Postgame Takeaways From Win Over Penn State

Ohio State defensive tackle Jerron Cage celebrates his second quarter, 57-yard fumble returned for a touchdown against Penn State. Photo by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.

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After Ohio State’s donnybrook win against Penn State on Saturday night, it’s hard not to find a lot of good in their 33-24 victory.

Then again, it’s easy to find some things they still need to work on.

The fifth-ranked Buckeyes (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) got all they could handle from the No. 20 Nittany Lions (5-3, 2-3) on Saturday night in what the school was calling “Scarlet the ‘Shoe” where they made a plea for all of the fans to wear as much red as possible to match the team’s all-red uniforms.

And although the crowd didn’t disappoint by living up to their end of the deal, the team – for the most part – lived up to their end by grinding out a win, staying undefeated in the conference and keeping their name in the college football playoff conversation.

However, like most games, there are always going to be some things to nitpick.

Like the fact that Penn State forced Ohio State into turning over the ball on their first drive of the game, something no opposing team had done all season, when tight end Jeremy Ruckert was stripped along the sideline a mere three plays into the game. And then had to punt on their second drive which led to Penn State drawing first blood on the subsequent possession to take a 7-0 first quarter lead.

Once again, Ohio State came out flat and let their opponent gain early momentum.

Or the fact that Penn State came into the game as the next-to-last team in the Big Ten converting on third down at 33 percent.

They went 11-of-18 against the Buckeyes for 61 percent, a new season-high. Their previous best was 5-of-10 in a 28-20 win against Auburn in the second game of the season.

Or that Ohio State just couldn’t seem to punch it in the end zone once they got into Penn State’s red zone.

Despite six trips within Penn State’s 20 yard line, the Scarlet and Gray (or in this case, the Scarlet and Scarlet) managed to eke out only one touchdown.

Then there was giving up the middle of the field on defense, something they did virtually all game long in the loss to Oregon. It seemed like Penn State’s passing attack was turning into Oregon 2.0.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Sean Clifford completed 67 percent of his passes for a career third-best 361 yards and one touchdown. Senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson and sophomore Parker Washington each ended up with over 100 receiving yards, something they had only done one other time this season. Which was against FCS Villanova. Aside from the Wildcats, each of the three easily had their best games of the season.

Dotson finished with 127 receiving yards and a single-game, career-high 11 catches. He also had the first rushing TD of his career when he tied up the game at 17-17 early in the third quarter. Washington tied a career-best nine catches and chipped in his second-ever 100-plus yard receiving performance with 108.

And how about OSU only scrounging their way to a measly 19 rushing yards by the end of the first half against a defense that ranked No. 11 in the conference at 146 per game? It didn’t seem to matter where running backs TreVeyon Henderson or Miyan Williams went, there was always a wall of white jerseys waiting to gobble them up.

Henderson finished the half with nine carries for six yards and no touchdowns. Williams finished the game with three carries for five yards.

However, now it’s time to counterpoint.

Even though Ruckert fumbled, it ultimately didn’t come back to harm the Buckeyes because they immediately forced Penn State running back Noah Cain to do the same on the Nittany Lions’ first offensive play of the game.

And although PSU gained early momentum by scoring first, OSU countered with a 35-yard Noah Ruggles field goal on the next possession to slow down the Nittany Lions’ pace.

The Buckeyes would then swing the momentum pendulum their way by forcing Penn State into three straight squandered drives and counter-punched with two back-to-back touchdowns within the span of a minute-and-a-half late in the second quarter.

That’s when quarterback C.J. Stroud found receiver Chris Olave wide open in the end zone for a 38-yard strike and then defensive end Tyreke Smith strip-sacked Clifford and defensive tackle Jerron Cage completed it with a 57-yard return to the house giving Ohio State their second scoop-and-score on the season and an FBS-leading sixth defensive TD of the year.

And Penn State converting a season-high 61 percent of their third downs after entering as the second-worst third down team in the conference?

The Buckeyes were pretty bad on third down defense going into the game, allowing a conference third-worst 40 percent on the year. So seeing them give up firsts on third down wasn’t too surprising, although allowing the Nittany Lions to convert 61 percent of the time is a little mind boggling.

Not being able to punch it into the end zone in Penn State’s red zone?

Even if OSU ranked sixth nationally in red zone offense at 96 percent, scoring 23 TD’s in 29 tries, the Nittany Lions were the seventh-rated red zone D in the country at 65 percent and only allowed seven total touchdowns in a mere 23 trips against.

You win some, you lose some. Give it up to Penn State for winning that battle.

However, the Buckeyes still went 5-of-6 inside Penn State’s 20, largely due to Ruggles, who knocked down a perfect 4-of-4 field goals. His longest was the 35-yarder and he proceeded to make three more in the second half including a 26-yarder that put a nine-point cushion on their lead with under three minutes to go in the game.

And Henderson’s piddly first-half performance?

The true freshman balled out in the second half with 19 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown, concluding the game with 152 yards and the one score on a season-high 28 carries.

And then there was Stroud and the passing offense.

The redshirt freshman continued his hot hand, going 22-of-34 through the air for 305 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.

The Nittany Lions had the third-best passing efficiency defense in the country and were tied with Ohio State with nine picks on the year. However, the Buckeyes passed for more yards than any other team this season and their 466 total yards were also a season-high for Penn State’s defense.

As for Ohio State giving up the second-highest amount of yards through the air on the season with the middle of the field looking like the parting of the Red Sea?

The Buckeyes still forced Clifford to throw an interception, notching their 10th pick of the year. They bent but they didn’t break.

Unfortunately, that aspect of the defense could just be something that OSU fans are going to have to accept that it is what it is. But as long as there’s a W at the end of it, Buckeye Nation should remain happy.

Ohio State’s next game is on the road against Nebraska (3-6, 1-5) with the kickoff slated for noon and will air on FOX.