You've made it to Pride and Pettiness.
Even though Big Ten football action is set to return this fall, we're still living in tough times. Some people, like our very own Ramzy, like to cope by looking back at happy memories. I, personally, like to revisit moments of satisfying pettiness.
Like Ramzy, my philosophy is simple. From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice:
For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?
That we do, Jane. In today's chapter, we're traveling back to when Terrelle Pryor, a Pennsylvania native, got even with the hometown team he spurned on the recruiting front.
The Setup
Before we get to the moment mentioned above, it's important to provide context. Pettiness can't exist without something in the past to build from.
But this particular setup took form over two moments.
The first took place at the end of Pryor's long and bizarre recruitment. The top-rated prospect had offers from any school that mattered, and as a 6'6" dual-threat quarterback with legitimate 4.4 speed, the attention was warranted with Vince Young's still casting a long shadow over college football.
In the end there were three finalists for Pryor's services — Michigan with Rich Rodriguez and his high-powered spread offense, the home-state Nittany Lions, and Ohio State, which pitched him on the advantage of playing in a pro-style offense.
His recruitment dramatically stretched a month beyond signing day in February, but in late March he announced his pledge to play for Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes.
That news was received poorly by Penn State fans, who were hoping their team would continue to build on their mid-Aughts resurgence. But Pryor chose the Buckeyes, who were looking to rebuild in their own right after disastrous embarrassments in back-to-back national title games, while the Nittany Lions moved on with their own dual-threat quarterback in Daryll Clark.
Ohio State's 2008 season deflated before it had a chance to start. Its reputation of folding in big games was enhanced by a 35-3 de-pantsing to USC in Week 3 — a miserable loss that thrust true freshman Pryor into the starting role.
Meanwhile, Penn State was thriving. The Nittany Lions thrashed their first eight opponents by an average of 33.6 points, and they invaded Columbus as an undefeated team ranked No. 3 nationally.
The Buckeyes won their ensuing five matchups following that humiliating loss to USC, which included wins over ranked Wisconsin and Michigan State teams, and that catapulted the Buckeyes up to No. 9 in the polls.
The matchup brought ESPN's College Gameday to Columbus (as well as your's truly, unfortunately). What unfolded was a classic Tressel-ball, defensive battle that had Ohio State leading 6-3 four minutes into the fourth quarter.
And that's when disaster struck. It was 3rd-and-1 at midfield when Tressel called a quarterback sneak to secure first down. Instead of lowering his head and getting the needed yard, Pryor tried to bounce it outside for a big (and potential scoring / game-sealing play).
Penn State's Mark Rubin made the biggest play of the game, meeting Pryor on the perimeter to force a fumble that gave Penn State the opportunity for a go-ahead score.
Penn State went on to win 13-6, giving Ohio State another devastating loss on the national stage while damaging its overall reputation.
Pryor was distraught after the game and was photographed holding his head in his hands on the Ohio State bench. Penn State students would later capitalize on the moment (ominous foreshadowing gong rings).
The Buckeyes would go on to finish the 2008 regular season 10-2 before losing in heartbreaking fashion to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl via a last-minute 24-21 loss.
The Pettiness
A year later, the narrative hadn't shifted.
The 2009 Penn State team was still atop the Big Ten after conquering the conference the year before. The Nittany Lions were 8-1 and in the driver's seat for the BIg Ten title with 7-2 Ohio State (which had lost to USC again as well as lowly Purdue) coming to town.
Very few people gave the Buckeyes a shot. Ohio State was largely considered an afterthought on the national stage at this point, having failed to win a game of import since defeating No. 2 Michigan on the final weekend of the 2006 regular season.
When the Buckeyes traveled to Happy Valley in 2009 for their showdown with the Nittany Lions, Penn State fans wanted to have a little fun at Pryor's expense. T-shirts were printed en-masse highlighting Pryor's misery following the close 2008 loss, labeling the young quarterback "Terrelle Cryer" while being consoled by Penn State's mascot.
Ohio State walked into Beaver Stadium as underdogs that late afternoon, but they'd leave later that evening with the last laugh.
The 2009 game was a complete flip of the edition the year before. Ohio State's offense was able to capitalize in key situations. Instead of settling for field goals, Pryor himself was able to cash in, accounting for all three of the Buckeyes' touchdowns in a convincing 24-7 victory.
And after every single one of those Ohio State touchdowns, Pryor defiantly stared at the Penn State crowd, which responded with the saddest of sad pandas. Let's roll the extremely petty and cringe-worthy YouTube highlight please.
And so cheers to you, Penn State, for managing to garner Ohio State's true attention for the second time in an eight-year span. That batting average will only need to be doubled over the course of several decades for the Buckeyes to entertain you as a true rival.
