Penn State RB Saquon Barkley sits 14th on Penn State’s career rushing yards list (2,378). Photo by: Michael Corsey @ Michael Corsey Photography

By Tim Blasco

During the pregame show Penn States Blue Band Flag’s were blowing directly from right to left. There was no hint of the awesome Northeastern Fall weather slowing down. Shortly after kickoff it started to rain. The evening provided a few things Ohio State simply may not have needed or wanted for their first road loss in 21 games. First of all the fans, I can vouch for this, a night game at Happy Valley is to be avoided at all costs by an on the road visitor. Pennsylvanians don’t care about the weather, most fans are college students and alumni but many more are blue collar workers on their day off, give them an entire day of tailgating with hype and you will have a colosseum of chaos. The second may be Penn State’s defense. One that I had left for dead against Michigan and saw some signs of life from during the Minnesota game all told they came back to life when they were needed. The offense had some sparks of their own.

What can be called a “textbook-comeback” is what I call matching. When a team scores the opponent does its best to match that effort or at least put a stop to it and recover. It’s hard to do, especially against a talented opponent. You see it a lot in professional ball. Many players on bad teams forget the score and play every down. It’s the sign of a professional or disciplined team. Penn State’s crowd was down, the score was 13-0 when the team drove down field and scored, to show what could only be called the beginning of the game, late in the first half. Penn State would see a final score by Ohio State in the 3rd quarter. Leaving the score at 21-7. Things looked like another hard fought but unnecessary battle.

Then the Lions played the fourth quarter. A magic spark is often seen in movies and shows. Just when the character looks the most beaten something awesome happens. It’s called the twist. The twist began early in the fourth but many called it an effort to stop the bleeding and another inevitable loss. Few fans really knew that the Lions would play the entire fourth quarter. The score was 21-17 when Ohio State went on to try and sink Penn State with one last chance Field Goal.

An exhausted defense, a soaked to the bone fan base, and a coach many thought would eventually be elsewhere in the future. Everything hung in the balance. In all earnest Penn State hasn’t seen much luck even for their hard work in a very long time. Many wouldn’t even consider it a power base anymore. After most games checking my Facebook feed a couple of other fans would post things like “Again?” “Why?” “Can we please just fire Franklin and start over, he’s not tough enough.” Fans of Notre Dame, Ohio State and even Temple often like to poke at PSU fans but even that seemed like kicking a dead horse, many fans wouldn’t even post anything unless provoked. It seemed like another “Bowl Eligible Season.” Penn State would fight hard and get another chance at The Pinstripe or else.

The defense was on full blast. Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda were back, although they didn’t seem to break any records they did damage when they were needed. The big three and out late in the fourth was proof of what the defense was capable of. The Nittany Lion defense had a season-high 11 tackles for loss (TFL). Those 11 tackles for loss are the most yielded by the Buckeyes since giving up 11 TFL vs. Alabama on Jan. 1, 2015. Penn State pulled in 6 sacks. The DL close to the end was on a feeding frenzy. Brandon Bell recorded 19 tackles, Manny Bowen chipped in for 11. Garrett Sickels had a career day with 9 tackles and 2.5 sacks. The Penn State Defense looked nasty — allowing 413 yes during the game — they stopped the gap when they needed to.

Marcus Allen S. Jr. has been there for it all. He was in this game for a reason, to block a kick. His comments on the block: “They did it before and I jumped over. It was a call for me to block the kick. I jumped over, clean, nobody touched me or anything but I missed it. It was a little left for me. I went back to the sideline, this was the first quarter, and I was talking to Coach Huff. I said, ‘where am I supposed to be to block the kick,’ and he said, ‘if they are on the right hash they are going to try to kick it onto the defense’s left guard because it is on the uprising.’ So, me going to him during halftime, because I knew it was going to come again and I just did the same thing I did. I came clean. I went with the adjustment that Coach Huff gave me and I blocked it.”

Grant Haley CB Jr. Picked up that blocked kick and ran it in for a TD. He was asked: “When you crossed the goal line what was that moment like? That celebration that you just made it?”
A: It was just a relief I mean just for our players, the coaches, the team and it’s all the hard work that we put in throughout the season, our preparation didn’t start this week it started like in January. Just all of that hard work and being able to assist to that success that we had tonight, it was awesome.”

The offense put up some impressive numbers when they needed to. They scored a few touchdowns. QB Trace McSorley’s 8 passes for 134 yards exactly 100 yards less than Ohio State finished with. They also completed a record low number of passes. The second-quarter touchdown pass marked the eighth straight game with a touchdown pass. McSorley is the first Penn State quarterback with three consecutive games with both a rushing touchdown and passing touchdown since Matt McGloin in 2012. Making some Penn State fans ask “Hackenwho!” The receivers made some amazing catches when it counted. Mike Gesicki 4 catches for 46 yards. Chris Godwin made 2 catches for 39 yards. Saeed Blacknall and DaeSean Hamilton both pulled in a catch for 69 total yards. RB Saquon Barkley had 99 yards tonight, giving him 1,757 for his career, and moving him up to 19th place in the Penn State annals. He trails Franco Harris (2,002 yards) for 18th place.

If you’re a Penn State fan you may wonder what that feeling is. It’s called “UpsetItis” a few Schools around the country have seen it including Texas A&M, Wichita State in Basketball and Appalachian State. Penn State defeated a Top 2 team for the first time since winning at #1 Notre Dame, 24-21, in 1990. It’s been a while. Symptoms feel like a hangover with a side of hope. Hope for the season and future. Penn State beat a ranked opponent for the first time since #14 Wisconsin, 31-24, in 2013 this is the first time PSU has even beaten a ranked opponent in a while!

It’s a blast and it’s why we watch and cover college football. There is still a few points of light out there as Alabama sucks in Blue Chips and the SEC looks like the “Farm League” of the NFL. There’s still good competitive football in Pennsylvania, and its only getting better.