Penn State White Out — Not This Time
Penn State is a very, very tough place to play — especially at night. It’s incredibly loud and defines the term hostile environment. That’s pretty much all you heard leading up to the PSU/OSU game last night. The last time OSU lost a regular season game was in 2005 at Penn State in the infamous White Out game. Typical of the sports media they failed to mention a few things about that game.
Most important of those is the fact that the 2005 Penn State team was very good. So good in fact that they beat a mighty SEC team in a BCS game. OSU lost in 2005 17-10. This year, Penn State isn’t nearly as good as that 2005 team and the 2007 Buckeyes are better. Yes, this Buckeye team, at this point of the season, is much better than the 2005 Buckeye team when they played Penn State. (That was the OSU team that dismantled Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.)
Last night’s game didn’t surprise me at all. Bill Harris emailed me Friday asking what I thought would happen. I said we’d win by 14 all things being equal. The PSU fans can dress in all white or go into the stands naked. I didn’t think it would matter. This OSU team is very, very good and unless we self destructed Penn State simply couldn’t win.
OSU’s defense played their worst game of the season last night. And gave up 10 points and 260 yards of total offense.
I’m not saying the final three games are lay-ups for OSU. Wisconsin ALWAYS gives OSU fits, even in the Shoe. (Hill’s injury will be key) Illinois took us to the mat last year, and Michigan is Michigan. But last night’s game was a statement that this OSU team can play. Anytime. Anywhere. And beating up on PSU at their place, at night, in primetime, should give Michigan fans pause. The Big House is nowhere near as intimidating as Happy Valley. The Big House is actually pretty quite considering they pack 100,000+ in there.
The bad taste from the Florida game is still there with a lot of these players. And it’s showing. Despite being #1 all through the 2006 season, OSU fans knew — there where chinks in the armor that showed up several times last year. NIU’s Garrett Wolfe running wild in the opener, a tight game with an overmatched PSU team at home, a 17-10 struggle against Illinois, a defensive collapse against Michigan, beating up on demoralized teams like MSU, Northwestern, and Indiana who gave up at halftime, and, most important, going into the title game with a feeling of entitlement. This year’s team is different.
In a year that was supposed to be a rebuilding season for Ohio State, and in a year when every team and every conference is up and down like a 4th street hooker, OSU’s consistency is paying off.
Can we stop with the “White Out” nonsense now? You need the horses before your fans can make a difference.
Interesting stat:
Troy Smith 2006: Effenciency Rating - 161.9
Todd Boeckman 2007 Effenciency Rating through 9 games- 164.3
Number of QBs with a better ratings than Boeckman? Two. (Tebow and Bradford)