When No. 16 Penn State upset No. 6 Ohio State 17-10 on Saturday, it looked like a flashback to years past.
The Nittany Lion defense, clad in the traditional navy blue jerseys, was stifling, the ageless Joe Paterno was getting fiery on the sidelines, and the crowd of over 100,000 packed into Beaver Stadium was rocking.
After four losing seasons in the past five years and a 7-16 mark over the last two, a resurgent Penn State team has the fans in Happy Valley smiling once again. With the win, the Nittany Lions improved to 6-0 on the season and moved up to No. 8 in the rankings, their highest spot since Nov. 1999.
Just one week after its first win over a top-25 team since 2002 - a 44-14 romp over No. 18 Minnesota - the crowd of 109,839 (second largest in Penn State history) was pumped up. The Lions rose to the occasion.
After falling down by three in the first quarter, Penn State took the lead with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter when explosive freshman wide receiver Derrick Williams turned a sweep into a 13-yard touchdown. Just minutes later, Calvin Lowry made the play of the game, picking off a Troy Smith pass and returning it 36 yards to the Ohio State two-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Michael Robinson punched it in from a yard out to give Penn State a 14-3 lead.
As it turned out, those two and a half minutes would comprise the only action in the defensive slugfest. In fact, Penn State was actually out-gained by Ohio State 230 yards to 195. Led by the play of linebacker Paul Posluszny, who recorded 14 tackles and a key fourth quarter sack, the Penn State defense quietly dominated the game.
With both teams trading punts, the only real suspense came on Ohio State's final drive. Down 17-10, things did not look good for the Buckeyes when a false start penalty pushed them back to their own six-yard line. On the next play, Smith was sacked, facing the Buckeyes with an unenviable second-and-16 from the five-yard line.
On the next play, however, Smith found speedy wideout Ted Ginn Jr. on the left sideline for a 27-yard gain. One play later, Smith connected with Santonio Holmes on a 20-yarder to put Ohio State in Penn State territory. Coming into the drive, the Lions had managed to hold the dynamic pair of Ginn Jr. and Holmes to just 34 yards.
The Buckeyes appeared to have the momentum with those big-gainers, but it was short-lived. Just two plays later, Lion end Tamba Hali crashed Smith's side, knocked the ball loose and secured the victory for Penn State.
With the win, Penn State became the only remaining unbeaten team in the Big Ten, a remarkable feat considering the conference season is just three weeks old. Given the parity in the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions may have trouble surviving the season undefeated. They still have trips to Michigan and No. 16 Michigan State on the schedule, as well as a pair of tough home games against Purdue and No. 23 Wisconsin.
Second-ranked Texas ended its drought in the Red River Shootout this week by destroying the struggling Oklahoma Sooners 45-12.
Vince Young continued his incredible play with a 241-yard, three-touchdown day. The win moved the impressive Longhorns to 5-0. If they can survive their next two games against No. 24 Colorado and No. 13 Texas Tech, the Longhorns looked poised to run the table in the Big 12.
But even that might not be enough to get them into the BCS Championship game this year. No. 1 USC, No. 3 Virginia Tech, No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Alabama are all undefeated thus far and all likely will have tougher schedules, boosting their computer rankings in the BCS.
Because of strength of schedule, it appears that USC and Virginia Tech have the best chances of colliding in the title game. If Tech can survive its home meetings with No. 14 Boston College and No. 7 Miami, it could face Florida State in the first-ever ACC Championship Game.
After impressive wins over Miami and BC, the Seminoles' only test could be a season finale matchup against No. 11 Florida at the Swamp.
Don't discount the SEC powers from making a title run either. Although Georgia had faced an easy schedule heading into this week, the Bulldogs proved themselves with a 27-14 road win over No. 8 Tennessee. Alabama, on the other hand, is just two weeks removed from a 31-3 upset of Florida. The Tide is now 5-0 and has reclaimed its status as a football powerhouse.
Of course, there could be two spots available in the title game if USC falters. While it is hard to predict a loss, the Trojans have looked very human at times this year. They will be tested this week by No. 9 Notre Dame, in what will unquestionably be this week's game of the week.
