Penn State's long discussed struggles with Ohio State continued on Saturday afternoon in Columbus. The Nittany Lions despite a fantastic defensive effort from defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and his unit, fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes by a final score of 20-12.
The loss for Penn State will be one in which all the concerns regarding the Nittany Lions offense came to fruition. Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions offense struggled to move the ball for most of the day on Ohio State's stout defense, totaling just 192 yards and averaging 3.6. The Nittany Lions offense didn't reach the red zone once in the loss, their six points coming off the leg of Alex Felkins from 40 and 41 yards out.
In the second half, it was Ohio State's defense that made the difference. The Buckeyes, after allowing Penn State's offense to total in the first half, kept the Nittany Lions to just 79 in the second half, with 75 of those coming on Penn State's final drive.
The most important sequence of plays came in the second quarter. Just shortly after Chop Robinson left the game with an injury that kept him out for the remainder of the game, it had appeared that Penn State's defense made a turning point with a strip sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown of Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord. The touchdown, however, would be called back as star defensive back Kalen King was called for a hold of Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Not only did the hold negate the fumble but gave Ohio State a fresh set of downs. A few plays later on third and 10, King would once again be flagged for pass interference, albeit on a 12-yard reception by Marvin Harrison Jr which gave the Buckeyes a first down. Two plays after that, Kobe King would be flagged for an unsportsman conduct on a tackle of Buckeyes backup quarterback Devin Brown. Finally, one play later, Miyan Williams would punch it in for Ohio State's first touchdown of the day, to put the Buckeyes up 10-3. It was a crucial seven play sequence that had a 14-point flip and ultimately was the decider of the game.
Of course, the Nittany Lions offense provided no favors as mentioned above.
Drew Allar in his first big road test was extremely rough, completing 10-of-28 passing attempts for 118 yards. That said, he received no help from the wide receivers, who struggled with getting any sort of separation throughout the game. The rushing attack which had some success also had quite a few missed opportunities as well.
Ultimately, the story of the game will be Penn State's struggles offensively in the second half. After having a pulse in the first half, the Nittany Lions' offense in the second half went completely silent until their final drive. Up until their final drive, Mike Yurcich's offense drummed up a total of four offensive yards. They would finally crack through for 75 yards on 12 plays on their final drive, but it would be too late as the Nittany Lions took over two minutes of clock to make it a one score game.
It was a game to forget for the offense but the offensive struggles will certain be a topic of conversation going forward. Even if the Nittany Lions come out with strong performances against Indiana and Maryland, the chances of strong success against Michigan don't appear to be too high after their performance against Ohio State this weekend.
UP NEXT
Penn State will look to bounce back at home next weekend against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers will enter next weekend with a 2-5 record after falling to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway.
Penn State is 24-2 against Indiana all-time and has won each of the two matchups, including 45-14 last season in Bloomington.
While the loss significantly hurts Penn State's chances to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoffs, the Nittany Lions still will have an outside shot of doing so. James Franklin and his program will likely be a favorite in each of their remaining games, sans their home matchup on November 11 against the Michigan Wolverines. That being said, Penn State fans will be left wondering "what if" once again when it comes to the Nittany Lions' struggles with getting over the hump that is Ohio State.
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