Our Honor Defend

There were no relevant Drive-Thru flashbacks last week, on account of BuckeyePlanet’s members being totally against seeding… anything… from their library of games.  Ergo, there was no look back at Ted Ginn Jr’s breakout performance in East Lansing in 2004.  However, I’ve had this game on reserve for a while, saving it for this occasion.

In 1993, Penn State began its first year as member of the Big Ten Conference and with it, made its first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1978.  Penn State had actually won the past two against Ohio State, including the thrashing in the 1978 season opener.  In this game, Woody had famously (or infamously) strung media along with the QB controversy, pitting 3 year starting senior Rod Gerald against the hot new product from Washington Court House, Art Schlichter.  In the opener against Penn State, Woody elicited a gasp from the crowd by sending both Schlichter and Gerald out with the offense, with Schlichter going under center.  Penn State was less than impressed, forcing Schlichter into five interceptions when normally Rod Gerald would be pushing it to throw 5 passes a whole game.  The end result was an embarrassingly easy 19-0 victory for Penn State.  Further, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions met again in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl, the only game in the series played on a neutral site.  Ohio State put points on the board, but fell 31-19 to the Nittany Lions.

Enter 1993, and with it, the first Big Ten matchup between Ohio State and Penn State.  Ohio State entered the game ranked no. 3 in the country, a position afforded to it with its primetime demolition of the then-superpower Washington Huskies on primetime television.  Penn State, though, entered the game after a bye week, just having lost to Michigan in Happy Valley the game before before.  Further, this anticipated late afternoon matchup would be played in one of the most unpleasant conditions Ohio Stadium had seen for some time: a bitter cold, driving wind and a rain that bordered on snow.

Penn State started off well, capitalizing on a kickoff miscue from Tim Williams for a field goal and a quick 3-0 lead.  However, the Bucks responded with a touchdown on their first drive.  A pass play on their first play to Jeff Cothran set up the Bucks at midfield, with Raymont Harris eventually scoring the go-ahead touchdown.  Penn State tacked on another field goal on their next drive to narrow the margin to one.  The Buckeyes, though, responded with another field goal to push the margin back to 4.  After that field goal, an errant wounded duck from Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins gave the ball back to Ohio State.  Bret Powers, the senior transfer from Arizona State, was put in for the struggling sophomore Bobby Hoying, engineering a touchdown strike to Joey Galloway to put the Buckeyes up 17-6.  This lead held at fast at intermission.

The Buckeyes received the ball to begin the second half.  With both quarterbacks now struggling after the first half, the Buckeye offense rode behind Raymont Harris.  His 59 rushing yards on their first drive from intermission set up the Butler By’not’e touchdown to push the margin to 24-6.  This ended up being the final score.  Much of the second half for Penn State was a comedy of errors.  Penn State’s first drive ended in a FG block by special teams superhero Marlon Kerner, who more than atoned for a bogus pass interference penalty called on him that kept Penn State’s drive alive.  In the 4th quarter, and with time rapidly becoming an issue with a 3 touchdown deficit, things really began to unravel for the Nittany Lions.  Ki-Jana Carter fumbled in the red zone, turning the ball over at the Buckeye 10.  The next possession for Penn State ended on a turnover of downs, as a wide open Bobby Engram dropped a certain first down with no discernible explanation other than a screwup.  Penn State’s last gasp came with about 5 minutes left, with Kerry Collins finding the open arms of Walter Taylor for Taylor’s second interception of the game and what (if I remember correctly) was Collins’ third interception toss of the game.  All Ohio State had to do for much of the second half was play keep-away, a feat made successful from Raymont Harris’ 32 carries and (then-career high) 159 yards.  More than 100 of those yards came in the second half.

Ohio State followed that game with a much anticipated grudge match against Wisconsin in Madison.  They tied that game.  Combined with the loss to Michigan that we are absolutely in no way shape or form talking about, the Buckeyes had to share a Big Ten title.  They ended up going bowling in California… albeit in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.

After this game, Joe Paterno decided that he was done losing for a while.  Penn State won out for the rest of the season, blitzing Tennessee 31-13 in the Citrus Bowl.  They turned into world-beaters in 1994, and basically have a justified claim to a share of the national title with Nebraska.  The Nittany Lions wouldn’t lose again until September 30, 1995… an odd home loss to Wisconsin.

The following game played in the Ohio State-Penn State series was in Happy Valley almost a year later (October 29, 1994).  It was only Ohio State’s second trip to State College, with the first coming in 1976.  Long story short: Penn State was really, really mean that day .

Without any further ado, the 1993 game can be seen below.  If you’re also interested in watching Ohio State’s first ever victory over Penn State, read this post and watch the corollary video.