lions then go to the EZ with a pass to Moye, but draw a flag. Despite the incomplete pass, the flag pushes the ball deeper in to OSU territory and a FD. Clarks rolls out on first down but misses Shuler high in the EZ. Power game on second down as Suhey dives forward but gets only one yard to bring up a crucial third and goal. Clark and the line hurry up and the QB keeps it, but he gets stopped at the one.

Fourth and goal at the one.

Clark dives and the officials' hands go up almost instantaneously to signal the score. Close one, and it looks like he may have been stopped short. Of course, no one knows if the quick call changed it.

The official speaks to the crowd, and to be honest with you, he's hard to hear. But the chorus of boos raining down from the crowd makes it clear that there will be a review on the TD call.

Well, the call stands. Not sure if Clark was in, but it was definitely a quick TD signal from the official. With the TD upheld, the score is tied and Penn State fans don't have to worry about taking out their wrath.
PSU-7, OSU-7; 12:28 left in the 2Q

***
Well, Penn State finally got a first down. Three different Lions rushed for a combined 11 yards, capped off by Clark's two-yard plunge on 3rd-and-1. Brandon Beachum took the carry for three yards on the second drive, though Stephfon Green is available today.

Clark then threw a perfect pass in the flat to Graham Zug, who looked more like Amish Lightning as he took it 31 yards down to the Buckeye 29. Royster then took it for six, which will take us to the second quarter and take you guys to Wayne Staats.

End of first quarter,
Ohio State 7, Penn State 0

***
Ohio State played it safe on their drive, rushing Saine twice for a net of one yard. Sean Lee was involved on both tackles, with Bowman aiding him on the second. Pryor improvised nicely on 3rd-and-9, but his pass to Small was good for only seven yards and Thoma again came on to punt.

The Buckeyes downed it at the Penn State 29, and that's where Clark and co. will begin their fourth drive.

***
Clark has absolutely no time to operate in the backfield. He was immediately met by Austin Spitler on the drive's first play, just getting off an incomplete pass in the backfield

Clark then looked to Andrew Quarless twice, with the normally sure-handed tight end bobbling the first pass before catching the second one three yards short of the first down marker.

Three drives for the Lion offense have resulted in three three-and-outs, as Boone punted it again to Small, who returned it to the Ohio State 41 before an illegal block in the back penalty sent the Buckeyes back 15 yards to their own 26.

***
Pryor started his third drive with lots of boos, but a 12-yard carry from Dan Herron muted the crowd pretty quickly.

Herron and Devier Posey were certainly the weapons of choice for the Buckeyes on the drive, with Herron carrying the ball five times for 38 yards and Posey rushing it once for seven yards before making a 12-yard catch. Pryor also threw behind Posey on a second-and-8 at the Lion 26.

D'Anton Lynn ended things for the Buckeyes at the 27, reading a Pryor option pitch to Herron perfectly to stop the running back for a loss of one. Without a kicker, Tressel took the delay of game penalty instead of risking a 46-yard field goal attempt. Thoma punted it into the end zone for a touchback, a break for the Lions given the way the Buckeye defense has played thus far.

***
Chaz Powell returned the Ohio State kickoff to the Penn State 25.

The Lions tried to establish the run on their second drive, rushing Royster for five and negative 1 yards, respectively, on their first two plays. Clark tried to catch the Buckeye defense off-guard with a draw on 3rd-and-6 but could only manage four.

On Boone's punt, Small made a fair catch at the Ohio State 21.

***
Daryll Clark and the Penn State offense fared no better on their first drive. Clark got drilled for a loss of six by Cameron Heyward on the drive's first play. He then overthrew a well-covered Devon Smith on a streak down the right sideline before a dumpoff to Royster went for just three.

Jeremy Boone then had a weak punt that an uncovered Ray Small fielded at midfield and returned to the Penn State 9 before Navorro Bowman brought him down. Two plays later, Pryor took it in six yards on a scramble to put the Buckeyes on the board first and silence this crowd. That's now the third straight week Penn State has fallen behind in the first quarter. It will be interesting to see how the offense responds, as it had lots of trouble handling the tenacious Buckeye front-four on its first drive.

