It was the stuff childhood dreams are made of. Back against your own endzone; third-and-one inside your 20-yard line; a breakthrough pass for a first down followed by two double-digit-yard runs; toeing the sideline for a 31-yard catch; each play more momentous than the next.
Then, finally, a cross-field touchdown pass — only a five-yard floater, but a beautiful one at that. One delicate enough to sneak over a defender’s shoulder, but powerful enough to silence more than 97,000 fans.
Ohio’s 24-14 storybook win, which was sealed when redshirt junior wide receiver Donte Foster secured the Bobcats' final strike with less than three minutes to play, has the potential to redefine Ohio's program.
“Being able to go on a 93-yard drive (with) 17 plays, I thought that was the real key of the game,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said.
Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin was the star of the opening stanza, carving up the Bobcats secondary for 178 yards while the Bobcats offense was largely unproductive.
It was only at the beginning of the second quarter, with the aid of a Penn State special teams blunder, that Ohio’s offensive attack began to slowly grind into gear.
Ohio redshirt punter Grant Venham boomed a punt to the Nittany Lions’ 13-yard line, where it was fat-fingered by Penn State senior return man Gerald Hodges and recaptured by Ohio redshirt senior Alphonso Lewis.
It was soon thereafter when Ohio redshirt senior kicker Matt Weller put the Bobcats’ first points on the board.
Minutes later, when the Nittany Lions were facing a third-and-10 from midfield, McGloin was hit hard after releasing a throw.
From there on out, momentum swung in the Bobcats’ favor. Until that point, McGloin had completed 20 passes for 152 yards. He ended the game 27 of 48 for 260 yards.
As McGloin’s production waned, redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Tettleton cranked into gear — completing three straight passes of 10 yards or more, effectively leading the Bobcats within a reasonable range for Weller.
However, Weller was unable to convert the 44-yard try, and the Nittany Lions took over on their own 27-yard line. It was one of Weller's two misses on the day.
Six plays, 20 yards gained and a punt later, the Bobcats found themselves with the ball in their hands once again and less than four minutes remaining in the quarter.
It didn’t take long, though, before the Nittany Lions pulled together a special teams gem of their own.
With Venham deep in his own territory, Penn State junior cornerback Jesse Della Valle burst through the Bobcats’ punt protection unit and got a hand on the ball.
An opportunity for the Bobcats to put points on the board and instill momentum late in the half backfired, as 55 seconds of gameplay later, the Nittany Lions pulled in a 14-yard touchdown toss in far corner of the endzone to put them up 11 heading into halftime.
A stroke of luck defined the Bobcats’ first second-half drive. What looked like Tettleton’s second near-interception ended up a 43-yard touchdown reception by sophomore wide receiver Landon Smith.
On a third-and-seven play from the Nittany Lions’ 43-yard line, Tettleton stepped back, released and tossed a spiral downfield. The ball was batted in the air, tipped by a Penn State defender and grasped by the tack of Smith’s outstretched gloves.
“That was my fault, forcing that,” Tettleton said. “I’m just so happy he got a chance to catch that.”
With almost a full half to work with, the Bobcats were back within striking range.
Ohio’s offensive streak continued on its next drive, when redshirt senior Ryan Clark broke free down the Penn State sideline and managed to haul in a 33-yard Tettleton floater.
The acrobatic snag placed the Bobcats on the 18-yard line and allowed them to punch in a one-yard touchdown, in which Tettleton leaped over his offensive line, four plays later.
Penn State’s offensive productivity dwindled in the second half, but it was Ohio’s ability to put the game away that set the victory in stone. The Bobcats, which had possession of the ball for less than five minutes in the first quarter, held it for eight minutes longer than their opponents after halftime.
“We came out and bounced back, and we knew we needed to do that,” Tettleton said. “A lot of guys stepped up in the second half. You can just go down the list, receiver-wise…”
Penn State coach Bill O’Brien said he didn’t see a significant change in Ohio’s second-half offensive scheme.
“We lost to the better team today,” he said.
And if that isn’t simple enough of an explanation for his team’s loss, Solich’s take on the win is even more clear-cut.
“We tried to turn it into just a football game, and they’re pretty good at playing football,” he said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
