Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Penn State linebacker Mike Hull owned the night. Racking up 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a clutch interception and countless key plays, the Nittany Lions' senior linebacker earned the highest praise from head coach James Franklin follow- ing the game. Said Franklin, "I think he should be on every award list right now. He deserves that." PLAYS OF THE GAMENo other way to put it: The officiating Saturday night was criminal. Referee John O'Neill's de- cision to uphold Vonn Bell's intercep- tion on the Nittany Lions' first possession set a tone that Penn State couldn't overcome and led to the Buck- eyes' first TD. In the second quarter, after the play clock had clearly expired, three more points were awarded the Buckeyes without a call on a converted 49-yard field goal that might have been a punt if called accurately. The blown calls – the first of which was reviewed, no less – immediately put the Nittany Lions at an even bigger disadvantage than they were already facing. BEST PASSChristian Hackenberg's floater to Saeed Blacknall on third-and- 6 at the Ohio State 24 was a marvel, both that Blacknall came down with the reception and for its placement. The touchdown put Penn State down by only three points with 11 minutes left to play. WORST PASS On second-and-8 from the Ohio State 44-yard line in the third quarter, Hackenberg's ill-advised throw halted Penn State's momentum, as Tyvis Powell came away with an easy interception. BEST RUN Facing a crucial third-and- goal from the 1-yard line in overtime, Bill Belton's push through the pile at the goal line gave the Nittany Lions a 24-17 lead to put all the pressure on Ohio State. BEST CATCH Deserving of an interfer- ence call in the end zone, Blacknall's touchdown reception was an impressive thing to behold. BEST SACK Just when it looked like Ohio State might start to pull away from the Nittany Lions in the second quarter, defensive end Deion Barnes switched his way inside to drop J.T. Barrett on a third-and-16 all the way back to the Ohio State 32-yard line. BEST HITOhio State's Armani Reeves absolutely unloaded on Penn State wideout Geno Lewis coming across the middle on a third-and-long play late in the first half. The hit was clean and left Lewis shaken as he slowly made his way to the sideline. BEST EFFORTPenn State's entire de- fense earns the nod here. From Hull to Anthony Zettel, this side made the big plays that needed to be made through- out the night. The unit truly slowed down what had been an unstoppable Buckeye offense for most of the first half, but starting with its back against the wall nearly all game always catches up at some point. BEST KICK With just 9 seconds left in regulation, Sam Ficken's 31-yard at- tempt was true and sent the game into overtime. WORST KICK Penn State punter Chris Gulla's struggles continued into the first quarter Saturday, as his first at- tempt sailed out of bounds after cover- ing only 32 yards. Dan Pasquariello's 29-yarder to open the fourth quarter was even shorter. BEST RETURN Zettel – a complete machine throughout the season – once again came up with the big play the Nittany Lions desperately needed. Snatching Barrett's poorly thrown ball in the open field, Zettel barreled into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown return. BEST DECISIONSticking around. Penn State fans filled Beaver Stadium before the game kicked off and, even though the Nittany Lions fell behind 17-0 at the half, the stands stayed full. Their dedi- cation was rewarded when the Lions made a valiant – if ill-fated – second- half comeback. WORST DECISIONIt is hard to fathom how the officials could conclude that Bell came away with an interception when every replay showed the ball clearly hitting the ground. Only a few minutes later, Ezekiel Elliott was flying into the end zone for the Buckeyes' first touchdown of the evening. Truly, the worst decision of the night. That is, until DaeSean Hamilton was called for a chop block in the fourth quarter on the Nittany Lions' biggest offensive play of the game. Or when the officials missed a holding call on a play that led to the Buckeyes' first overtime touchdown. In a game in which the Lions had no mar- gin for error, the refs were one more ob- stacle that they had to deal with. MOST TELLING MOMENTIt took only five seconds for Penn State to sustain its first injury of the night, as Zach Zwinak went down on the opening kickoff. All of Beaver Stadium quieted, the cart came out to retrieve the senior running back, and an awful pall fell over what had been a festive atmos- phere. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Nittany Lions' loss to Ohio State O c T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O m 4 BEST RETURN Anthony Zettel Steve Manuel

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