11:47, first quarter,
Ohio State 7, Penn State 0

***
Penn State won the toss and deferred to the second half. Ohio State received the kick near the south end zone, as it will travel north for the first and fourth quarters.

Lamaar Thomas fielded the kick at his goal line and returned it to the Buckeye 25, where Terrelle Pryor got first taste of action at Beaver Stadium. Not surprisingly, Tressel kept it conservative, running Brandon Saine up the middle for four yards. Pryor then threw a piar of incompletions, though he had no time on the first one, with Jack Crawford rushing through the line to hurry Pryor's throw on second down. On third-and-six, Pryor hit an open Duron Carter -- yes, the son of former Buckeey and NFL great Cris Carter -- but Carter dropped it, forcing a Jon Thoma punt that went 55 yards to the Lion 16.

***
I was right. This crowd erupted as the Iowa-Northwestern final was just announced. The P.A. announcer has taken that momentum with him to kick off the introductions. The pregame festivities are now underway, with the typical montages led by Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " being played on the screen.

The Nittany Lion and blue band then took the field. I must say I'm a little disappointed the Ohio State band didn't travel. I didn't expect a "Dotting of the 'I' " to take place at Beaver Stadium, but I still thought the band would come here and give Penn State's a run for its money.

Brutus the Buckeye did make the trip, as he watched from the Ohio State sideline as Blue Sapphire P.J. Maierhofer performed her schtick in her second-to-last home game and the drum major did his traditional flip.

The national anthem was then played, followed by the F-16 flyover that our Icers reporter, Paul Casella, informed you all about in yesterday's paper.

We're eight minutes from kickoff as the Blue Band finishes out its pregame festivities. We'll be back with kickoff in a few.

***
Well, I was a bit premature with that Iowa call. It looks like this game just took on much greater meaning. Ohio State already controlled its own Big Ten destiny, but now Penn State better hope the Buckeyes can beat the Hawkeyes at the Horseshoe next weekend. Of course, the Nittany Lions need to take care of business today first and foremost.

The public address announcer has yet to announce the final in Iowa City yet, but this place might be as loud as it's been all season the minute it catches wind of that upset.

***
Hey folks, Matt Fortuna here to take you through the first quarter of No. 11 Penn State's clash with No. 15 Ohio State.

It doesn't look like we'll have to worry about the student section filling up on time for this game. The fans are coming in at a solid rate with just under an hour left until kickoff for what will likely be another defensive struggle. The key for this game, as always when these two meet, will be the trenches. Both defensive lines are stacked and both offensive lines remain question marks, though credit must go to Penn State for its turnaround since the season's first four weeks.

It will also be interesting to see how Buckeye coach Jim Tressel plays third and fourth-and-short situations without a reliable kicker. Aaron Pettrey went down with a torn MCL in his right knee and his top back-up, Devin Barclay -- a 26-year-old former MLS soccer player -- went just 1-or-3 against New Mexico State last week. I'm also anxious to see what this guy can do on kickoffs and if the Nittany Lions can perhaps get some solid returns, something they've struggled with all season. Tresselball will certainly be tested today with the absence of Pettrey, so how close the Vest plays it to the vest will be something to keep an eye on.

All media members here were given a copy of Sports Illustrated's Heisman Trophy 75th Anniversary issue, and it appears we are not alone. Copies of the magazine are on every single seat below us in the fan section, as the SI Heisman Tour has made its way through Happy Valley this week. Colleague Wayne Staats said the crowd was huge at East Halls, where the only Penn State player to win the Heisman, John Cappelletti, was signing autographs with SI and former ESPN personality Dan Patrick.

Speaking of media, the press box here is packed, as The Collegian's seats have been shifted a bit to the left to make room for the traveling Ohio and national media contingent. Why does this matter? Because I am no longer under a television I can look up to for replays of the day's games. I also can't see the inevitable Iowa comeback right now as the Hawkeyes once again trail at home in the fourth quarter, this time to Northwestern.

The Buckeyes just did their little rock back-and-forth in the west end zone before trotting out to their own 40-yard line for a huddle, much to the chagrin of Penn State fans.

We're 40 minutes from kickoff here at Beaver Stadium. I'll be back with more updates in a bit.