The No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes rolled into town, following an early-season defeat at home to eventual national champs Texas, ready to take on a resurgent Penn State team. The stage was set. It was a night game. Penn State whipped out the still-new "White Out" for fans. The Buckeyes were still national title contenders at 3-1. The No. 16 Nittany Lions were still regarded as unproven, despite their 5-0 record.
It was Troy Smith, Antonio Pittman, Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn, Jr. against Tamba Hali, Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor and Calvin Lowry. It was Michael Robinson, Tony Hunt, Derrick Williams and Deon Butler against A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter, Quinn Pitcock and Nate Salley.
On Oct. 8, 2005, Penn State was out to show the college football world it was not dead, that the game had not passed by Joe Paterno, that it was indeed "back." For Ohio State, this was supposed to be the year it all came together for another national title for Jim Tressel. But on that night in Beaver Stadium, only one team's ambitions would come to fruition...
[update - I mistakenly uploaded the wrong version of the video. This new version has much better sound. The other one was too low. Thanks.]
No one was sure--yet--if Penn State was truly "back." The Nittany Lions were feeling encouraged by a 4-0 start to 2005, especially coming off the 7-16 combined record the previous two seasons. But after three decent wins over mediocre opponents, and a shaky win in the Big Ten opener at Northwestern, Penn State fans were still asking "Are the Nittany Lions for real?"
Derrick Williams rushed for 2 touchdowns
in dramatic fashion.
The 18th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers were rolling into town on the back of their Heisman candidate tailback Lawrence Maroney. In the Gophers' first four games, Maroney had been averaging more than 170 yards per game on the ground, even though he was pulled before the fourth quarter in many of those games.
Penn State had not beaten a ranked opponent in three years. But on that sunny day in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions changed the way the nation viewed Penn State football. No longer beholden to seniority over talent. No longer three yards and a cloud of dust offenses. No longer allowing opponents room to breathe inside the raucous confines of Beaver Stadium. This was no longer a Penn State team opponents could take lightly, as Minnesota would soon (painfully) discover...
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The 2005 season may have lost some of its luster among Penn State fans, what with the 40 total wins, another Big Ten title, and three New Years Day bowl games since the departure of Tamba Hali, Michael Robinson, Alan Zamaitis & Co. But for those who had experienced the four losing seasons, anemic offenses, and calls for Joe Paterno's head, this season was--save for one second in Ann Arbor--a euphoric resurgence to glory.
After what felt like one emotional game after another--wins at Northwestern, against Ohio State, the loss at Michigan--you would expect a fan base to have a tough time maintaining the same level of enthusiasm this late in the season. But for the Nittany nation, there was five tough seasons' worth of pent up energy to burn. Unfortunately for the visitors, on this day they would feel the full force of that energy.
Wisconsin was having a surprisingly successful season of its own, rolling into Happy Valley with a 9-1 record, tied with Penn State for first in the Big Ten. The Badgers' record-setting offense led the Big Ten coming into this game, scoring 39.7 points per game. Heisman Trophy and Doak Walker Award candidate Brian Calhoun entered the day No. 5 nationally in both all-purpose yardage (184.1 ypg) and rushing yardage (135.3 ypg) and led the nation with 21 touchdowns. Then he, along with the rest of the Badgers, ran into Penn State.
On that unseasonably warm November afternoon, 109,865 fans packed Beaver Stadium, becoming the second-largest home crowd (at the time) in Penn State football history.
For Penn State, it would end up being one of the most emotional senior days of the Joe Paterno era. From the offensive leaders like Robinson, to the stacked defense that featured Hali, Zamaitis, Calvin Lowry, Chris Harrell, Matt Rice, and Anwar Phillips, these seniors would not let this opportunity slip through their grip.
What we were treated to was one of the most dominating performances ever by Penn State against an eventual 10-win Big Ten team. Wisconsin even capped their own season with a Capital One Bowl win over a supposedly "faster" Auburn team out of the SEC.
Of course, I couldn't possibly finish this write up without mentioning that this game would also be my own senior day. After marching the previous 28 pregame routines with the Penn State Marching Blue Band, this one would be my last. It was the perfect ending, the perfect setting, and the perfect outcome on that sunny afternoon in Beaver Stadium.
