By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Chris Gamble is back to double duty. The Ohio State junior cornerback made his first start of the season at flanker Saturday, reprising the two-way role he rode to All-American honors last season.

Gamble didn't play a lot of offense, catching two passes for 10 yards and gaining 4 yards on a reverse - all in the first half. He also played on the final scoring drive.

"We wanted to play Chris Gamble a little bit," coach Jim Tressel said. "But Penn State had some long drives, so I'm not sure he played more than 10 or 12 plays (on offense)."

ROSS ROLLS: Junior tailback Lydell Ross rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, his second consecutive game over 100 yards and the fourth of his career. He totaled 241 rushing yards in Ohio State's first seven games and has 277 in the past two games.

CLOSE CALLS: Penn State appeared to be on the short end of three controversial fourth-quarter calls.

First, OSU's Dustin Fox got away with possible pass interference on a PSU third-and-9 play.

On OSU's winning drive, TV replays indicated a Ben Hartsock 4-yard catch on a third-and-3 play hit the ground. Hartsock said it happened so fast that he wasn't certain.

And on PSU's last-ditch drive, Fox's tackle of Matt Kranchick on the sideline was called in bounds, helping run out the clock. PSU coach Joe Paterno chuckled when asked about whether Kranchick got out of bounds.

"I'm in enough trouble as it is," he said. "I don't need another letter from the commissioner."

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E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com