Game Thread Game Four: #1 Ohio State 28, #24 Penn State 6 (9/23/06)

[SanAntonioBuck]

I love rain games or snow games. PSU will be wearing all white to, this way by the end of the game they will be brown.

I hope they play like brown (crap) too!

 

[OHSportsFan]

I hope they play like brown (crap) too!

hmm, could have also gone with: "I hope they play like the Browns."

...:(

 

[lvbuckeye]

hmm, could have also gone with: "I hope they play like the Browns."

...:(

ouch.

 

[NFBuck]

hmm, could have also gone with: "I hope they play like the Browns."

...:(

Sad, but true.

 

[Ginn4Heisman20]

Honestly I would rather the Nits not play like a pro team even if it is the Browns they emulate.

 

[jlb1705]

Honestly I would rather the Nits not play like a pro team even if it is the Browns they emulate.

"Pro" is a relative term in this case. The Browns don't *act* or *play* like professionals, and they don't even get paid as well as some college teams (Southern Cal, hello?). Penn State is more than welcome to play like the Browns.

 

[Ginn4Heisman20]

Fair enough.

 

[ntd]

Here is the e-mail sent out to basically every employee at OSU Today...I like the logo at the Bottom

Buckeye Faculty and Staff,
This is an exciting weekend for THE Ohio State University. We open the Big Ten season by hosting a very good Penn State team and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.
Wear RED, and once the game starts we need you to cheer loudly for your BUCKEYES.
Be loud and proud.
Remember, too, it is important to act with CLASS and DIGNITY at ALL times. Treat our opponent and their fans with RESPECT.
Let's show everyone in college football why we have the "BEST FANS in the LAND."
Jim Tressel
Head Football Coach

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

YorkDispatch

Morelli faces defining moment as Lions' QB
COLUMN By TOM McLAUGHLIN The York Dispatch
As big games go, they don't get much bigger.
Penn State vs. Ohio State took a big step in 2005 toward becoming one of the top rivalries in the Big Ten. Since the Nittany Lions defeated the Buckeyes 17-10 in Beaver Stadium last fall, Ohio State has had this weekend circled on the calendar. The No. 1-ranked Buckeyes will take No. 24 Penn State lightly.
The large and loud Nittany Lion crowd played a huge role in the 2005 win, which propelled Penn State to the top of the Big Ten standings. Just ask Buckeye lineman T.J. Downing, who said, "I've never heard anything louder in my life than I heard at Penn State. You could notice the earthquake on the ground as it was trembling. It affected us and got in our heads. We didn't play the game we usually do and that's why we lost."
Downing went on to "issue a personal challenge to our fans -- repay them. Pay them back for what they did to us. Their fans single-handedly took us out of the game, and maybe our fans can do the same thing."
Penn State's last-second loss to Michigan in 2005 allowed Ohio State to claim a share of the Big Ten title de-
spite losing to the Nittany Lions. It is fitting that the conference schedule opens by matching up the defending co-champions. This year the two teams are moving in different directions. Ranked at the top of the polls since Week 1, the Buckeyes silenced all doubters by handling highly ranked Texas with ease.
Penn State, meanwhile, plummeted to No. 25 after an uninspired performance at Notre Dame. On paper, this game should not even be close, yet the game is big enough to bring ESPN College GameDay to Columbus this week.
Can the Nittany Lions knock off Ohio State? The answer may well lie in leadership -- and not the leadership of 79-year-old Joe Paterno on the PSU sideline. He's been there before. Paterno has led Penn State against the nation's top-ranked team 10 previous times, and on four occasions the Lions emerged victorious, including two national title games.
But the leadership that must emerge tomorrow will manifest itself on the field -- the confidence and poise that comes with maturity. Simply put, the young and individually talented Penn State offense will need to grow up.
Michael Robinson is the most recent example of the mature leadership that has been a part of all the great Penn State teams. Never giving up, Robinson sparked a come-from-behind win at Northwestern last season that many analysts point to as the defining event of 2005, the moment when the yet-untested team learned that it could face adversity and overcome it.
This year, Anthony Morelli is at the helm of a Lion offense that could be more talented than the 2005 edition. Tony Hunt is back in the backfield at full strength, and the quartet of wide receivers -- Derrick Williams, Jordan Norwood, Deon Butler and Chris Bell -- are as good as any group in the country. This team has faced adversity, coming in the form of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but has not yet learned to overcome it. Certainly the talent is there, but in order to beat Ohio State, the Lions must not defeat themselves.
Morelli has had three games as a starter to become accustomed to the role, after backing up Zack Mills and Michael Robinson the past two seasons. Hunt, Williams, Norwood and Butler are all battle tested, as is senior captain Levi Brown, who anchors the offensive line. Morelli has all of the physical tools and an arsenal of deadly weapons surrounding him. The outcome of this game will be determined by the way he uses them and by the way he leads them. One thing is certain, this is the type of atmosphere every college football player aspires to be a part of. For Morelli, it will be a defining moment -- the kind where leaders are born. Tom McLaughlin is co-publisher of FightOnState.com, a Web site focusing on Penn State football. He is also the Web designer for The York Dispatch.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

