31 Thoughts on Penn State's fourth-quarter collapse against Ohio State

1. Another season, another close loss for Penn State to Ohio State.. The Nittany Lions matchup as well as anybody can against Ohio State but since 2016 have been unable to get over the hump of beating the Buckeyes, again. The most agonizing part for the Nittany Lions and their fans is that for the most part, most of those losses were very well winnable for the Nittany Lions.

2. He’s not alone in these struggles but nonetheless Penn State head coach James Franklin is now 2-15 against top-10 ranked teams and 11-19 against top-25 opponents. It's hard to win in college football on a weekly basis and going up against some of the country's best teams doesn't make it any easier but those surely are not pretty numbers.

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3. Penn State couldn't afford a slow start out of Sean Clifford and they almost survived despite it. That being said, Clifford's first interception was not entirely his fault, it was a case of bad luck with the tipped pass landing directly in the hands of former top Penn State target Zach Harrison. His second interception, however, has a bit on him, you simply can't look down Kaytron Allen the entire play and expect not to get burned on the decision to throw his way. But also, Allen probably could've come back towards the ball a bit on the play. Also just a great play by J.T Tuimoloau.

4. After that slow start, however, Clifford bounced back really well. For the middle 44 minutes of the game, he was accurate, threw no passes that were in danger of being intercepted, and was putting up some considerably big numbers. He finished his day completing 32-of-47 passing attempts for 371 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, he also had three interceptions.

5. Then the final eight minutes happened and one could argue that neither turnover really was on him. The strip sack from no one other than J.T Tuimoloau is a play he probably should have a bit better pocket presence on but Tuimoloau like he did many times late in that game, completely dominated Bryce Effner. Then the interception from Tuimoloau as we note below is very much the same story.

6. Freshman tailback Kaytron Allen got the start for the Nittany Lions and was by far their best ball carrier for the day. Allen received 12 carries and totaled 76 yards for an average of 6.3 yards per carry. Nick Singleton received 14 carries of his own but never was able to get it going, with just a long of six yards and an average of 3.2 yards per carry. Once again, Keyvone Lee did not receive any carries.

7. Overall, the Penn State rushing attack was decent to start off, averaging 4.2 yards in the first quarter and 3.8 for the first half, not great but better than Ohio State's 2.1 yards per attempt in the first 30 minutes. In the second half, however, the Nittany Lions averaged just 3.1 yards per carry on 21 attempts. The Nittany Lions' inability to run the ball in the second half was a major factor in them not being able to extend their lead in the third quarter and early fourth quarter, helping lead to the eventual loss.

8. Parker Washington was incredibly special on Saturday afternoon putting in one of the better single-game performances we've seen over the last few years. 11 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 16.3 yards per reception and anything thrown his way that was catchable he found a way to catch. His efforts on several players was just dropping.

9. No other Penn State wide receiver had a big day but 10 different Nittany Lions caught passes in the game, 11 if you count Clifford catching one of his own passes that were tipped at the line of scrimmage. To be able to spread the ball around that much against an opponent like Ohio State is impressive.

10. Mitchell Tinsley, Bernton Strange, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Theo Johnson, Omari Evans, and Kaytron Allen all had multiple receptions.

11. Hunter Nourzad has done a pretty good job the last two weeks with Penn State missing Landon Tengwall on the offensive line. Nourzad allowed zero pressures in the game while also being one of their top run blockers.

12. Olu Fashanu had some struggles against Minnesota but bounced back well and had a very good day against Ohio State he allowed zero pressures in the game but did leave the game late with some sort of ailment. We'll have to monitor that this week during practice.

13. Bryce Effner was solid against J.T Tuimoloau for most the game but in the fourth quarter, he simply had no answers for him. That was one of the best single-game performances out of a defensive player you will ever see in college football. Juice Scruggs also had a tough day for the Nittany Lions.

14. Penn State was 6-for-16 on third downs and only had an average of 5.4 yards to go on third down which is one of their better days on the season. They were also 4-for-7 in third and short situations as well as 3-for-4 in fourth down situations. If you told me they posted those numbers I thought they would’ve won the game.

15. Every key offensive stat almost went the Nittany Lions' way, Penn State's offense only ran 19 plays in obvious passing downs. They had no yards nullified by an offensive penalty. They were 4-for-6 in power-rushing situations and only had three runs stuffed all day to Ohio State's 10. Had the higher third down conversion attempt, Had the higher total yard count, and won both the passing and rushing yard battle and they even won the time of possession. The one battle that didn't go their way and ultimately cost them the game? The four turnovers.

Defense:

16. I thought overall, Penn State's defensive game plan on Saturday was a strong one. Manny Diaz's unit for three-quarters shut down the Buckeyes as much as you will see anybody do so. Yes, CJ Stroud was able to pick up quite a bit of yardage but when forcing the Buckeyes to go the full length of the field, the Nittany Lions allowed just 23 points.

