BUCKEYES BUZZ: It seems like a quaint idea in these days of national TV, bazillion-dollar practice facilities and BCS ratings, but football players still care deeply about playing well against a school from back home.
For instance, TE Rory Nicol, from Beaver, Pa., knows what’s at stake in tonight’s 8 o’clock game against Penn State.
“There is a sense of pride. Playing against your home state, you always want to do your best,” he said. “To be honest, I know a lot of guys who play at Penn State who are my friends. Obviously, being all from the same area, we did a lot of the same things as far as the recruiting process went. There is an added feeling you get.”
Footnote: Penn State has eight players from Ohio including QB Daryll Clark (Youngstown), S Tony Davis (Warren) and T Gerald Cadogan (Portsmouth). The nine Pennsylvania natives on Ohio State’s roster include QB Terrelle Pryor (Jeannette), LB Andrew Sweat and OL Andrew Miller (both from Washington, Pa.) and Kyle Mitchum (Erie).
PSU PLAN: It’s always difficult playing on the road, but particularly against: a) a good team, b) at night, c) in their homecoming game, and d) on national TV.
But Penn State WR Deon Butler, who has seen a few teams knocked back on their heels by the Nittany Lions’ famed “whiteouts,” believes there’s a way to play well in unfriendly confines.
“You just have to enjoy going to someone else’s house and beating them and silencing the crowd,” he said. “This team definitely has it. We have a lot of guys who have been playing ball for a long time. We have the moxie, the guys who are relaxed in situations like that. I definitely think we have what it takes.”
— The Associated Press

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