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3 takeaways from another Penn State loss to Ohio State

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Penn State squandered another golden opportunity.

At home, hosting No. 4 Ohio State, the third-ranked Nittany Lions came up short once again in a big game. They had a 10-0 lead early, but managed just a single field goal over the final 3 quarters of the game to lose 20-13 to the Buckeyes.

For head coach James Franklin, it’s an eighth consecutive defeat at the hands of Ohio State. He’s now 3-18 in his career against AP top 10 teams and just 1-10 against Ohio State.

Here are 3 takeaways from the game.

Kotelnicki did what?

Penn State had the ball on the Ohio State 3-yard-line. There were six minutes left in the game. The Nittany Lions trailed by 7 points.

At home. Game on the line. Narratives in the balance. Who could have thought 3 yards would carry such weight? But for this perennial silver medalist, jubilation was 3 yards away. Vindication for James Franklin was 3 yards away. An inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game was 3 yards away.

Penn State brought an extra lineman onto the field, lined him up in the slot, and then motioned him back across the formation at the snap looking for some momentum and a lead block. The Nittany Lions ran behind the big body and gained nothing.

Three yards still.

They ran the exact same look on the next play and gained a yard.

Facing a fourth-and-goal from the OSU 1, this was the play-call.

Penn State had it first-and-goal from the Ohio State 3-yard-line twice on Saturday. It gained 0 points from those 2 trips.

When your ethos is that of a program that can get to the doorstep but can’t step through it, that kind of failure is incomprehensible. Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, in his first season with the program after dazzling with Kansas, was supposed to be the answer. He wasn’t supposed to be more of the same in the most crucial moments. But the Nittany Lions’ offense just fell stagnant far too often.

Penn State marched 61 yards and took 8 minutes off the clock on its opening drive. The possession ended with a field goal from the OSU 12. The next 3 drives resulted in 3 punts and just 38 yards gained from 12 plays. Quarterback Drew Allar was picked off on the fourth possession.

The Nittany Lions had 3 second-half possessions that bled more than 13 minutes off the clock and resulted in 3 points. Receivers made 3 catches in the game. Tyler Warren had 4 receptions, but was taken completely out of the game in the first half. The top 2 running backs gained 42 yards on 18 carries.

Three yards, that’s what separated Penn State from a program-changing result. Penn State came up a yard short. What else is new?

Ohio State offensive line wins the day

The Buckeyes gained 358 yards against the Nittany Lions. They went 6-for-12 on third down. The offense didn’t commit a single penalty. They averaged 5.6 yards per play and hit 13 chunk plays.

This was not a game where the stars on the outside shined. Jeremiah Smith had just 4 receptions, none longer than 55 yards. Emeka Egbuka had only 3 catches for 31 yards. Will Howard was picked off on his first pass. The Buckeye pass game wasn’t what won this.

No, the Ohio State offensive line mauled the Penn State defensive line. A week after Ohio State’s shuffled line struggled to make room against Nebraska’s defensive front, the Buckeyes paved the way for Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson to run for 149 yards on 24 carries. The Buckeyes averaged 5.2 yards per carry, adjusted for sacks.

Ohio State took over from its own 1-yard-line with 5:13 remaining in the game and a chance to drain the clock. Judkins gained 9 on second-and-6. Then he gained 15 on a second-and-4. Then Howard gained 3 on a third-and-2. And then Howard sealed the game with a keeper off left tackle for 7 yards on a third-and-3.

Big Ten title chances take a crucial hit, but…

Losing to Ohio State puts Penn State on the outside looking in on the Big Ten Championship Game picture. With Oregon at 8-0, the most likely outcome now is an Oregon-Ohio State rematch. Penn State would need to win out and it would need Ohio State to drop a game to either Indiana or Michigan (both of which are in Columbus) to get into the title game.

But, strange as it may seem, the Nittany Lions don’t need a Big Ten title game appearance to make the College Football Playoff. If Penn State wins out to finish 11-1 and sits idle during conference championship weekend, it would be hard to exclude the Nittany Lions from the Playoff.

Is the Big Ten only a 2- or 3-bid league? Unlikely. Would Penn State be left out when its only loss was to either A) the Big Ten champion, or B) the team whose only losses were to the Big Ten champion? Also unlikely. Penn State will be disappointed by Saturday’s result — and everyone associated with the program should be — but the season goals are all still attainable.

Washington, Purdue, Minnesota, and Maryland remain. Those are all teams Penn State should beat.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.