#4 Ohio State 20, #3 Penn State 13
Despite a valiant effort by Drew Allar, who has not yet completely recovered from the injury he suffered in the Wisconsin game, the Nittany Lions’ offense failed to score a touchdown in their 20-13 loss to the Buckeyes on Saturday. They blew a 10-0 first quarter lead, trailing 14-10 at halftime. Seven of those early points were scored in conjunction with a pick six. The Lions were able to add only a field goal during the remainder of the game.
Red Zone Woes
Each trip to the red zone met with fierce resistance from the tOSU defense, but none of them hurt as much as the fourth quarter drive set up by a 31-yard completion to Tyler Warren. Surely, they would be able to tie the game then, but they screwed it up. With a first-and-ten from the three-yard line, Penn State could not score. After three inside handoffs to Kaytron Allen, they tried a desperate pass play. Tyler Warren was the intended target, but by the time the play developed, the Buckeyes had locked him down with double coverage. Allar took a shot at Khalil Dinkins in the congested end zone and failed, turning the ball over on downs at the one with 4:40 left on the clock.
Against a tired PSU defense, Will Howard ran down the clock, sealing the victory.
Dumbass Penalties
Penn State made some bone-headed errors, including two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Jaylen Reed took off his helmet while still on the field, but that penalty came after Penn State’s defensive touchdown, so it did not hurt us badly. On the other hand, Elliot Washington’s shitty on-field behavior converted a defensive stop that gave OSU a fourth-and-four from their own 45 yard-line into a touchdown drive starting with first-and-ten from the Penn State 47. Franklin insinuated that it was a shitty call, but he needs to take responsibility for allowing the young asshole to behave in a juvenile manner in a crucial game. If Washington had acted like a human being instead of a gang-banger, Franklin would have no judgment call to dispute.
Washington’s penalty cost us the game. Not only did it give the ball back to Ohio State after the failed third-down conversion, but also, it handed Big Mo over to the Buckeyes. Franklin did not pull him from the game, either. Intensity in a big game is one thing, like Abdul Carter jumping offside trying to time a snap and giving OSU a first down gift. But stupid-shit celebrations and balls-in-yo-face asshole moves are not what elite teams do. As St. Joe Paterno used to say, “Act like you’ve been there before.”
Yeah, that Washington penalty is one I won’t be forgetting. I’m an old fart who believes in good sportsmanship, which is obviously something that isn’t practiced much anymore. When I see poor sportsmanship exhibited by other teams, it annoys the hell out of me; when I see it exhibited by Penn State, it makes me angry and sick.
Wrapping it Up
All I can say is that I believe Drew Allar gave all he had in a losing effort. The defense, although it gave up 358 yards, kept Penn State in the game, while the offense continually let us all down. Penn State, although possessing less talent, had several chances to win this thing, but squandered all of them. I’ll stop short of blaming Andy Kotelnicki, but there are some issues on his watch in need of correction, including communicating with the quarterback at crucial times, as Allar brought out in his post-game press conference. And Tom Allen needs to impose some discipline on his guys. That bush league shit loses games.
How irate can I be if I counted this one as a loss from before the start of the season straight on through? As late as last Wednesday, I was still predicting the loss. After the opening drive I felt some optimism, which was dampened by their inability to put the ball in the end zone. Then, that pick-six should have been a pivotal play that cemented our dominance, but it was the end. After that, tOSU shut down our offense, and they did what they needed to do to win. And that sucked. The glimmer of hope evaporated and we all went home pissed off.
The silver lining is that Penn State will likely be ranked more realistically than the ridiculous #3 when the first CFP rankings are released.
I’ll be back mid-week for a look at Washington.
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Big Al says
Kotatnicki exhausted his bag of tricks and Penn State’s offense could no longer hide the fact that (1) their wide receivers suck and (2) the OL isn’t strong enough to push 4 star level D lineman off the line of scrimmage. And the way that Ohio State ran the ball in the final 5 minutes was just like what Michigan did in the 2nd half last year.
This year’s Penn State team is actually LESS talented than last year’s team. The offense is better coached and the schedule is easier – which gives the illusion that they’re a playoff caliber team. They may be able to win out and get into the playoffs, but they’re going to get curb stomped by the first SEC team that they play..
The Nittany Turkey says
Having watched Franklin being more open than usual at his Monday presser, I’ve got to say that he secretly agrees with your second paragraph.
When the CFP rankings come out today, PSU is likely to be #6 or #7 for no good reason, or for reasons we used to hang on Notre Dame’s unjustified high rankings. Looking at the AP poll for a placement that would make sense in terms of who PSU could beat, I gravitate toward the mid-teens. Certainly not #6.
So, I agree with what you’ve said and I’ve thought all along. While the 12-team playoff’s lowered threshold will enable PSU’s entry, the Nittany Lions’ path to the championship will be nonexistent, with roadblocks every where one looks (mostly up). They’ll be a low seed and will wind up being blown out in the first round.
Then, there’s the possibility of losing to Washington or Minnesota, the only remaining opponents with a pulse. Contrary to Sanguinarical expectations, a playoff berth is not yet assured.
—TNT