It only takes a few minutes to win a game. On Saturday night it took just over eight.
Eight minutes, 21 plays, 21 points. It turned Penn State’s 3-0 second quarter lead into a 21-3 Ohio State margin.
From there the rest was almost entirely smooth sailing for the Buckeyes.
And it’s that small segment in time which will haunt Penn State when the Nittany Lions practice on Sunday. Giving up 181 yards of offense over a three drive span while gaining just 58 to respond to the Buckeye attack.
Prior to the spurt Penn State looked fit to at least give the nation’s No. 1 a run for its money. The Nittany Lions gaining 85 yards in the first quarter and holding Ohio State to just 57. Big stops and a 45-yard pass to Chris Godwin highlighting the period. If there was a recipe for pulling off the impossible, this was it.
With Buckeye quarterback Cardale Jones on the ropes, Penn State was throwing the punches instead of receiving them. By the time the clock struck 9:00 PM after a long first quarter it was still a ball game.
In many ways, by the time the TV timeout ended and clock struck 9:04 it was over. Ohio State opting to go with the dangerous and versatile JT Barrett to start the second quarter. In return Barrett scored on runs of five and 13-yards over the span of 10 minutes with Ezekiel Elliott punching in a 10-yard run in between. Three straight drives where talent overshadowed Penn State’s own effort.
By the time the halftime whistle blew the story seemed clear. The Nittany Lions had the ability to win but not the execution or the consistency to pull it off. As Braxton Miller and Elliott scampered around the field it was talent that decide the game more than anything Penn State could do. For every answer the Nittany Lions had, the Buckeyes simply had a better one.
In total the Nittany Lions produced drives of 61, 40, 78, 41, 31 and 62 yards but yielded just 10 points in return. Even more frustrating to fans, Penn State holding Ohio State to just 58 yards over the span of six non scoring drives in the first three quarters. 31 of those yards coming on a drive that ended in a punt. It wasn’t as though Penn State was just holding on, the Nittany Lion defense was helping dictate the pace of play.
All of this ultimately a roundabout way of stating what was obvious. Penn State challenged Ohio State, but the Buckeyes were simply the better team. The Nittany Lions faced self-created adversity and the unenviable need to play a perfect game. Be it poor passes or poor blocking Penn State was frequently its own worst enemy. Where Ohio State overcame its own issues, Penn State did not. And therein lies the difference.
Of the bright spots fan can take home from Columbus, none will shine brighter than Saquon Barkley whose near 200-yard night on the ground made even the Ohio State faithful gasp as he dipped and dived through the defense. Hackenberg finished with an underwhelming 6-for-12, 120 yard 1 TD performance that will be remembered for two fourth down sacks more than passing the ball just four times in the second half. Carl Nassib is now up to 11.5 sacks on the year, 3.5 from Penn State’s single season record.
The rest too will soon be forgotten, except for those eight minutes that turned an upset bid into the win everyone expected.