<H1 class=red>Last year's Butkus winner still adjusting to new role

</H1>

Friday, September 22, 2006

Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus -- Imagine if A.J. Hawk was back at Ohio State this season, but at a different position. And wearing a knee brace he found annoying. And instead of chasing down ballcarriers with abandon, still adjusting to a new job as a senior.
That's what's happening at Penn State, where Paul Posluszny, who beat out Hawk for the Butkus Award last season as the country's best linebacker, isn't quite what he was a year ago.
After suffering ligament damage in his right knee in last year's Orange Bowl, then saying he was shocked when he was asked to move from outside linebacker to middle linebacker, Posluszny is still finding his way heading into his fourth game of the season at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
"I think our last game, I felt a lot more comfortable with what was going on and I was able to play a little bit better," Posluszny said this week.
"I think it'll be a continuous thing as the season goes on. I think when I feel more comfortable with what we're doing I think I'll be better off than last year."
Last year, he was the best linebacker on the field in Penn State's 17-10 win over the Buckeyes, making a game-high 14 tackles. He made 22 tackles in one game against Northwestern.
Now, he finds himself sometimes bogged down in the middle, less able to naturally react.
"The blocking seems to be all around you," Posluszny said. "On the outside it's almost like you have to work against only half the offensive line. So, it's something to get accustomed to. And sometimes the ball gets pushed outside and by the time the middle linebacker gets there, the other guys already made the play."
Posluszny slid inside after the coaches decided to move previous middle backer Tim Shaw out to defensive end, where he still sometimes plays like a fourth linebacker. As the most experienced option, Posluszny was asked to fill that gap inside. Junior Dan Connor and sophomore Sean Lee help give the Nittany Lions the best linebacker group in the conference.
Buckeye sophomore James Laurinaitis, who has 26 tackles this year, one fewer than Posluszny, also made the move from outside to inside this season, but he had far less time invested in his first position. Posluszny had started outside for two years.
"It was a bit of a transition for me even after just one year on the outside," Laurinaitis said. "To be back inside, your view of the game changes. He's such a good player, I'm sure it's not that difficult for him."
Posluszny's knee may be more of a nagging problem at this point. Posluszny wore a less bulky brace last week against Youngstown State than he did in the first two games. He'll wear the smaller brace against the Buckeyes, if he wears one at all.
"Some days I wear it at practice and some days I don't," Posluszny said. "The doctors would like to me to wear it for the entire season, but I'd much rather go without it. So, it's a constant debate between us."
That sounds like something that would have come out of the mouth of Hawk. Posluszny, by the way, is still surprised he beat out Hawk for the Butkus last season.
"I felt that Hawk was the most deserving player," Posluszny said. "I was extremely surprised when I was announced. I just felt like Hawk was the best linebacker in college last year."
That was up for debate. And if he hadn't been injured, maybe Posluszny would have turned pro and been an obvious first-round pick. Instead he's back trying to live up to the great Penn State linebackers of the past, like that guy who won the Butkus last year playing outside linebacker without a brace.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

LINK

No. 1 Buckeyes have had a year to grow


Ohio State's last loss was 17-10 in Beaver Stadium last season. The Buckeyes have built on that loss.

By Beth Hudson Of The Morning Call

Call it a turning point. Call it a mere coincidence.

But, whichever phrase you choose, know that something happened following Ohio State's 17-10 loss last year at Penn State. Though the Buckeyes walked away frustrated and disappointed, they also found a sense of resolve ? and they haven't lost since that night.

