Blue White Illustrated

TRYING TO SMILE Bill Belton's individual success doesn't mask pain of the loss NAT E   BAU E R | nbaueR@bluewhiteonline.com COLUMBUS, Ohio – Bill Belton couldn't even manage a smile. Surrounded by a scrum of reporters after the game, he was one of the Nittany Lions' lone post-game press conference representatives Saturday night, but the sour taste of defeat was much too fresh to enjoy any of the personal successes he had achieved just moments earlier. His Nittany Lions, brutally beaten in front of the fifth-largest crowd at Ohio Stadium BELTON against the No. 4ranked Buckeyes, 63-14, were suffering and, by extension, so was he. "I would rather get a win than have the game I had tonight," he said. "It's not just about one person. It's about wins and losses, so I would much rather have the win." Unfortunately for Belton, there would be nothing of the sort at the Horseshoe. Though he'd finished the game with a team-high 22 carries for 98 yards on the ground, in Belton's mind, there were no bright spots to be found. In fact, as true freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg and the Nittany Lions' offense struggled to find any type of rhythm, the defense performed even worse. By the time the smoke had cleared against a Buckeye team jonesing for an opportunity to impress pollsters, only four Nittany Lions caught passes on the evening. Penn State's offense managed just 158 yards of total offense to the Buckeyes' astounding 414 yards in the first half, which resulted in a 427 lead. Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien knew that the night was full of poor o c t o b e R performances, but he was able to specifically acknowledge the effort and contributions of both Belton and junior wide receiver Allen Robinson. "I thought our guys gave good effort all night, O'Brien said, complimenting Bel" ton's play. "I don't think anybody quit. "I think that's a good example of our team. I don't think anybody on our team quit." Certainly, Belton could be counted among them. Though Penn State averaged just 3 yards per carry, including four sacks worth 21 yards in losses, Belton managed to earn 4.5 yards per carry on his own. "I did all right, but I still have a lot of work to do and Coach O'Brien and Coach [Charles] London are definitely going to review the film and look at the mistakes we had as a running back group and just go from there," Belton said. Of course, for everything positive that Belton has to look forward to heading into the final five games of the season – it appears as if he has supplanted Zach Zwinak as starting running back – the Lions' junior tailback took no pleasure in his teammate's stunning third fumble of the season. Wanting to support his friend, Belton said he had offered encouragement to his beleaguered teammate. "We talked. We always talk, and he's a good guy," Belton said. "He's a great football player, and he's going to figure it out and he's going to continue to keep working hard. He's going to get back on track." Belton will aim to find that elusive smile next weekend at Beaver Stadium against Illinois. And he hopes that his teammates do the same. 2 6 , 2 0 1 3 6 GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS Under a lot of duress, Chris- tian Hackenberg was off-target early, tossing an interception in the end zone on Penn State's first drive and missing a few open receivers. GRADE CRUNNING BACKS Bill Belton started for the first time this season and found some running room. It looks as though he'll be the starter going forward, because Zach Zwinak's unforced fumble added to the turnover concerns that have dogged him since last season. GRADE CRECEIVERS Brandon Felder made a couple of nice catches, including the one that gave Penn State its only first-half touchdown. Allen Robinson's effort on the 65-yard TD helps make up for a quiet game. GRADE C OFFENSIVE LINE The Lions ran the ball pretty well, but they had trouble protecting Hackenberg – as evidenced by his departure in the third quarter in favor of Tyler Ferguson. GRADE D DEFENSIVE LINE Ohio State had more suc- cess attacking the flanks of PSU's defense, but it also gouged some holes in the middle. GRADE DLINEBACKERS Penn State has been holding this unit together with athletic tape all season, and it showed against the Buckeyes. GRADE DDEFENSIVE BACKS Ohio State could have run its array of screen and swing passes all night. GRADE DSPECIAL TEAMS Just when Penn State finally got some momentum going late in the first half, Ohio State ran back a kickoff 49 yards to set up another touchdown. GRADE C COACHES It's tough to imagine a coaching decision that would have changed the outcome. The Buckeyes just have too much talent, particularly on offense, for the undermanned Nittany Lions to cope with right now. GRADE CCROWD The Buckeyes are 10-3 all-time in night games played at Ohio Stadium, and it's not hard to see why. The atmosphere at the Horseshoe was an impresGRADE A sive thing to behold. b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

• Cover