For the first time since 1998 (Michigan State), the Buckeyes blew a two-touchdown fourth quarter lead and fell to an inspired Penn State team 24-21. There were numerous factors that doomed Ohio State in the first road loss of Urban Meyer’s tenure. The leading factor was the dumpster fire that was Ohio State’s special teams. I can’t ever remember so many things going wrong with special teams in one game. We saw a missed extra point, a blocked punt and a blocked field goal that went the other way for Penn State’s winning score. But, I also saw a wide receiving corps that still can't consistently beat man coverage and an offensive line that had no answer for Penn State’s defensive front. in particular, true sophomore Isaiah Prince was repeatedly abused in pass protection by a host of Nittany Lions off the right edge and true freshman Michael Jordan appeared to be hung out to dry on more than a few occasions while also being whistled for a false start. When the dust settled on Penn State's domination at the line of scrimmage it had registered an astounding six sacks and 11 TFL headlined by defensive end Garrett Sickels who tallied nine stops, 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks in just two quarters of action after sitting out the first half. Prince's struggles in pass protection as a first-year starter are not a new issue though he was never exposed at such an alarming rate as I saw Saturday night. The six sacks surrendered are one more than they had given up in first six games of the season and stand as the second-most sacks in a single-game during the Urban Meyer era trailing only the seven sacks Virginia Tech hung on the Buckeyes in 2014. A week after committing only four penalties for 40 yards at Wisconsin, Ohio State reverted back to an issue that plagued it in its first four games. The 45 yards lost in penalties isn't all that much but compared to Penn State's one infraction for just 5 yards it stands out. Though Tyquan Lewis' horse collar tackle of Saquon Barkley in the fourth quarter was questionable, it set up the Nittany Lion offense with a 1st-and-goal. Tyler Davis' 34-yard field goal came a few plays later. Dealing with a false start here and there, and the struggling offensive line had little chance against the Penn State front seven.
The defense played well for the most part, despite the position the lackluster offense and horrible special teams put them in all night. The defense held the Lions to 276 total yards and a paltry 2 of 13 on third downs. Penn State QB Trace McSorley went only 8 of 24 for 154 and Penn State gained only 74 total yards in the second half, so it is evident the complete meltdown of the special teams was responsible for the defeat. Despite that, they gave up several big plays through the air, uncharacteristic of this secondary. I continue to be impressed with the stellar play of Malik Hooker in the secondary. Malik Hooker led the team with seven tackles and had two tackles for a loss, including a key play following Penn State's blocked punt and the questionable horsecollar penalty. He was also one of the few members of the secondary to not give up a big passing play. He was crucial in pass protection and stopping the run. Unfortunately, Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley were surprisingly beat one-on-one when they were in position to get a pick.
The biggest question going forward for this team is how will it respond to this loss? Will it jump-start the team much like the Virginia Tech loss in 2014 or the Michigan State loss in 2015, or will it have a lasting effect like the B1G Championship game defeat against Michigan State in 2013? We won’t have long to wait for that answer. Although Northwestern next week in the ‘Shoe figures to be relatively easy, undefeated Nebraska comes in the following week, and of course, the looming showdown against Michigan later on.
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