''I think anytime you play tough games and tough teams and so forth, you learn lessons,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ''You learn what needs to be done to be successful ? And I don't think it was any light bulb that went on, I think it was just a gradual learning.''

Even so, the results are striking.

Back on Oct. 8, Ohio State's Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. looked rather ordinary against the Penn State defense. Smith completed 13 of 25 passes for 139 yards and one interception, and Ginn caught three passes for only 40 yards.

When the Buckeyes left State College, they were 3-2 and nothing more than an also-ran in the national-championship picture. Still, they righted themselves and earned comfortable wins in their next five games.

Their crowning achievement, though, was a 25-21 victory at Michigan, followed by a 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Smith went 27-for-37 for 300 yards and a touchdown against the Wolverines, while Ginn had nine receptions for 89 yards. And, somehow, they were even better in the bowl game, where Smith passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns (with no interceptions) and Ginn caught eight passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.

So, how did the Nittany Lions make them look so tame?

''What they did last year on defense is I thought they were solid everywhere,'' Tressel said. ''They were good up front. Their linebackers, say no more. Those guys are extraordinary and now they're a year older. Their secondary was very, very solid, and what they did was they didn't make mistakes, they didn't miss tackles.''

This year, the storyline could change quite a bit.

The top-ranked Buckeyes are riding a 10-game winning streak and hoping to win a national championship. Meanwhile, Smith and Ginn look like they'll be competing for plenty of individual awards as well.

Through three games, the quarterback has completed almost 70 percent of his passes (56 of 81) for 769 yards and seven touchdowns.

''I think people mature as they get older,'' Smith said. ''I feel like I have matured into a better person ? [My teammates] see my face every day, and when they see me up and still working, it translates to them.''

Penn State coach Joe Paterno often says he doesn't like to compare players ? not his own players and not players on other teams. Still, he admitted that Smith reminds him of someone.

''He is the same kind of kid, and he has the same kind of leadership qualities that Michael [Robinson] has,'' Paterno said. ''He is very poised, calm, and kids respond to him. I think he is a leader, obviously, of the Ohio State football team right now, as I think Michael was with us. They are very similar. Let me leave it at that.''

Incidentally, Smith also has gone five consecutive games without throwing an interception ? not that his coach necessarily wanted to talk about that statistic.

''Where I think he's really grown is we play against all different schemes of defenses, and he studies them hard,'' Tressel said. ''Cincinnati defense is very dissimilar from Penn State defense conceptually. There are some similarities, but just in general, you wouldn't say that it's a similar-style defense. And Troy will know the difference by the time he has that ball in his hand in the game, because he's committed himself to that.''

Without question, Smith looks like a different quarterback this season. His team is different, too ? and, judging from its results, probably much better than the one Penn State defeated almost a year ago.

[email protected]

610-820-6501

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

PENN STATE FOOTBALL
Posluszny adjusts to switch
Star linebacker moved from outside to inside

Friday, September 22, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny makes a stop on Ohio Sate?s Antonio Pittman at Beaver Stadium last season.

