3 takeaways from Ohio State’s stifling win over Penn State

If anyone thought it was a fluke that Penn State and Ohio State entered Saturday’s showdown ranked No. 2 and 3 in the nation in scoring defense, those thoughts can be put to bed.

And, perhaps, so too can Penn State’s Playoff hopes.

The No. 7 Nittany Lions lost to the No. 3 Buckeyes for the 7th straight year, dropping a 20-12 decision at Ohio Stadium.

Here are 3 takeaways from Ohio State’s latest win over James Franklin:

The defenses are the real deal

Neither defense gave up much ground. If Marvin Harrison Jr. wasn’t on the field for Ohio State, it might have looked like an Iowa spring game.

But the Buckeyes do have Harrison, who finished with 162 of Ohio State’s 286 receiving yards. Harrison caught 11 passes from Kyle McCord, including the 18-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach with 4:07 remaining.

And it’s a good thing he did. Ohio State only gained 81 rushing yards on 40 carries.

Penn State couldn’t get anything going by ground or air. Quarterback Drew Allar finished 18 of 42 for 191 yards. And Penn State’s ballyhooed backfield of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 74 yards on just 18 carries.

Ohio State limited Penn State to 3.5 yards per play.

Penn State’s third-down nightmare

Penn State’s offense could not make it happen on third down. And that’s not hyperbole.  The Nittany Lions didn’t pick up a single third down until 44 seconds remained in the game.

Penn State finished 1 for 16 on third down. As is often the case, that had as much or more to do with how much the Lions struggled on first and second downs. Penn State’s average third-down distance was 7.5 yards.

Drew Allar and James Franklin aren’t ready for this

The moment was too big for Allar in his first road start against a ranked opponent. He was 10 of 32 before finally getting hot on Penn State’s ultimately meaningless final drive.

But in defense of Allar, it’s difficult to say whether any quarterback in the B1G would have success with Penn State’s mediocre receiving corps, which would struggle to get open against 11 scarecrows.

There is no defending Franklin, who time and time again has proven he’s incapable of winning a game that matters. With the loss, Franklin falls to 3-16 against top-10 opponents at Penn State, including an 0-10 mark on the road.

Franklin is 1-9 lifetime against Ohio State, with the only win coming thanks to a blocked field goal that the Nittany Lions returned for a touchdown in 2016.

Alex Hickey

Alex Hickey is an award-winning writer who has watched Big Ten sports since it was a numerically accurate description of league membership. Alex has covered college football and basketball since 2008, with stops on the McNeese State, LSU and West Virginia beats before being hired as Saturday Tradition's Big Ten columnist in 2021. He is an Illinois native and 2004 Indiana University graduate.