Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/199890
Bye weeks are not good for us, it seems. PhillipintheValley I pray Braxton Miller goes to the NFL next year. Wow! lionlover Remember, you are never as good as you think you are in big wins. And you are never as bad as you think you are in big FROM losses. PO60 THE WEB Steve Manuel PLEASE HOLD Deion Barnes and PSU's defense couldn't contain Miller, who had a career day. UNCONTAINABLE Dual-threat Braxton Miller hits his stride against the Nittany Lions M AT T H E R B | It's not Urban's job to online Reaction stop his team from to PSu'S lateSt Game scoring. It is John Butler's. That's all there is to it. Honestly Good to see Tyler Ferguson having some success. eilion matt@bluewhiteonline.com COLUMBUS, Ohio – Braxton Miller can't graduate soon enough as far as the Penn State football team is concerned. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, he's only a junior, which means he'll get one more shot at them. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Huber Heights, Ohio, has done plenty of damage already, having demolished the Nittany Lions' defense two years in a row. In 2012, he had 134 rushing yards and 143 passing yards, spearheading a dominant second-half effort by the Buckeyes in a 35-23 victory at Beaver Stadium. This year, Miller didn't wait till the second half to take control of the game. He led the Buckeyes on a 75-yard touchdown drive to open the scoring early in the first quarter and went on to finish with dazzling numbers: 252 yards passing with three touchdowns, and 68 yards rushing with two TDs, including a 39yard scoring run on a draw play. Miller "causes trouble when you let him get on the perimeter of the defense," Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. The Nittany Lions weren't able to keep him bottled up, and even when they did, he o c t o b e R found a way to escape. His ability to evade tackles and extend plays was a big part of Penn State's problem on Saturday night. Of course, that's exactly what Ohio State is looking for from Miller as it looks to stay in contention for the BCS Championship Game. The Buckeyes will need a couple of teams ranked ahead of them to falter if they're going to get a shot, but Miller's play is helping to ensure that they remain in contention. "I just love where Braxton's at right now," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. "I love the fact that he's acting like a quarterback. I'm not disrespecting Braxton. But I felt like he was an athlete playing quarterback a year ago. I feel like he's a quarterback who's a really good athlete now." Miller was already at Ohio State when Meyer arrived prior to the 2012 season. He had shown flashes of great potential early in his career, but as the Buckeyes have surged to an 8-0 record this fall and the No. 4 spot in the polls, his development has been one of the keys. Said Meyer, "The guy's work ethic is off the charts right now. " 2 6 , 2 0 1 3 10 OSU is just plain better. As painful as it is to admit, Ohio State is that much better than we are. Don't blame the holding calls. Don't blame Meyer challenging the first down. They have the better players, and they were better prepared and coached. BScootPSU On the plus side, I think we found a running back. I was previously wrong about Belton. BBrown Goodbye, Allen Robinson. We loved ya! No. 8 just earned himself a first-round grade. Go west, young man, or wherever you can. Fantastic talent, and seems to be a great ambassador for the university going forward. Selfishly we'd want him back, but is there ANY question he could and should be playing on Sundays next year? kijanalives b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m