</IMG>


When Paul Posluszny won the Butkus Award for being college football?s best linebacker last season, little did he expect to be playing Dick Butkus? position this year.
Posluszny seemingly was headed to the NFL a year ahead of schedule after his bigplay season helped Penn State return to prominence. But then came the knee injury in the Orange Bowl, partially torn ligaments that required rehabilitation but not surgery, and his decision to stay at Penn State for his senior year.
And then came the coaches? decision that, to get their best 11 on the field, they wanted Posluszny to move to the middle from the outside, where he had played well enough as a junior that none other than Nittany Lions legend Jack Ham called him "the best linebacker ever to play at Penn State."
"It came as a little bit of a shock," Posluszny said. "I thought I would play the same spot I did the last three years. I talked to (linebackers coach Ron) Vanderlinden and he said it was going to be the best thing for the team. I talked to (defensive coordinator Tom) Bradley and he said it was going to be the best thing for the team."
So Posluszny took one for the team.
But he will not be the only one playing an unfamiliar position when Penn State plays Ohio State on Saturday.
Posluszny was moved inside to make room on the outside for sophomore Sean Lee, who played so well in Posluszny?s place in the Orange Bowl that coaches had to get him in the lineup. But that move necessitated another: Tim Shaw, a twoyear starter at middle linebacker, to defensive end.
The fact that Shaw stands up at the position spawned reports before the season that Penn State was switching from its longstanding 4-3 alignment to a 3-4 defense. But little has changed in the scheme "except for a couple little twists here and there," Shaw said.
A lot has changed for Posluszny and Shaw.
"The reads are a lot quicker," said Shaw, undersized for the position at 6 feet 1 and 237 pounds. "At (middle) linebacker, you can read the guard and go one way or the other. For me, reading pass (or) run and then deciding (how to react), you have a split second because you?re up on the line and they?re going to come at you to block you in a second."
Posluszny, meanwhile, has more coming at him than before.
"The blockers seem to be all around you now, the center, both guards, sometimes tackles," he said. "When you?re on the outside, it?s almost like you have to work against only half the offensive line. This is something you have to get accustomed to."
Posluszny ranks second on the team in tackles but hasn?t had one for a loss; he had 11 last season. That has led to speculation that the injury has cost him a step. Posluszny said the only things slowing him down are the brace he?s wearing on his right knee and the added traffic he must weave through to reach the ball.
"With the way our defense is set up, a lot of the running plays will get pushed to the outside, so our outside linebackers are going to make a lot of big plays," he said. "So sometimes the ball gets pushed outside to those guys and by the time the middle linebacker gets there, those guys have already made the play."
He switched to a lighter, more flexible brace last week and said he will wear it again Saturday if team doctors insist.
"I don?t want to and the doctors want me to," Posluszny said. "We?ll see what happens."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK
Buckeyes foil Musburger, change signals weekly

Friday, September 22, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




After ABC announcer Brent Musburger revealed a hand signal used by Southern California quarterback John David Booty to alert his receivers to man-to-man coverage Saturday night, USC officials complained.
After the same ABC crew, including analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Bob Davie, observed Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith using a helmet tap to signal the same thing in a win at Texas, OSU officials did not complain.
The ABC cameras caught Smith making the signal just before he hit Ted Ginn Jr. with the go-ahead touchdown pass in the first half. Asked yesterday if the Buckeyes made a signaling adjustment, coach Jim Tressel said, "Now you know I?m not going to answer that."
But Tressel smiled and said, "Yeah, when we touch our helmet it is off-tackle every time."
The difference between the incidents was the ABC crew picked up on OSU?s signal during the game, but Musburger revealed that he learned of Booty?s "hang loose" gesture during a pregame interview. Tressel said he only heard about the incident later.
"They are trying to provide their public what they would like to know, and I think that was probably over the line, if it indeed occurred," Tressel said. "But I guess it?s a lesson learned that you better be careful when you?re talking off the record."
Tressel indicated the Buckeyes change their signals from week to week but not during a game.
Ring for sale

The 2002 national championship ring of former running back Lydell Ross is for sale on eBay, and the high bid last night was just more than $6,000. Attempts to reach Ross were unsuccessful, but a former teammate who asked not to be named said Ross sold the ring and his gold pants pendant from the 2005 win over Michigan to a middle man for $3,000, and Ross has nothing to do with the eBay sale.
Add another recruit

The commitment list for 2007 is nine after the addition of defensive back Eugene Clifford of Colerain.
Clifford, 6 feet 2 and 195 pounds, picked Ohio State over Florida State, Michigan, Tenneessee and Florida.Clifford was in on 147 tackles and had six interceptions last season.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

