No. 4 Ohio State edges No. 9 Penn State in late comeback, 27-26
State College, PA – On a festive, sun-shiny day in the Happy Valley, Ohio State ended the long, emotional day for 110,889 mostly clad in white-out gear in Beaver Stadium as they overcame 13-point and 12-point deficits to upend the stately Nittany Lions threat to upset them, 27-26. As a result, the Buckeyes moved up to No. 2 in the AP poll and the Lions fell to No. 11. Penn State had several chances to put the game away, but poor tackling late in the game and some questionable last-minute play-calling combined to seal their fate in the end.
Lions started the way they needed to
The Lions started the scoring with Jake Pinegar’s 34-yard FG. The Lion defense looked up to the task of shutting down the Buckeyes early forcing them to punt on every series into the second period. That is up until DB Garrett Taylor picked off a Dwayne Haskins pass to put QB Trace McSorely and company in business at the Buckeye 28. The OSU defense rose up to the occasion as well forcing the Lions to settle for anther Pinegar field goal from 39 yards.
PSU continued to stifle the high-scoring Buckeye defense, and then halted a drive before taking a punt to start from their two. From the seven, McSorely fired a short pass to WR KJ Hamler slanting over the middle who headed straight downfield outracing the Bucks all the way for a 93-yard score to pull up, 13-0. The two teams continued to trade punts in the second stanza until Miles Sanders’ fumble turned the ball over to Ohio State on their 25. Two plays later, Haskins (22 for 39, 270 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) hit RB JK Dobbins with a screen pass to the right for a 26-yard score to cut the Lion lead, 13-7, before the half.
Ohio State roars in the third period
In the second half, PSU’s defense did not look the same as it had to start the game. The seemingly refreshed Buckeyes offense drove 75 yards to pay dirt as Dobbins (57 yards rushing, 61 receiving, 2 TDs) ran it in from the four to give Ohio State a sudden 14-13 lead. Neither offense scored again in the period. A key decision made by PSU HC James Franklin failed when the Lions tried to convert on a fourth and one at the Buckeye 24. Pinegar seemed on today and available to add three, but the decision was evidently a forgone conclusion by the Penn State coaching staff.
Penn State breathes new life
Penn State’s offense came back to life in the final period. They drove 73 yards resulting from a short pass where McSorely (461 yards of total offense – 286 passing and 175 rushing) ran toward the line drawing in the defense before his pop pass to TE Pat Freiermuth gave Penn State back the lead, 20-13. OSU’s ensuing drive was halted on a fourth and one as DE Shareef Miller’s tackle for a loss gave PSU back the ball on their 48. Sanders, held to 43 yards on 16 carries, took it over from the one. With a 12-point lead, Franklin decided to go for two, but the pass attempt fell incomplete. With eight minutes to go, it didn’t seem to be a bad call if the defense would play as it had early in the game.
Uh-Ohio
The Buckeyes came back quickly. Haskins connected with WR Victor Binjimin on a short pass. He twisted, turned, changed directions several times, and broke poor arm tackles by the Lions to score from 47 yards out consuming only 1:18 of what was let on the clock. OSU’s offense seemed to be picking up steam as PSU’s defense seemed to be wearing down. It looked like the Nittanies could regain some defensive momentum as they put the Bucks back on offense after a punt starting from their four-yard line. However, Dawkins started the drive with a completion to Dobbins for 35 yards to get the Buckeyes quickly out of the hole and also got them a surge in momentum. Seven plays later, Haskins threw another scoring strike to HB KJ Hill for a 24-yard score. A two-point conversion with 2:05 left failed. OSU held on to a one-point lead.
With 2:03 remaining, the PSU faithful had faith in McSorely to at least get them within field goal range. Things looked good as he completed a 27-yard pass to Freiermuth out to the 48. A sack by DE Chase Young set the Lions back four yards. Next play, incomplete. McSorely then rushed for nine. With a fourth and five, Penn State called time-out. OSU called time-out. PSU called time-out again. Surely Franklin and his staff had plenty of time to analyze and call a play to giving McSorely the option to run or pass. They needed to get him a shot at a first down to regroup for at least a three-pointer.
Not what we expected
Instead, McSorely ran to the right toward the line meshing with Sanders for hand-off where FS Jordan Miller stuffed both of them dead in their tracks for a loss of yardage and the game. For all that time to come up with a play to at least try to get the first down, it didn’t seem like a lot of thought was put into what the Lions had done successfully during this game. It came down to McSorely getting the time to decide whether to throw or run the football. Handing off to Sanders who the Buckeyes kept in check the entire game didn’t seem the way to go, especially approaching the line of scrimmage.
Game over. The crowd in white quieted. The scarlet people in the upper deck of the north end zone made themselves heard. The quieted crowd who had tailgated since early Saturday morning all left now at the same time backed up in parking lot traffic into the wee hours of Sunday morning. A long day turned into and even longer night for many including College footballfan.com as Guest Game Analyst and son Eric Koreivo, home on leave from the navy, hit our racks in our hotel room at 3:30 am before continuing home later that morning.
Up Next
OSU goes back to Columbus to take on Indiana next week. PSU has a bye week before hosting Michigan State, the other loss PSU suffered last season, on October 13. CFF.com has a Thursday night game lined up to see Tulsa play Houston at TDECU Stadium, home of the Cougars in an AAC match-up for our first time visit there.
Bye Saturday
No Saturday game this week as our niece Maggie McGeehin gets married to her long-time boyfriend Kevin Rogers, a Penn State football fan who’s never attended a Nittany Lion game yet. We’ll be bringing him to Beaver Stadium in November when the Lions meet Maryland. Congratulations Kevin on your betrothal to Maggie, and for finally getting your butt up to Beaver Stadium! With love, your new Uncle Steve.
Pictures to be added later