Penn State emerges atop Big
Ten after topsy-turvy weekend
By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) _
Penn State seized control of
the Big Ten with its statement
making win over Ohio State. The
Buckeyes have to readjust their
goals.
While a conference title is still
a possibility for Ohio State, a
national championship is not.
The loss to Penn State (6-0, 3-
0 Big Ten) left the Nittany Lions
as the only unbeaten team in
the conference and highlighted
a weekend chock-full of major
twists and turns in the Big Ten.
"This was a huge game for us,"
Penn State safety Chris Harrell
said after Saturday night's 17-10
victory. "We showed the country
what we can do."
People noticed, too. Penn
State leapfrogged eight spots
in The Associated Press Top 25
on Sunday to No. 8, the Nittany
Lions' highest ranking since
appearing at No. 6 in November
1999.
Also Saturday, Wisconsin fell for
the first time this year in a wild
loss to Northwestern; two-time
defending conference champion
Michigan lost to Minnesota;
and lowa extended Purdue's
freefall with a win over the
Boilermakers.
SAO (34,,k1), si,lftered
a double-whammy with the loss
to Penn State: they fell back
in the Big Ten and eliminated
themselves from national title
contention.
Michael Robinson and Derrick
Williams ran for second-quarter
touchdowns and Penn State's
defense took over from there in
clamping down on the Buckeyes.
The Nittany Lions sealed the
win after Tamba Hall sacked Ohio
State quarterback Troy Smith
and forced a fumble that was
recovered by Scott Paxson near
midfield late in the fourth quarter.
Instead of talking about a
possible Rose Bowl trip, Buckeyes
Bad news bears claw their way to victory
By Amanda Nace
Staff Reporter
acnl29@psu.edu
As the sun shone brightly onto
their borrowed field at Middletown
Area High School, the infamously
named 'Bad News Bears' made
some good news as they made
clear to Penn State McKeesport
that they meant business.
In the first game of the double
header, McKeesport lead the
scoreboard but Penn State
Harrisburg was bound and
determined. Mel Evans scored a
triple, bringing the underdogs on
top.
"We had a couple of errors, but
we got our heads together," said
Evans, a junior at PSH. "A lot of
us haven't played for a few years;
we're still a young team. We're
still getting to know the coach
[and] his strategies," he said.
Evans is confident. "We're gonna
be good," he said with a smile as
he heads back out to the field.
Pitcher Wes Erdman said, "I
think we got a good chance at a
victory. I know we are definitely
going to struggle because I know
a lot of the players haven't thrown
in a while."
YO,_,HADIJEATH=LLO
linebacker Bobby Carpenter now
has to answer questions like "How
do you salvage your season?"
"Salvage is a term I wouldn't
use," said Carpenter, whose
squad dropped nine spots in the
AP poll to No. 15. "That sounds
like you're picking something off
the scrap table."
It's not like Ohio State has lost
to two patsies _ besides the
bruising battle with Penn State,
they also fell 25-22 last month to
Texas.
"We should have won both
games," Carpenter said. "We
were in them until the end, but
we didn't play well enough as a
team to win."
Neither did Michigan on
Saturday, after its 23-20 home
loss to Minnesota dropped the
Wolverines out of the poll. The
Golden Gophers re-emerged this
week at No. 22.
The Wolverines could return to
the rankings if they beat resurgent
Penn State this Saturday in Ann
Arbor, Mich.
"We are going to try to regroup.
It's hard, but so what," Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr said. "You've
got to go fight."
Besides Minnesota, lowa and
Wisconsin are also 2-1 in the
Big Ten, a game behind Penn
State. lowa is unranked, while
Wisconsin fell nine spots to No.
23 after losing to Nprthwestern,
No. 16 Michigan State, which
was idle last week, faces Ohio
State this Saturday in Columbus,
Ohio.
"This loss hurts," Buckeyes
tailback Antonio Pittman said
after the Penn State game. "But
we're not going to dwell on it."
The Nittany Lions became
bowl-eligible with the win, and
quarterback Robinson isn't shy
about which postseason game
he prefers.
"We just have to keep working
hard and keep our minds
focused on our goals," Robinson
said. "And the goal is to be in
Pasadena."
Pithcher Wes Erdman helped keep composure for the
rest of his team to come to a victory over McKeesport.
"Wes knows how to pitch," pitch at a time.
said coach Bob Maschmeyer, "We took some beatings early
speaking of the freshman on but since then we got some
from Halifax. "For him to keep practice time and some game
composure is huge for the rest of [time]," said Maschmeyer.
us," he said. It is apparent in the outcome of
Erdman says he just takes it one the scores that their practice has
Michael Robinson readies himself to throw a pass to an open receiver. The Pnn State
freshman threw and ran the ball in great form, leading to Penn State's victory.
Photos by Amanda Nace/Capital Times
The Capital Times, October 10, 2005
finally paid off as they steadily of baseball, "heart, desire, and
built their confidence on the thought process."
"You need to bring an attitude coming in," he said. And at the
to the game," said Maschmeyer. end of the day, their confidence
"We are a better team than them, and heart was shown on the
we just need to play like it." scoreboard, toppling McKeesport
Maschmeyer believed there are 5-2 in the first double header, and
three keys to winning the game 3-1 in the second.
A PSH batter looks to his coach which preparing to
bat and bring the next scooring run into home.
Photo courtesy of AP Sports
"I think the kids were confident