YorkDisptach

Williams looking to make big play
Lions hoping key playmaker can break one vs. Buckeyes
GENARO C. ARMAS The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE -- Derrick Williams isn't taking defenses by surprise anymore, even when the man listed as a wide receiver lines up in the backfield.
"Even when I'm in the game, I hear 'Two in the backfield, Two in the backfield,'" said the Penn State sophomore, referring to his jersey number.
That hasn't stopped coach Joe Paterno from trying to get his playmaker the ball. He's tried screens, end-arounds, runs out of the backfield and even direct snaps while starting quarterback Anthony Morelli lines up at receiver.
So far, the results have been mixed. He's second on the team with 261 all-purpose yards. He impressed with two long punt returns against Youngstown State that were negated because of illegal block penalties.
But that in itself is part of the problem. Williams hasn't had big plays -- at least one that stuck -- that were the hallmarks of his standout freshman season last year.
"I came pretty close," Williams said about breaking a big play last week. "It was almost there. Take it one at a time and, hopefully, it will come soon."
Defenses are keying on Williams and the young-but-talented receiving corps. Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said his priority in his team's win over the 24th-ranked Nittany Lions two weeks ago was to shut down the receivers first.
Williams missed out on a long reception against the Irish. Another deep ball thrown his way by Morelli was intercepted.
Williams was all over the field last week.
"We just game-planned and the ball just fell in my hands more times last week," Williams said. "I'm not the guy who demands the ball."
Williams is still returning punts, but is not a regular on kickoff returns, for now. Paterno has said he wanted to give him a breather.
"Obviously, things won't come as easy for him as they did last year when a lot of people didn't realize how good he was," Paterno said. "We have got to spot him a little bit more because we are asking him to do so many things. Overall, he has done well."
PSU NOTES
TALIAFERRO WILL BE AT GAME: Former Penn State defensive back Adam Taliaferro will return to Columbus this weekend as Penn State visits Ohio State, six years to the day the promising freshman's life changed in an instant.
Taliaferro will meet Ohio State player Tyson Gentry, who suffered a serious neck injury last spring, during his visit. They will take part in a presentation at the game for the Ohio State University Medical Center's Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Program. September is National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.
Taliaferro and Gentry will be profiled Saturday on ESPN's College Gameday Built By The Home Depot, as will Penn State senior linebacker Paul Posluszny, the 2005 Butkus and Bednarik Award winner. The program airs from 10 a.m. until noon on ESPN and will originate from Columbus on Saturday.
A cornerback from Voorhees, N.J., Taliaferro suffered a severe neck injury while making a tackle in the fourth quarter of the game in Ohio Stadium on Sept. 23, 2000. The initial prognosis of his spinal injury was that he had little chance of walking again. But Taliaferro was walking on his own five months after his injury.
Taliaferro graduated from Penn State in 2005 and is in his second year at the Rutgers-Camden law school.
GO SHORTER: Morelli can throw the deep ball, but Paterno wouldn't mind his quarterback looking underneath more often.
It's a matter of getting used to the system, said the junior who is making his fourth college start tomorrow, against top-ranked Ohio State.
"It's just getting more reps, and inexperience with the system. I'm doing it a lot in practice," Morelli said. "No major adjustment. It doesn't need to be a home run all the time."
Last week against Youngstown State, Morelli looked good early but wasn't sharp late. He has thrown for 549 yards, four touchdowns and one interception so far this season.
Morelli will be tested when he lines up in one of the toughest venues in the Big Ten.
Paterno said that Morelli is improving. "Anthony's biggest problem is that he has so much confidence in his arm that we hit a couple of big ones and then he wants to throw the ball deep," Paterno said. "The big thing we have tried to do is to get him to concentrate on getting the ball underneath a little bit more and the 'take what they give you' kind of approach."
LOOKING FOR NO. 1: Penn State is 4-8 all-time against top-ranked teams. Penn State's last game against a top-ranked team was in 1998, a 28-9 loss at Ohio State. Paterno wouldn't mind some payback this weekend when Penn State plays the No. 1 Buckeyes again in Columbus. Under Paterno, who took over as head coach in 1966, the Nittany Lions are 4-6 against Number 1s.
With so many high-profile games, does one stick out?
"Obviously, the ones you win," Paterno said.
But with quarterback Troy Smith & Co. looming, Paterno didn't want to look back.
"I am worried about a kid by the name of Smith who is one of the better football players we have played against since I have been at Penn State," Paterno said. "He has a cast of characters that look pretty darn good." DEPTH CHARGES: Wideout Terrell Golden (ankle) and linebacker Jerome Hayes (foot) are listed as probable for tomorrow. ... A.J. Wallace and Rodney Kinlaw are the top two kickoff returners, with Williams moved down to third. ... The goal snapper and holder combination on field goals is still Patrick Weber and Kevin Suhey. The duo debuted last week without any problems. QUOTABLE: "I was an Ohio State fan growing up. I think that made me not like them even more now," Penn State running back Tony Hunt, of Alexandria, Va.

 

[Buckeye86]

Here is the e-mail sent out to basically every employee at OSU Today...I like the logo at the Bottom

I liked the logo too, they sent that email out to the students as well.