PSU coach James Franklin’s team showed character in coming back from back-to-back deflating losses to play one of its best games of the season, and the 20th-ranked Nittany Lions forced Ryan Day’s No. 5 Buckeyes to do the same. Ultimately Ohio State had too much explosiveness and talent on both sides of the ball, but the Buckeyes had to dig down a little to find the resolve to hold on.
That did not happen in a Week 2 loss to Oregon.
In that game like the one Saturday night, Ohio State’s offense moved the ball but struggled to finish drives.
The Ohio State defense gave up a 77-yard touchdown run and did not force a turnover or record a sack against Oregon, though.
This time around, Day took the points when he could get them — settling for field goals that ultimately added up to be enough in a back-and-forth second half — and watched his defense do a lot more damage than it did against the Ducks.
This is still not the game-wrecking Silver Bullets defense of the late 1990s or even the game-controlling units of the Jim Tressel days from 2001-10, but it came closer to fulfilling Day’s vision for the unit Saturday night than it had in previous big games over the past two seasons.
Owing to proliferation of juggernaut offenses in today’s college football, Day wants a bend-but-don’t break defense that makes teams earn points with methodical drives, something Penn State did on multiple occasions.
But Ohio State sacked Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford four times, one of which led to a fumble Jerron Cage returned 57 yards for a touchdown.
They also pressured him into a bad interception in the fourth quarter that set up another Ohio State field goal.
Those 10 points were decisive in a nine-point victory for an Ohio State squad anxious to win another Big Ten East title and much more.
“We didn’t panic,” Day said. “We kept swinging, and that’s what these games are going to take. And you know, now with the second half of the season, we are 2-0 and that was the goal. The goal was just to win the game. We weren’t trying to get style points in a game against Penn State. That’s not how it works. You got to just win the game, and we did that.
“Kicked some field goals. Didn’t convert down in the red zone, but we didn’t go away from the run game.”
That was another contrast from the Oregon game.
The Ducks had enough success up front early to force Ohio State into putting almost the entire game on the shoulders of redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw 54 passes, was sacked twice and threw a key interception in the fourth quarter of his second college start.
This time the Buckeyes remained balanced with 34 pass plays and 32 runs, and Stroud was an efficient 22-for-34 for 305 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers or sacks.
“These types of games are definitely needed because a lot of Big Ten teams are great,” Stroud said. “They are great defenses. To have this type of gritty win shows we can do anything we put our hearts into, and if we keep practicing the way we are, we’ll be just fine.”
Dayton's Keith Byars recognized during that break for his induction into the @NFFNetwork Hall of Fame. He appeared to have both shoes on https://t.co/etzQh8f0y6
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) October 31, 2021
Next up is a trip to Nebraska that will kick off at noon Eastern time on Saturday.
The Cornhuskers are 3-6 overall and have shown an amazing knack for losing close games this season.
Their 28-23 loss at home to Purdue on Saturday was their fourth of the season by less than a touchdown, and their largest margin of defeat is eight points.
The Boilermakers (5-3) will be next Nov. 13 with showdowns against undefeated Michigan State and Michigan looming after that.
The Spartans handed the Wolverines their first loss of the season Saturday in a wild shootout in East Lansing, but both teams showed enough offense to prove they will not be an easy out for the Buckeyes — when the time comes.
In the meantime, Day and his staff will work on improving execution in the red zone and cutting down on penalties.
Ohio State had to overcome 10 accepted flags that cost them 74 yards, including several pre-snap penalties on the offensive line and a false start by running back TreVeyon Henderson that forced a field goal attempt in the third quarter when the Buckeyes had lined up to go for it on fourth down.
“(Penn State is) a good defense,” Day said. “They are one of the top defenses in the country and give up 14 points a game — and they’ve always been that way. They’ve been playing for a long time, a veteran group back there, so we kind of expected some of this. What we didn’t expect was some of those penalties and just lack of execution, but when you’re playing against better competition, you got to be on point. Little things show up, and so it’s awesome to learn from that and still get the win.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Ohio State at Nebraska, Noon, Fox, 1410
About the Author
