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Ohio State had one last chance to tie it. Taking over at their own 20, Pryor hit Ray Small for gains of 23 and 14 yards to the Penn State 43 with just over 30 seconds left. But Pryor's long pass to the goal line was intercepted by cornerback Lydell Sargeant with 27 seconds left.
Asked if the Nittany Lions belonged in the national-title discussion with No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Alabama, Williams flashed a wide grin and said, "We belong with them."
Paterno couldn't celebrate with his players. At least not right away.
Penn State's coach for the past 43 years, the 81-year-old Paterno came up from the team locker room about 15 minutes before the opening kickoff, using a cane and with a Penn State athletic administrator following him in case he needed assistance.
"Penn State played hard and didn't make a bunch of mistakes," Tressel said.
Pryor, the nation's most heralded quarterback recruit last spring, completed 16-of-25 for 226 yards with the one interception. He ran for 6 yards on nine attempts. Chris "Beanie" Wells managed just 55 yards on 22 carries against Penn State's stout defense.
Clark completed 12-of-20 passes for 121 yards before leaving. Royster had 77 yards on 19 carries.
Kelly, who became the Big Ten's all-time kick scorer a week ago, came into the game 12-of-14 on field goals. He converted one of 31 yards in the first half.
But with the Nittany Lions trailing 6-3, he hooked one wide right on the second play of the fourth period that would have tied it. At the time, it looked like a costly miss.
But that was until Devlin stepped in and came up big.
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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