RSS
Home
Penn State 101: 'The Fumble' - Part I
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
"The Fumble" Photo Source: Collegian File Photo
In the past decade the Penn State-Ohio State seres has been identified by two plays in which Ohio state quarterbacks fumbled the football. In one case it lead to Penn State sealing a victory. In the other it lead to a rally that saw Penn State take the lead.
October 8, 2005 - State College, Pennsylvania
After struggling through seasons leading up to the 2005 season the Nittany Lions appeared to be turning the page. Three straight wins against non-conference opponents got Penn State off to a 3-0 start but the Big Ten competition would be the litmus test for the fortitude of the Penn State team being lead by likes of quarterback Michael Robinson and linebacker Paul Posluszny.
On September 24, 2005 the Nittany Lions put together a fantastic late drive to escape with a victory. the following week, at home against Minnesota, Robinson came away with an iconic run in which a Minnesota defender bounced off of the offensive leader of the Nittany Lions. After squashing #18 Minnesota's explosive running game Penn State had improved to 5-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten.
But the big question was whether or not this Penn State team was for real. Naturally the measuring stick was #6 Ohio State. The Buckeyes came to town for a prime time show down and the students, starved for a signature win, were ready. Paternoville took the campus by storm and became a regular feature of Penn State game days from that point on. But as much as the fans would want to prove that they were ready for Penn State to be a winning force once again, the team still had to go out and prove themselves to the skeptics, and the rest of the Big Ten.
As is typical when these teams play, the 2005 meeting was a closely contested game. There have been some blow outs in this series but these games are usually tight. What made this game more special for Penn State was the electric atmosphere. To this day Penn State fans young and old will tell you that the crowd was never louder than they were on that damp night.
I should know. I was there.
I have been going to Penn State games for a long time now and no game compares to the scene in Beaver Stadium that night. Where I typically sit I had been used to sitting for the whole game, but on that night I found myself standing for every play, something I had only done once before.
The whole evening the capacity crowd clad in blue, white and rain protective gear had been building in excitement, waiting for the final seconds to tick off as Penn State held on to a 17-10 lead. With Ohio State looking to tie things up quarterback Troy Smith, who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy a year later, dropped back to make a pass. That is where he was met by Tamba Hali...
In Joe Paterno fashion Hali did not jump around and celebrate his soon to be legendary sack and forced fumble. Instead he calmly walks off the field. Did Hali not realize that he had just made the biggest defensive play of the season? Perhaps the most significant tackle in Penn State's recent program history, Hali's tackle of Smith sent the Buckeye quarterback tumbling and throwing his feet straight up in the air. Meanwhile the football had been jarred loose and it was recovered by Penn State with under two minutes to go in the game.
Penn State 17, Ohio State 10.
The turning point of the season may have taken place two weeks earlier at Northwestern, but "The Fumble" is truly recognized as the moment when Penn State officially declared that the program was back as a threat in the national college football scene. The Nittany Lions would go on to finish their regular season at 11-1, with the lone loss coming the following week at Michigan. Shut out of the Rose Bowl, the host of the BCS championship game that season between undefeated USC and Texas, the Nittany Lions were invited to play in the Orange Bowl. The epic triple overtime victory against Florida State put the finishing touches on a remarkable season. It was a memorable season for a number of reasons with plenty of plays that will replay in the memory banks of the fans for a long time.
"The Fumble" may just be at the top of the list.
Penn State Football Story
To read Part II, which focuses on the key play from the 2008 meeting between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes, click here.
______________________________________________________________
Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter or connect with him via Facebook.
You can contact Kevin via e-mail.
For more Penn State coverage head to Nittany White Out.
Read more from Kevin at his personal blog, Ramblings.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
