Win over Ohio State provided a turning point
Penn State coach James Franklin doesn’t like stopping to rehash the past. He is too busy pushing forward, an attitude that has helped rebuild the proud program.
Ohio State is favored to win the Big Ten this season, but Penn State is the league’s defending champion, thanks in part to last October’s 24-21 upset of the Buckeyes that gave Franklin his first signature victory.
Even Franklin sees fit to pause and reflect on what defeating OSU meant for Penn State, which entered that game 4-2 on the season and 33-23 since the NCAA handed down sanctions in July 2012 after the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
“To be able to go out and win on that stage was significant,” said Franklin, named 2016 Big Ten coach of the year. “It was significant for us obviously in last year’s season in gaining confidence, gaining momentum. It was significant in recruiting. It was significant in going into this year as well.”
Penn State goes into Franklin’s fourth season ranked No. 6 in the coaches poll and with 16 returning starters, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Saquon Barkley and dual-threat quarterback Trace McSorley.
The win over OSU was part of a ninegame winning streak for Penn State — including a defeat of Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game — that ended only with a 52-49 loss to USC in a Rose Bowl classic.
Penn State finished 11-3 and ranked No. 7, propelled from mediocrity by a clutch play and fortunate bounce of the football on a rainy October night that will long be recalled in Happy Valley.
OSU, a 20-point favorite ranked No. 2 in the nation, was looking to increase a 21-17, fourth-quarter lead on a 45-yard fieldgoal attempt by Tyler Durbin when his kick was blocked by Penn State’s Marcus Allen.
The ball bounced to Allen’s teammate Grant Haley, who raced 60 yards for a touchdown to give the Nittany Lions their first lead with 4:27 remaining.
“All I remember was everybody running to meet Grant in the end zone,” Penn State linebacker Jason Cabinda said. “Once he reached the end zone it was a big roar. The stadium just exploded.”
Beaver Stadium erupted again when OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett was sacked for the fifth and sixth time on the game’s final two plays. The “white-out” crowd of 107,280 stormed the field as the Buckeyes’ 20-game road winning streak ended.
Penn State had rallied with 17 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 14-point deficit and post its first win over a team ranked in the top five since 1999.
One month earlier, the injury-plagued Nittany Lions were 2-2 after a 49-10 loss at Michigan that prompted Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour to give a public vote of confidence to Franklin.
The Nittany Lions rebounded with wins over Minnesota and Maryland, but they entered the Ohio State game with Franklin hearing about being 0-18 at Penn State against ranked opponents. He was 0-7 against OSU, Michigan and Michigan State.
And then Penn State blocked two kicks in the final 12 minutes to upset the Buckeyes, which propelled the Nittany Lions to their first top 25 poll appearance (at No. 24) since Joe Paterno coached them in 2011. They went on to win their next six games.
“I think to us, (beating OSU) instilled the mentality that we can play with anybody,” Cabinda said. “And I think that was really important, knowing that we can play with anybody and that no matter the circumstances, we can always will ourselves to win. We did that time and time again the rest of the year.”