COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State beat Penn State. It happened.
The Buckeyes' win streak continued Saturday night, beating the Nittany Lions at home, 33-24.
But just like its game against Oregon a month-and-a-half ago, Ohio State was not able to respond when all eyes were on Columbus, seeing the same problems of the first three weeks come back to the surface, problems that will continue to surface as the Buckeyes go through their second-half schedule.
In Ohio State's final game before the College Football Playoff committee starts to share its opinion with the world, this was not the impression the Buckeyes wanted to leave on a national stage.
It showed it still has work to do.
There was one play that explained what Ohio State did against Penn State Saturday night.
Ohio State thought it had regained the momentum.
After allowing a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive to Penn State to start the second half, quarterback C.J. Stroud used his arm to try and give his team back the momentum in a tie game.
It’s something that worked over the past three games, carving up the secondaries of Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana for 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. It was something that hadn’t worked against Penn State, completing 62.5% of his passes in the first half — his lowest since Tulsa.
But it’s what he knew.
On the very first play from scrimmage in the second half, Stroud dropped back and found Jaxon Smith-Njigba in stride for a 58-yard gain. Momentum swung.
Freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson tried to inch Ohio State closer and closer to the goal line, giving the Buckeyes a 1st-and-goal look at the Penn State 6-yard line, bringing Ohio State to the 1-yard line after an off-sides penalty.
But from the 1-yard line, momentum stopped.
Henderson took the ball twice for zero yards combined, leading to a fourth down: a pinnacle play for what this offense would be in the second half, an offense that struggled in all facets.
Fourth-and-goal. Henderson seemed to know the ball was coming to him. He moved, anticipating the snap, leading to a false start penalty that turned six points into three.
This was the Ohio State that showed up against Penn State Saturday night.
This was not the Ohio State offense that showed it could score with ease against any defense in the country. This was not the Buckeyes that looked as though it would cake walk through the remainder of their Big Ten schedule into the College Football Playoff.
Like Henderson at the 1-yard line, momentum seemed to stop for Ohio State against Penn State.
Defense shows pressure, looks familiar
Let’s start with the good. The Ohio State defense is why Ohio State won this game.
In the first half, there was pressure: six tackles-for-loss, three sacks, two turnovers including a 57-yard scoop and score by defensive tackle Jerron Cage.
The success against the run continued in a big way. Penn State averaged 1.1 yards per carry, despite two scores in the red zone by wide receiver Jahan Dotson and running back Keyvone Lee for the first rushing touchdowns Ohio State has allowed since Oregon
But when the defensive line could not get to Sean Clifford, the Penn State quarterback feasted on soft zone coverage, much like Oregon did against the Buckeyes in Week 2 and Tulsa did against the Buckeyes in Week 3.
Clifford finished the game with 361 yards passing, the most he has thrown in a game since Penn State's Sept. 25 win against Villanova, one touchdown and one interception by Ohio State cornerback Cameron Brown that kept the Buckeyes at arm's length of the Nittany Lions in the fourth quarter.
When it counted most, Ohio State couldn't seem to stop Penn State, allowing the Nittany Lions to convert on 11-of-18 attempts on third down.
Ohio State seemed to do just enough to stop Penn State's offense. But if the defensive front can't create consistent pressure — more than the four sacks and eight tackles-for-loss the Buckeyes had Saturday night — offenses like Michigan State and Michigan could give the Buckeyes real issues.
Lack of balance
Coming out of Ohio State’s loss to Oregon, head coach Ryan Day looked at the scoresheet and said, “This is not balanced.”
It didn’t matter how many yards or touchdowns Stroud threw against the Ducks. There wasn’t enough variety in the play calling, leading to an offense that was easy to game plan against — go all in on the pass.
Against Penn State, Ohio State could not run the ball.
Outside a 68-yard run in the third quarter by Henderson, Ohio State rushers recorded 93 yards on 33 carries, forcing the Buckeyes offense to become one dimensional in the pass game.
With that pressure back on Stroud’s shoulder, the redshirt freshman quarterback faltered. The numbers were seemingly there: no turnovers, 305 yards, a 38-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave.
But Stroud was off. He had his worst completion percentage since the Tulsa game, blatantly missing receivers, including an incompletion to Chris Olave in the end zone at the Penn State 13-yard line that may have been one of his worst attempts of the season.
And in turn, the Ohio State offense struggled late in drives, converting on five of its 12 attempts on third down. While the offense averaged 6.9 yards per play, the Buckeyes had to end three drives with field goals, scoring only 23 points as a unit.
Late in the fourth quarter, as Ohio State's only task was to keep the ball away from Penn State in a one-score game, the offense started to create some momentum: a 22-yard rush by Henderson, a 30-yard completion from Stroud to tight end Jeremy Ruckert
This is what the offense could have been, what many in this sea of scarlet that was Ohio Stadium thought it would have been Saturday night against a team that had just lost to Illinois in nine-overtimes.
Instead, Ohio State, the No. 1 offense in the country, showed it is susceptible to a good defense.
