Last Monday, we brought you back to 2005, a simpler time, back when Penn State was 11-1 in the regular season and en route to a Big Ten championship, though Ohio State, even having lost head-to-head, claimed a share, and that they were in fact “co-champions.”  We saw title dreams fall in the final seconds the next week on the road, but rallied to finish out the year, closing out the season and heading to a BCS Bowl.  Led by a charismatic dual-threat quarterback, and a stout defense, Penn State proved they could compete with the big boys after disappointing seasons the previous two years.

2005?  That sounds a heck of a lot like 2008 to me.

Just a year ago, it was once again Penn State and Ohio State vying, this time in Columbus, for the Big Ten championship.  Though there were four weeks to go in the season, it was all but guaranteed that the winner of the game would go on to represent the conference in the Rose Bowl, or, potentially in Penn State’s case, the national championship game.

Once again, the two teams came into the game on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Ranked in the top 3 to begin the year, Ohio State was poised to be a national title contender.  In a pre-season interview, I asked Adam Rittenberg if there was any way the Buckeyes wouldn’t win the Big Ten, and he really couldn’t come up with anything.  With two consecutive championship game appearances, albeit losses, Ohio State fans figured a third was on their way. But they ran into the buzzsaw that was the USC Trojans, and despite all of ESPN’s hype, they couldn’t keep the game competitive.  It was a brutal, 35-3 beatdown, that changed the direction of Ohio State football forever.

After deciding that the reigning first-team All Big Ten quarterback, Todd Boeckman, wasn’t getting the job done, Ohio State turned to little known walk-on five star mega-recruit Terrelle Pryor, a Pennsylvanian by birth, who had caused a stir when he derided Penn State as “too country.”  Led by the true freshman, Ohio State won their next five games, finding themselves ranked at #10 before heading into a matchup with then-#3 Penn State, who hadn’t won in the Shoe since joining the Big Ten.

Penn State, themselves, were in the midst of a special season. They hadn’t even played a close game to this point, beating down then ranked opponents Illinois 38-24 and Wisconsin 45-7. Though the Lions began the season as an afterthought in the Big Ten race, they were clearly becoming contenders not just for the conference title, but the national title. And you can bet they were ready to play this game.

In front of a record crowd at Ohio Stadium, the Ohio State Buckeyes jumped out to a 6-3 lead in a tight, defensive battle.  The teams kept trading punts, back and forth, waiting for the other team to make the first big mistake.  And then this happened, on a third and one from about midfield:

So beautiful. What’s that, you want another angle?

Penn State manufactured a 38 yard touchdown drive even without Daryll Clark, as Evan Royster brought the Lions most of the way, aided by a pass interference against Ohio State’s Donald Washington.  Pat Devlin ran the ball in to give the Nittany Lions the lead they would not relinquish, as Penn State took the 2008 meeting 13-6.

There was, of course, much celebrating in downtown State College:

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