#2 Ohio State 28, #8 Penn State 17

I didn’t think it would be a close game. In the end, it wasn’t, but I think the Nittany Lions redeemed themselves, even in losing. When the sports media collectively opine that this was Ohio State’s “first test of the year”, your boys had a high bar to vault.

Sinking Expectations but Then…

When tOSU established a 14-point lead in the first half, which Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said “should have been 35-0”, and then extended it to 21-0 early in the third quarter, I felt my cynical, adjusted pre-game prediction of 66-3 would come to pass. Penn State would go gently into the detritus pile of those who Ohio State has faced and summarily discarded in 2019. Overcoming the adversity of the injury loss of our starting quarterback, a couple of key defensive plays and one decent drive proved me wrong. At one point early in the fourth quarter, winning the game was in reach for the Nittany Lions with Ohio State leading 21-17, but a costly mistake by backup quarterback Will Levis let the Buckeyes put the game away.

Although the PSU secondary showed some of its characteristic flaws, the defense rose to the challenge. The running of J.K Dobbins (157 yards, 2 TDs) and Justin Fields (68 yards), plus a passing game that was there when they needed it, propelled the Buckeyes to victory. They had 229 yards rushing and 188 yards passing while Penn State was only able to muster 99 yards rushing and 128 yards passing. Ohio State uncharacteristically coughed up the ball three times, a credit to a clawing, tenacious Penn State defense. Micah Parsons channeled his idol LeVar Arrington to play a big part in forcing turnovers. Two of the fumbles resulted in Penn State scores. The Nittany Lions took care of the ball for most of the game, but it was the lone interception of a Will Levis pass that closed the lid on their chances.

OSU Defense Ruled

The stats say the game should have been a blowout. TOSU had the advantage in IITOP, 34:15 to 25:45, with one decent Penn State drive against the staunch Buckeyes defense all day, a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped by a Will Levis TD run in the third quarter. tOSU had 27 first downs to Penn State’s 15. The mighty Ohio State defense was up to the task. Sackmeister Chase Young had three sacks and four tackles for loss, while the rest of the defense contributed to produce a total of five sacks and nine TFLs.

Not many of us expected that the Lions would be able to keep up with the Buckeyes. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome and with their grit in the second half. There will be some whining regarding the noon start, officiating, etc., but that is loser talk and you won’t hear it from me. I have increasing respect for these guys, who hung in there when the chips were down — way down.

You’ll also hear whining about PSU dropping to #12 in the AP poll, while Michigan ascended to #10.

With the Senior Day Rutgers game ahead — a sure win if ever there was one — the Lions are looking to wind up with a 7-2 conference record, fueling some Rose Bowl “what if” speculation. I suppose it is possible, but barely. I’m think the most likely bowl destination for Penn State is Tampa.

This Turkey will now depart for Big Ten country for Thanksgiving, as Artificially Sweetened’s nativity is Chicago. With fall turkey season in progress in Florida, they won’t find me up there. If I have a moment or two, I might write something about the technically required Rutgers game, or I might not. In any event, I wish you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

Penn State 34, Indiana 27

The fragrant bloom might be off the rose of unbeatenness for the Nittany Lions (9-1, 6-1), but they showed they still can ball, outlasting mighty Indiana for a one-touchdown victory. The winning score came on a Sean Clifford run up the middle at the end of an 18-play, 75-yard, nine-minute fourth-quarter drive to answer the Hoosiers last touchdown. Good, old fashioned football. They played the last three quarters without leading receiver K. J. Hamler, who suffered an injury in the first quarter.

Alas, defense sucked the entire game. The Lions gave up 462 yards, 371 of them in the air, as Nativeamericaniana backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey connected on 31 of 41 passes. Looking toward next week, I cringe at the thought of tOSU picking apart that Swiss Cheese secondary and running through three or four missed tackles all too frequently for huge gains.

Penn State offense was balanced with 179 yards passing and 192 yards rushing. Journey Brown led the ground game, hitting the century mark on 21 carries. Sean Clifford contributed 55 yards to the running totals, and was 11-23 passing, with one touchdown and fortunately, no interceptions this week. They also converted half their third-down opportunities. K.J. Hamler wound up the leading receiver with two receptions for 52 yards before he left the game after landing on his head after a kickoff return in the first quarter. (This is why we don’t want him doing kick returns, but I digress.) Finally, no spitting was observed.

You would have wound up a dual winner if you took Indiana and the points, and bet the over.

Well, what do you think? Is this team ready for tOSU? Will the defense suddenly learn how to tackle? Just how much embarrassment do you think we’re in for? The Sanguinarians will be saying how “underrated” (whatever that means) Indiana was, so sure, if we mind our Ps and Qs, we can easily beat the “overrated” (whatever that means) Schmuckeyes. On the other hand, the rest of us with average to above-average intelligence have been counting tOSU as a loss since the Buffalo game.

Meanwhile, in the Big Ten, Minnesota’s fragrant bloom of the rose of unbeatenness fell off at the behest of the Hawkeyes a week after they dispatched our Nittany Lions. Michigan showed that it isn’t dead yet, with a 44-10 victory over Moo U. Nevertheless, unless PSU can pull off a miracle win in Columbus, it still looks like tOSU vs. Minnesota in the Big Ten championship. Finally, Baylor’s unblemished record took a hit from Oklahoma, so they, too, have fallen from the vaunted pantheon of unbeatens.

I’ll be back with an assessment of just how bad the tOSU loss will be. (How’s that for negativism?) Oddsmakers have installed tOSU as a 19-point favorite.