After coming back from a 21-point deficit to beat Northwestern last week at home, Penn State found itself on the other side of the coin at Ohio State.
The Lions dropped a 38-14 decision to the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium Saturday night after quarterback Matthew McGloin's two second half interceptions returned for touchdowns proved too much for Joe Paterno's team to withstand.
After opening up an 11-point first half lead with brilliant play from quarterback Matt McGloin, who threw Penn State's first two passing touchdowns in Columbus since 1963, things went south for Penn State quickly in the second half. The Buckeyes drove 98 yards, mostly on the ground, and closed to 14-10 before returning a McGloin pass for a touchdown to take the lead.
It was all Buckeyes from there.
Joe Paterno is no doubt being asked about the decision to start McGloin in the bowels of Ohio Stadium right now, but it was probably the right play. He had thrown seven touchdowns and only one interceptions since replacing an injured Robert Bolden against Minnesota.
That said, it's disappointing that the freshman Bolden, who is probably the future of Penn State at the position, didn't at least get some snaps against an Ohio State defense he'll be seeing for years in the second half. After McGloin's first pick-six, it might have been nice to see if Bolden could have given a shot in the arm for the Penn State offense this week like McGloin did last week.
And so, it's on to Washington D.C. for the Lions next week where they'll face Indiana in their final "road" game of the season in front of what will likely be a heavily Penn State leaning crowd. Expect both quarterbacks to see time (the Hoosiers gave up 83 points to Wisconsin today) and to continue hearing about this quarterback competition right through Penn State's bowl game.