Lions score last 10 to beat Buckeyes
Backup QB leads Penn State in 4th quarter
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pat Devlin came off the bench for injured starting quarterback Daryll Clark in the fourth quarter, leading two scoring drives and sneaking in for the go-ahead touchdown to give No. 3 Penn State a 13-6 victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Saturday night.
The win put the Nittany Lions (9-0, 5-0) in command in the Big Ten and severely crimped the chances of the Buckeyes (7-2, 4-1) grabbing an unprecedented third consecutive outright league title and a piece of their fourth conference championship in a row.
Penn State, with coach Joe Paterno coaching from the press box for the fourth straight game, solidified its position as a national championship contender and also erased the ugly memories of an 0-7 mark in Columbus since joining the Big Ten in 1990.
Defenses controlled most of the game before an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,711.
Ohio State had the ball and a three-point lead when Terrelle Pryor fumbled, defensive back Mark Rubin using his left hand to knock the ball away as the freshman quarterback carried on a third-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman fell on the loose ball at the Buckeyes 38 after players scrambled to recover.
Immediately, the Nittany Lions were at a disadvantage as Clark remained on the sideline. He was meeting with team doctors.
In stepped Devlin, who had seen action in seven games but had only been on the field for 45 plays.
He promptly led the way on a seven-play, 38-yard drive that took 4:13 and ended with his touchdown giving Penn State a 10-6 lead.
Penn State’s defense then forced an Ohio State punt, and with Royster carrying most of the load, the Nittany Lions almost ran out the clock. Royster went for 3, 10 and 9 yards on his first three carries before Devlin sneaked for a first down at the Ohio State 24.
While the Buckeyes were using all their timeouts, the Nittany Lions continued to stick to the ground attack. Finally, they let the clock run down until Kelly converted a 35-yard field goal with 1:07 left to push the lead to 13-6.
For the Nittany Lions, Clark completed 12 of 20 passes for 121 yards before leaving. Royster had 77 yards on 19 carries.