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Braxton Miller is
Urban Meyer's first ever 1,000 yard rusher. Ohio State won the game
35-23.
Buckeye Sports
Miller stands
tall in win over Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - When Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller went
down with an injury last weekend it made the entire Buckeye fan base
wonder if Miller would be up to his old tricks this week at Penn State.
Three touchdowns later and 277 yards of total offense proved that the
sophomore signal caller was feeling no ill effects as the Buckeyes
(9-0, 4-0) took care of Penn State (5-3, 3-1) 35-23.
The Ohio State defense held Penn State to 36 yards on the ground and
sacked Matt McGloin four times.
"We are getting more comfortable together as a staff and as a defensive
unit," Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said. "I think
that everything is start click a little bit more."
McGloin passed for 327 yards against the Ohio State pass defense with
two touchdowns while Kyle Carter led the way with six receptions for
the Nittany Lions. Evan Spencer was the leading receiver for Ohio State
in receptions with three but Jake Stoneburner made the most out of his
two catches with one going for a 72-yard score when the Buckeyes were
looking to put more separation between themselves and the Nittany Lions.
"This is the first time I have experienced this stadium and their crowd
and this is big league atmosphere," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer
said. "The one thing about coming on the road is you find out about
your team because it is s glad type mentality that it is us against the
world and our guys seem to thrive on that."
Things didn't start off to Ohio State's liking after a scoreless first
quarter when Mike Hull got in and blocked a Ben Buchanan punt and
Michael Yancich fell on it for the first score of the game. It is the
third straight game where the Buckeyes have made a major blunder on the
special teams.
But the Buckeyes came back late in the half and got the benefit of a
hold during a punt to extend a drive. It was a steady dose of Miller
and Carlos Hyde rushing on that series and Hyde went behind the right
tackle to plunge in from a yard to tie it at 7-all with less than a
minute to go.
The Buckeyes only had 145 yards in the first half but the defense held
PSU to 149 yards of total offense by comparison. Penn State held the
ball for nine more minutes of possession during the first 30 minutes,
all things considered the Buckeyes were doing well to be tied up at
that point.
"I thought our defense played great in the first half," Meyer said. (By
a) slow start you might mean the offense. I think their defensive
personnel had a little something to do with that. they are good
players... we were a little bit close to the vest."
Things heated up for the Buckeyes in the 2nd half on offense, but it
was all sparked by the defense. Ryan Shazier had back-to-back big
plays, first sacking McGloin and then stepping in front of a pass for
an interception and 17 yard touchdown. The Buckeyes were up 14-7 before
having an offensive series in the half and Shazier made plays happen…
Read the rest of the article at Buckeye Sports
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