THE SILENCE OF THE FANS: Ohio State Quiets Penn State Fans, But Hardly Validates No. 1 Ranking

It was a big day in Happy Valley. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit were all in town, as was the No. 1 team in the nation. Penn State had the opportunity to knock off No. 1 and stir up the BCS even more. And the Penn State fans, as usual, were stoked. (I won’t mention that I was slightly embarrassed when Penn State fans hurled beer at the College Gameday crew after Corso put on the Buckeye head gear, picking Ohio State to win.)

Pumped up they may have been, but that didn’t last long.

Ohio State scored on all but three of its drives. One of those drives ended with an interception, another with the second quarter, and the other with the game. Buckeye punter, AJ Trapasso, got to take the night off, and so much for that Penn State defense.

Todd Boeckman was on all night, completing 19 of 26 for 253 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Chris Wells had 25 carries for 133 yards. Ohio State’s offense outgained Penn State by 190 yards. The Buckeyes’ offensive line protected Boeckman throughout the night against Penn State’s defense that, coming into the game, led the nation with 35 sacks. They got Boeckman only once.

Questionable, conservative play-calling may have kept Penn State out of the game, especially when the Nittany Lions chose to punt rather than go for it on 4th and 2 in the second quarter on the Ohio State 38. A conversion would have erupted the 110,134 mostly Penn State fans in attendance, shifting the momentum. They were down by only ten.

What isn’t questionable is that Ohio State dominated this game.

But I’d be reluctant to take this win as validation of Ohio State’s ranking. Sure, getting a win in a raucous environment is noteworthy. But where that win comes against a team ranked 25th in the BCS that validation becomes hard to see. Full of cupcakes, the Buckeyes’ schedule is enough to give anyone a sweet-tooth. Being undefeated having faced the likes of Youngstown State, Akron, Washington, Northwestern, Minnesota and Kent State is hardly impressive. Only Purdue, Michigan State, and this Penn State team remotely challenged the Buckeyes. And even those challenges were, at best, remote.

From where I stand, Ohio State has not proved itself to be the best team in that nation. Not even close. That doesn’t matter to them, though; they look to ride the magic carpet that is their schedule all the way to the national championship game, likely only to be embarrassed again.

Still, Ohio State was the best team in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, and while it may not have actually validated its ranking, it did leave Happy Valley in a bad mood.

—R. Cooper