Pryor, Ohio State ready to challenge Penn State

October 25, 2008 at 12:03a.m.

The OSU quarterback from Jeannette, Pa., had considered going to Penn State.

COLUMBUS (AP) — In the bright lights of a postgame interview last week, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was already thinking ahead to the showdown with a team from his home state, a team he jilted to become a Buckeye.

The freshman, 5-0 as a starter, threw down the challenge to No. 3 Penn State, which comes to Ohio Stadium for a Saturday night game likely to determine the Big Ten champion and its Bowl Championship Series representative.

“We’re hungry for more. We want more,” Pryor said. “We’ve got a big fight next week. I ain’t proved anything yet. I’m still young. I like playing with a chip on my shoulder and playing for my teammates.”

Pryor will be the central figure in the drama played out before more than 105,000 fans, most of them dressed in scarlet in an attempt to duplicate Penn State’s “White Out” games back at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State was one of Pryor’s final four college choices, but the Jeannette, Pa., native chose Ohio State. He hasn’t looked back, either. After splitting playing time with sixth-year senior Todd Boeckman for three games, he took over the week before Big Ten play started. He’s one big (6-foot-6) reason why the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0) find themselves sharing first place with the Nittany Lions (8-0, 4-0).

“That’s the thing that makes it so tough,” Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno said of defending against Pryor. “Pryor has an awfully strong arm and quick release. When he takes off, he takes off. He’s a tough guy to get. It’s going to be interesting.”

But there’s far more than just one player to make the game interesting. Both teams have a lot riding on the outcome.

Penn State is 0-7 at Ohio State since joining the Big Ten, usually coming out on the short end of close games.

“We haven’t really talked about that. It’s statistics,” Buckeyes linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “Those things, you can take them for what they’re worth.”

The last time the Nittany Lions won at Ohio Stadium in 1978, they beat a freshman quarterback (Art Schlichter) who threw five interceptions that day.

Ohio State, which lost earlier this season at Southern California, can’t afford another defeat if it wants to make a third straight appearance in the BCS title game. The Buckeyes are also trying to become the first Big Ten team to ever win three consecutive outright league championships.

Also, the Buckeyes retain an us-against-the-world stance because they’ve been ridiculed by so many people after one-sided losses to Florida and LSU in the last two BCS championships and under the lights against USC.

“This is their game to get back on the map, kind of redemption to get that USC loss behind them,” Penn State wide receiver Deon Butler said. “On the flip side, it’s our game to make a statement. People are saying that we haven’t played a top-notch team yet.”