COLUMBUS, OHIO — Penn State fell 33-24 on Saturday night in the latest iteration of “almost” in the series between these two teams. Sean Clifford managed nearly 400 yards passing and the Nittany Lion defense held Ohio State to just two touchdowns all game and a handful of short field goals as well.
A loss is a loss, but the Nittany Lions played a lot better than most everyone was expecting them too and nearly came away with a win in the process. Full marks for that, and full grades below.
Offense: B–
Generally speaking it’s hard to say a night that includes three turnovers, and just 33 yards of rushing was a good outing, but Penn State did a lot of things really well on Saturday night that it rarely does well in Columbus. The Nittany Lions went 11-for-18 on third down, scored on pivotal drives, generally stayed on scheduled and managed to keep Ohio State from having solid control of this game until the very end. Sean Clifford’s fumble-six and his lone interception were not good marks on his card, but 361 yards passing to seven different targets was the kind of performance they needed out of him.
It’s hard to ignore the fact Penn State averaged just 1.1 yards per carry, or that the Nittany Lions gave up four sacks, all four in crucial moments, but at the end of the day the offense showed up after two weeks of looking wildly unthreatening. The bad was bad, but it’s hard to argue with 24 points in Columbus and three different scoring drives of 75+ yards.
Parker Washington was outstanding, with nine catches for 108 yards and Jahan Dotson was even better with 11 catches for 127 yards after being held largely in check in the first half. Four of Washington’s catches came on third down. A tip of the hat as well to KeAndre Lambert-Smith who managed just four receptions but all of them coming on second-and-long or third down.
End of the day Penn State scored when it had to for most of the game and moved the ball well. You take that every time against the Buckeyes.
Defense: A
Totaled up this group gave up just two touchdowns and held Ohio State to three field goals inside the 30. If you’re holding the Buckeyes to field goals and generally keeping them out of the end zone you’re doing something right. The only bad mark here is the chunk plays, largely in the second half. Ohio State ran just 11 plays in the third quarter but managed to get 10 points out of them which was the only time all game that the Buckeyes looked like the sort of Ohio State team you’ve come to expect over the years. The third quarter was also the Buckeyes highest yardage output quarter of the game.
Penn State forced an early turnover, allowed just five conversions on third down all night on 14 attempts and had seven tackles for a loss. Brandon Smith, Ellis Brooks, Curtis Jacobs and Ji’Ayir Brown all had a solid outing for the Nittany Lions as Penn State’s linebackers showed up and showed out.
People are going to get on this group for giving up some big plays, but they made so many red zone stops and forced Ohio State to punt in a handful of key situations. Playing Ohio State isn’t about playing perfect, it’s about playing well enough to be in the game, and the Nittany Lions did that, especially with the offense putting together one of its better outings of the year.
Special Teams: C+
Jordan Stout had another terrific night punting with two of his four punts going for more than 50 yards and generally doing a good job flipping the field. His 47-yard field goal before the end of the first half was a big moment as well. Stout loses points for missing a 49-yarder late in the game but the proceedings were all but over at that point anyway.
The real reason this grade is so low is simply because Penn State opted to fair catch absolutely everything. On the one hand it is an insurance policy of starting at the 25, or in the case of punting, avoiding any mistakes, but these games can turn on special teams plays and Penn State avoided taking that chance at all. Maybe it’s a good thing to avoid those risky moments, but you have to make a bit of your own luck in Columbus and the return game is a chance to do that. All told this group was perfectly fine, and covered well on Stout’s own kicks, but it’s the principle fo the thing that knocks the grade.
Coaching: B
By and large Mike Yurcich earned his money on Saturday putting together solid drives from the sidelines and sticking to the run juuuust enough to keep the Buckeyes honest. A good outing from Clifford helps Yurcich here, but he was getting guys open and in space and that’s on Yurcich too. Brent Pry’s group continues to be outstanding at every level as well.
James Franklin opted to turn down an offsides penalty that would have given Penn State an extra play inside the Ohio State five but the Nittany Lions scored from the inch line the very next snap so it didn’t matter in the long run.
Penn State had lost two straight, was reeling and needed to show up on Saturday to avoid getting run out of the building. The Nittany Lions showed up and played far better than anyone might have expected, and that’s a credit to players and coaches.
This grade is mostly docked because Penn State lost and still can’t run the ball, but this wasn’t a bad outing by any stretch for this group.
Overall: B
End of the day this might have been Penn State’s best 60 minute effort against Ohio State in Columbus in a long time. The Nittany Lions had a chance until the game’s final minutes and that’s all you can really ask for against a team like Ohio State. Penn State will have to get better in certain areas but they did a lot of things really well all night long and nearly got a massive upset in the process. There are reasons why Penn State lost that were Penn State’s own doing, but after last week’s mess, hats off to this group for getting it together on Saturday.
