UNIVERSITY PARK, Oct. 8–The Nittany Lions of Penn State, 2005 edition, even after cleaning Minnesota’s clock last week, still had some doubters, including one Nittany Turkey. Those who didn’t believe that Penn State could play at the same level with the best teams in the Big Ten had to be impressed with the Lions’ performance on Saturday night before 109,839 noisy partisans at Beaver Stadium, as they defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten), 17-10. Penn State improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten. With six overall wins, they are the first Big Ten team this year to become eligible for a post-season bowl game.
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STATE COLLEGE, October 1–With another season of mediocrity potentially looming, the Nittany Lions could have believed all the media hype about Laurence Maroney being the premier rusher in football history. With this Turkey and other nattering nabobs of negativism in the sports media heavily discounting their 4-0 start, the Lions could have been appropriately cowed. With fans abandoning ship, leaving vast empty spaces in the upper reaches of Beaver Stadium, the Lions could have been discouraged.
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EVANSTON, IL, September 24 — Initiating their Big Ten schedule with a road game, the enigmatic Nittany Lions pulled out a come-from-behind victory, edging the Northwestern Wildcats 34-29. The Lions improved to 4-0, while the Wildcats sank to 2-2 before a small, yet enthusiastic home crowd at Ryan Stadium, snapping an eight game home winning streak for the ‘Cats.

For the first 51 minutes of the game, the larger cats looked like the Titanic running into that fateful iceberg. Against a team of lesser cats who had allowed 700+ yards by Arizona State the previous week, the Lions’ offense screwed up miserably. The first quarter looked more like a game of ping-pong than Division I-A college football—every time the Penn State offense got the ball, they gave it back.
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