The Buckeyes' win streak continued Saturday night, beating the Nittany Lions at home, 33-24.
But just like its game against Oregon a month-and-a-half ago, Ohio State was not able to respond when all eyes were on Columbus, seeing the same problems of the first three weeks come back to the surface, problems that will continue to surface as the Buckeyes go through their second-half schedule.
In Ohio State's final game before the College Football Playoff committee starts to share its opinion with the world, this was not the impression the Buckeyes wanted to leave on a national stage.
It showed it still has work to do.
There was one play that explained what Ohio State did against Penn State Saturday night.
Ohio State thought it had regained the momentum.
After allowing a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive to Penn State to start the second half, quarterback C.J. Stroud used his arm to try and give his team back the momentum in a tie game.
It’s something that worked over the past three games, carving up the secondaries of Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana for 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. It was something that hadn’t worked against Penn State, completing 62.5% of his passes in the first half — his lowest since Tulsa.
But it’s what he knew.
On the very first play from scrimmage in the second half, Stroud dropped back and found Jaxon Smith-Njigba in stride for a 58-yard gain. Momentum swung.
Freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson tried to inch Ohio State closer and closer to the goal line, giving the Buckeyes a 1st-and-goal look at the Penn State 6-yard line, bringing Ohio State to the 1-yard line after an off-sides penalty.
But from the 1-yard line, momentum stopped.
Henderson took the ball twice for zero yards combined, leading to a fourth down: a pinnacle play for what this offense would be in the second half, an offense that struggled in all facets.
Fourth-and-goal. Henderson seemed to know the ball was coming to him. He moved, anticipating the snap, leading to a false start penalty that turned six points into three.
This was the Ohio State that showed up against Penn State Saturday night.
This was not the Ohio State offense that showed it could score with ease against any defense in the country. This was not the Buckeyes that looked as though it would cake walk through the remainder of their Big Ten schedule into the College Football Playoff.
Like Henderson at the 1-yard line, momentum seemed to stop for Ohio State against Penn State.
Defense shows pressure, looks familiar
Let’s start with the good. The Ohio State defense is why Ohio State won this game.
In the first half, there was pressure: six tackles-for-loss, three sacks, two turnovers including a 57-yard scoop and score by defensive tackle Jerron Cage.
The success against the run continued in a big way. Penn State averaged 1.1 yards per carry, despite two scores in the red zone by wide receiver Jahan Dotson and running back Keyvone Lee for the first rushing touchdowns Ohio State has allowed since Oregon
But when the defensive line could not get to Sean Clifford, the Penn State quarterback feasted on soft zone coverage, much like Oregon did against the Buckeyes in Week 2 and Tulsa did against the Buckeyes in Week 3.
Clifford finished the game with 361 yards passing, the most he has thrown in a game since Penn State's Sept. 25 win against Villanova, one touchdown and one interception by Ohio State cornerback Cameron Brown that kept the Buckeyes at arm's length of the Nittany Lions in the fourth quarter.
When it counted most, Ohio State couldn't seem to stop Penn State, allowing the Nittany Lions to convert on 11-of-18 attempts on third down.
Ohio State seemed to do just enough to stop Penn State's offense. But if the defensive front can't create consistent pressure — more than the four sacks and eight tackles-for-loss the Buckeyes had Saturday night — offenses like Michigan State and Michigan could give the Buckeyes real issues.
Lack of balance
Coming out of Ohio State’s loss to Oregon, head coach Ryan Day looked at the scoresheet and said, “This is not balanced.”
It didn’t matter how many yards or touchdowns Stroud threw against the Ducks. There wasn’t enough variety in the play calling, leading to an offense that was easy to game plan against — go all in on the pass.
Against Penn State, Ohio State could not run the ball.
Outside a 68-yard run in the third quarter by Henderson, Ohio State rushers recorded 93 yards on 33 carries, forcing the Buckeyes offense to become one dimensional in the pass game.
With that pressure back on Stroud’s shoulder, the redshirt freshman quarterback faltered. The numbers were seemingly there: no turnovers, 305 yards, a 38-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave.
But Stroud was off. He had his worst completion percentage since the Tulsa game, blatantly missing receivers, including an incompletion to Chris Olave in the end zone at the Penn State 13-yard line that may have been one of his worst attempts of the season.
And in turn, the Ohio State offense struggled late in drives, converting on five of its 12 attempts on third down. While the offense averaged 6.9 yards per play, the Buckeyes had to end three drives with field goals, scoring only 23 points as a unit.
Late in the fourth quarter, as Ohio State's only task was to keep the ball away from Penn State in a one-score game, the offense started to create some momentum: a 22-yard rush by Henderson, a 30-yard completion from Stroud to tight end Jeremy Ruckert
This is what the offense could have been, what many in this sea of scarlet that was Ohio Stadium thought it would have been Saturday night against a team that had just lost to Illinois in nine-overtimes.
Instead, Ohio State, the No. 1 offense in the country, showed it is susceptible to a good defense.
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