Penn State’s Win Not Your Average Joe Nittany Lions Edge Ohio State In 31-27 Big Ten Shootout

The perfect season was not preserved the way the coach had hoped.

Penn State had shown an ability to create the spectacular. Joe Paterno, the coach, prefers the plain and reliable. The Nittany Lions’ wild 31-27 victory over Ohio State on Saturday, with its breathless comeback built on large chunks of yardage, left everyone happy except for a crushed group of Buckeyes.

A 26-yard touchdown run by Curtis Enis, who had the second-best day of his career, gave the Lions (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) the lead with 10 minutes, 31 seconds to play. Enis, who had said he “choked” last year during a one-sided Buckeyes victory over Penn State, gained 211 yards on 23 carries.

But it was not until defensive back Shawn Lee deflected a fourth-down pass from Joe Germaine to Ken-Yon Rambo that the Lions, No. 17 in the New York Times computer ranking and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, were safe with 2:24 to go. The victory was Penn State’s 10th in a row, the longest current winning streak among major colleges.

Germaine, who entered the game for the final play of the first quarter, completed 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards, the second-highest total in Ohio State history.

Enis, who was held to 34 yards by the Buckeyes last year, became the first runner to exceed 100 yards against Ohio State (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) in 17 games.

Ohio State (No. 1, Times; No. 7, AP) had taken a 10-point lead in the third quarter as Germaine, its backup quarterback, exceeded 250 passing yards within two periods.

A 1-yard touchdown pass from Germaine to David Boston, set up by a 30-yard option pass from tailback Michael Wiley to tight end Steve Wisniewski, gave the Buckeyes a 20-17 lead with 7:17 to go in the third quarter.

Then after forcing a Lions punt, the Buckeyes drove 80 yards for a 27-17 lead. After four unsuccessful possessions, fullback Aaron Harris gave Penn State a chance with a 51-yard touchdown, his second scoring run of the game, to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 27-24 with 20 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Next for Penn St. vs. Minnesota.

Next for Ohio State: vs. Indiana.