17. The Penn State front seven did a great job at limiting Ohio State's damage on the ground. Yes, Treyveon Henderson did break loose for his 41-yard touchdown his fourth quarter but outside that run, the Nittany Lions kept the Buckeyes to just 2.28 yards per attempt.

18. Kalen King was matched up with Marvin Harrison Jr for most of the day and while King is talented, he had a tough time stopping the star wide receiver. Harrison Jr totaled 10 receptions for 185 yards. For the game, King was targeted eight times, allowing six receptions for 114 yards. Tight end Cade Stover had a solid day as well for the Buckeyes with six receptions for 78 yards.

19. The Buckeyes chose to not throw Joey Porter Jr's way throughout the game which tells you exactly what they think of him. Stroud threw Porter Jr's way just twice over his 33 passing attempts. Both attempts resulted in completions for a total of 23 yards.

20. I thought Curtis Jacobs once again had a solid game, he rarely was beaten on the ground or through the and was a big reason that the Nittany Lions were able to slow down the Buckeyes on the ground. That's two strong back-to-back performances now from Jacobs. If he can continue to put it together Jacobs and Abdul Carter will create a hell of a linebacker duo in 2023.

21. Penn State needed their defensive line to have a big game in order for them to truly have a chance to win the game. While the defensive line was integral in the run defense's success, the Nittany Lions as a whole totaled just 10 pressures for the game, three of them from Abdul Carter. They simply needed more out of that unit to win this game, Stroud had too much time all day.

22. Carter didn't have his best game from start to finish but the true freshman flashed a ton against the Buckeyes which you'll absolutely take even with some of the struggles. To flash against Group of Five and lower-tier Power Five teams is one thing, to do it against one of the nation's elite, means a whole lot more.

23. Keaton Ellis and Ji'Ayir Brown both provided great help from the safety position for Penn State's corners. The longest reception of the day for the Buckeyes was just 42 yards and they were a big reason for limiting the damage on several plays.

24. The Nittany Lions' defense kept Ohio State to just 4-12 on third down, the Buckeyes have been great in that regard all season, making that number all the more impressive.

25. Penn State's red zone defense once again did a solid job of bending but not always breaking. Out of Ohio State's four trips into the red zone, Ohio State walked away with just 20 points with two touchdowns and two field goals. Again, numbers like that would make you think Penn State would have a great chance to win the game.

The 4th quarter

26. They took the lead 21-16 at 9:26 and then the game turned upside down... For how Penn State's defense played all game, the Buckeyes coming out on their very next drive and scoring on three plays was quite baffling. It was a complete breakdown by the Nittany Lions' defense and you could feel the wind being taken out of Beaver Stadium following that drive. As well as the defense played on Saturday, that drive simply cannot happen.

Additionally, after the Nittany Lions cut Ohio State's lead from 30-21 to 30-24, the defense had another absolutely brutal drive once again right afterward, allowing the Buckeyes to go 75 yards on seven plays. For a defense that had found a way to get big stops the first three quarters, their inability to get the stops in crunch time cost Penn State just as much as the four turnovers. Had they found a way to stop that Buckeyes drive, perhaps Penn State finds a way to win the game. Overall, while the turnovers hurt Penn State’s chances the most to win this game, those two drives out of the defense were just as important.

27. Mentioned it above but there's not much Sean Clifford could've done on his strip sack other than have a bit better of pocket presence. Tuimoloau completely turned Effner around on the play.

28. After Sean Clifford's fumble it took the Buckeyes one play to score thanks to tight end Cade Stover breaking three tackles en route to the endzone. Tyler Elsdon blitzed on the play while Jonathan Sutherland picked up Henderson coming out of the backfield, allowing Stover to get free into the middle of the field. Three missed tackles later, Stover was in the endzone and the Buckeyes were suddenly up two scores.

29. On Clifford's pick-six, it wasn't entirely his fault either. Bryce Effner was completely dominated by J.T Tuimoloau before flashing some incredible athleticism. Tuimoloau knew exactly what was coming on the play and anticipated the throw well before Clifford released the ball. A play you just tip your hat to Tuimoloau.

30. I am quite surprised that even in the final drives for the Nittany Lions when the game was clearly put away by Ohio State, that Drew Allar didn't get a few snaps. What was there to lose at that point?

31. There's no sugarcoating it, the loss on Saturday for Penn State is one that is going to sting for a bit. They were right there and then in a blink of an eye everything changed. The Nittany Lions have had struggles in the past bouncing back from these types of losses, one would have to think a blowout loss is a lot easier to bounce back from than a heartbreaking loss.

Either way, they showed just two weeks ago their ability to bounce back strong with a big win over Minnesota. Now, they're heading into Bloomington this weekend against an Indiana team that they should be able to handle quite easily. Over the years, the Nittany Lions have suffered quite a few slow starts when making trips to Bloomington, perhaps the most impressive thing this upcoming Saturday would not just to have a big win over the Hoosiers but to come out from the jump and dominate the game as they have the capabilities of doing.