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At some point, we are going to have to try kicking field goals. What would it have hurt to let Sam Ficken try a 37-yarder in the first half of a scoreless tie? FightOnState OFF THE BALL The Buckeyes dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball Saturday. Jonh Beale Ohio State feeds off raucous crowd in 35-23 win GOING HOME HAPPY NATE BAUER | N B A U E R@B L U EWH I T E O N L I N E . c O M A week ago, Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller laid on the turf at Ohio Stadium, shaking from a violent hit by the visiting Purdue Boilermakers. Though he was cleared to play early last week, Buckeye fans questioned whether or not the sophomore phe- nomenon would perform to his Heis- man Trophy contending standards against Penn State. Did he ever. Despite a slow start Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, Miller posted 277 yards of total offense in the Buck- eyes' 35-23 victory against the Nit- tany Lions – a win that lifted them to 9-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Big Ten. "He had that look in his eye," Buck- eyes head coach Urban Meyer said after the game, referring to Miller's impressive 1-yard drop, juke and jump into the end zone to give Ohio State a 21-10 lead in the third quar- ter. "We work on that. We have a drill. Make seven people miss, dive across and hold the ball." Penn State fans, meanwhile, were left speechless. The raucous crowd of 107,818 fans quickly quieted as Miller took off in the second half. He racked up two touchdowns on the ground and an- other through the air. Meyer said the Buckeyes seemed to feed off the energy of an entire sta- dium rooting against them. "This is the first time I have experi- enced this stadium and their crowd, and this is a big-league atmosphere," Meyer said. "The one thing about coming on the road is you find out about your team because it is that type of mentality that it is us against the world, and our guys seem to thrive on that." By the time Miller hit tight end Jake Stoneburner for a 72-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to give the Buckeyes a 35-16 lead, they had accomplished what they'd hoped for in Happy Valley. "At first I was only thinking that I cannot get caught," Stoneburner said. "It was surreal. I have never had that long of a touchdown in this big of a game. "[Miller] had the confidence in me to make the big play, and I am just happy that he threw it." O c T O B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 2 12 This is a top-ten team we played against. Our best win is against a solid Northwestern team but there's still a lot of unknowns with this team. What they've done this year is amaz- ing, but let's give our opponent credit from time to time. Ohio State is better than us right now. That's okay – it doesn't take away from what we've accomplished so far this year. FROM THE WEB ONLINE REAcTION TO PsU's LATEsT GAME mkilvanick We could have overcome the bad calls if we didn't make mistakes. The false starts, the fumble on the kickoff return and the face- mask penalties killed us. But when it comes right down to it, their offensive line and defensive line outplayed us. Rick76 Fans ruled. Many Buckeyes said it was the loudest stadium they have ever been in. The guy in front of me was speechless. He said it was absolutely amazing how loud the crowd was and that the whole atmosphere was just incredible. razpsu Kudos to the Buckeyes for taking advantage of a game the Nits could have put away early. The Bucks hung tough and wore the home team down in the second half. That's why they are un- beaten. Matt McGloin was not on tonight. That has to be because the Bucks' pressure is the best he faced all year. I believe PSU let one slip away. Ian Here's to the fans! Great job tonight! B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M JeffPSU2

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