COLUMBUS, Ohio - Following are the highlights and lowlights from Penn State's 38-14 loss to Ohio State on Saturday at Ohio Stadium:
Play of the game: Ohio State cornerback Devon Torrence juggled and then returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown that gave the Buckeyes a 17-14 lead with 4:29 left in the third quarter.
Offensive player of the game: Buckeye tailback Dan "Boom" Herron lowered the boom on the Nittany Lion defense, rushing for 190 yards on 21 carries (a 9.0 average) and one touchdown.
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The Associated Press
Ohio State defensive back Travis Howard scores a touchdown after intercepting a pass and returning it 30 yards in the fourth quarter.
Defensive player of the game: In addition to his pick, Torrence made six tackles, including one for loss.
Most telling statistic: Ohio State rushed for 314 yards, easily a season high against PSU.
Hidden statistic: The Buckeyes had 15 first downs in the second half to Penn State's three.
Best run: Herron broke a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter, but let's go with Brandon Saine, who made four PSU defenders miss and darted 19 yards in the third quarter to the Lion 5, setting up OSU's first touchdown.
Best pass: On third-and-goal from the Ohio State 6, Matt McGloin drilled a touchdown pass on a slant to Derek Moye, between two defenders, that gave the Nittany Lions a 14-3 lead with 11:23 left in the first half.
Worst pass: McGloin's second interception was picked by an awaiting Travis Howard, who returned it 30 yards to the house for a 31-14 lead with 8:57 left.
Best catch: PSU wideout Justin Brown made a leaping 11-yarder at the PSU sideline in the first quarter to set up the Lions' first score.
Luckiest catch: Dane Sanzenbacher's 58-yard TD reception from Terrelle Pryor was deflected by Lion defensive backs D'Anton Lynn and Drew Astorino.
Catch it, will ya: Moye and Devon Smith dropped catchable passes in the second half that helped open the floodgates.
Best call: Maybe knowing his team would need more than 17 points to win the game, Joe Paterno went for it on fourth-and-1 from the OSU 20 with a 14-3 lead and 1:46 left in the first half. Never mind that Silas Redd was stopped. At the least Nits, decided underdogs, were playing to win when a field goal there probably wouldn't have mattered much.
Worst call: With the momentum having shifted and Ohio State winning 17-14, the Lions ran a draw (two consecutive running plays) from their own 28 to Redd that was stuffed.
Best block: PSU center Doug Klopacz sprung a 26-yard screen pass to Stephfon Green in the second quarter.
Best tackle: Buckeyes Orhian Johnson and Jermale Hines combined to dump Redd for no gain late in the first half (see best call).
Best kick: PSU punter Anthony Fera pooched a 44-yarder in the third quarter that the Lions hustled to down at the OSU 3.
Worst kick: Didn't see a real bad one.
Best effort: How about the Ohio State coaching staff, which made enough adjustments to pitch a 35-0 shutout in the second half?
Unsung hero: It's hard to be an unsung hero as the winning quarterback, but Pryor did a nice job managing the game without being overly flashy. He threw for 139 yards (8-of-13) and rushed for 49 more on nine carries.
