Ohio State Steamrolls Penn State

The Ohio State Express just keeps rolling along.

And coach John Cooper isn’t sure how much better his third-ranked Buckeyes can play after Saturday’s 38-7 rout of No. 4 Penn State.

“What a great victory,” Cooper gushed after Ohio State handed coach Joe Paterno his worst loss in 12 years. “Our offense executed the game plan and we got control early.

“I don’t know if we can play better than we did.”

Stanley Jackson turned what was supposed to be a tough matchup into a mismatch, throwing two touchdown passes in a 24-point first half that put the Buckeyes in control. Joe Germaine added two TD passes and Pepe Pearson had 141 yards - his fourth straight game over 100 yards - and a TD.

Paterno, in his 31st season, hadn’t been beaten as soundly since a 44-7 loss to Notre Dame in 1984. His worst losses were 38-point defeats by Nebraska in the 1984 Kickoff Classic and by UCLA in 1966.

“I can’t even second-guess myself today,” Paterno said. “They’re as good as any football team that we’ve played in a long time. They played with more poise and more confidence then we did and we just got a good whipping in every way.”

The impressive win kept Ohio State (4-0) in the thick of the national title chase, while Penn State (5-1) all but fell out of the running. The victory, coupled with Northwestern’s 17-16 upset of Michigan, also puts the Buckeyes in control of the Big Ten race and a berth in the Rose Bowl.

“I don’t know if we’re better than Florida and Florida State,” Cooper said of the teams ranked ahead of Ohio State in the AP poll, “but if we keep playing like this we have to move up. I thought this one was gonna be a nail-biter.”

Jackson had scoring passes of 42 yards to Dimitrious Stanley in the first quarter and 24 yards to fullback Matt Keller in the second as the Buckeyes rolled over a defense that allowed just 27 points in five games.

Germaine, who usually shares time with Jackson, came on in the middle of the second quarter and threw a 34-yard TD pass to Stanley on his second play. Germaine added a 3-yard TD pass to fullback Matt Calhoun in the fourth quarter.

Jackson was 11 of 22 for 169 yards and added 53 yards rushing, and Germaine was 3 of 8 for 46 yards.