COLUMBUS, Ohio — After what we’ve seen the past two games, the crippling injuries at Iowa, the incomprehensible 9-overtime loss to Illinois, the constant unchecked chatter about their head coach’s commitment, It seemed implausible that the Penn State Nittany Lions would even make a game of it, much less win against the preeminent bad boys of the Big Ten on their home turf.
But the Lions did indeed have a chance to win and proved themselves in a resilient performance against Ohio State in the Horseshoe. In the end, they just didn’t have enough horses to beat a team that again looks like the best in the league. But they made a stand in more ways than one.
Ohio State had to fight all 60 minutes to emerge with a 33-24 win. The Buckeyes were smacked in the mouth unlike in any game this season other than their single loss in Week 2 to Oregon. And for a while, they seemed disoriented as a preordained champion, almost surprised anyone would challenge them.
The Buckeyes are a better team. But not by as much as nearly everyone thought. It was a matter of a couple of their youngest players providing highlight plays when they were needed most.
Freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud was implacable in a leadership role, hitting Chris Olave for a 38-yard touchdown three minutes before halftime and throwing accurately from any posture even when under considerable pressure from Penn State’s front.
“Football’s not a perfect sport,” Stroud said afterward. “You’re not always going to run perfectly or pass perfectly. You just have to keep fighting.
“Penn State has a great defense, from left to right. They were making plays, too.”
After being bottled up for nearly three quarters with next to nothing, prodigious freshman tailback TreVeyon Henderson finally broke free for a 68-yard run that set up a 27-17 lead.
PSU’s defense made several stands late, holding Ohio State on downs once, forcing field goals on two other occasions, to retain a chance to win.
But a last-gasp PSU drive ended in a Jordan Stout 49-yard field goal try that never really launched and lined under the crossbar to the left. As Ohio State lined up in victory formation to run off the final two academic snaps, the Ohio Stadium PA blared Zombie Nation, established as the PSU theme from the mid aughts: The scarlet-clad throng of 100,000, chanted a twist on the usual with: “F—- you, Penn State!” Classy.
Forget the crass fans. Ohio State coach Ryan Day offered the due respect: “It’s not untypical of Penn State games. A lot like what we’d expect. But we kept swinging away. We weren’t trying to get style points against Penn State. That’s not the way it works.”
No, nobody was trying to style or profile in this game. It was about hitting and detonations at scrimmage play after play. And more than a few Penn State players deserved decoration.
PSU quarterback Sean Clifford, his ribs blasted against Iowa and clearly still hurting in the loss to Illinois, played one of his best games, making several terrific throws under pressure. PSU wideouts Parker Washington and Jahan Dotson were magnificent throughout.
But what was really striking was how Ohio State’s decorated offensive line was dominated by Penn State’s defensive front throughout much of the game. It’s been maybe five years since an OSU O-line has been whipped as thoroughly as it was in the first half, perhaps the 2016 College Football Playoff semi at the Fiesta Bowl when Clemson’s D-line full of NFL Draft picks blanked the Buckeyes 31-0.
In fact, that advantage for PSU at scrimmage extended through much of the third quarter. Stroud was under heat and managed to throw the ball away rather than make the big mistake. Meanwhile, Henderson totaled 20 rushing yards on his first 14 carries. The dangerous young back could not get the space he needs to show his lethal moves and speed.
“We didn’t play good enough to win tonight,” said PSU coach James Franklin. “But we’re close. And I’m gonna keep working with these guys, loving these guys. And we’ll find a way to get a win next week.”
That would be at Maryland. And nothing about this game was like Maryland.
It began haltingly. Two lost fumbles among first five plays, one by each side, resulted in no points. Then PSU embarked on a 13-play, 89-yard drive converting three third downs that showed they were not going to be pushed around. Clifford hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith on third-and-9 to the OSU 48, then hooked up with Washington to the OSU 16.
Ohio State responded with its own 11-play 57-yard drive. But as it would much of the night, PSU’s red-zone defense held thanks in part to the D-line’s consistent pressure.
The Buckeyes got a gift pass interference call against Tariq Castro-Fields covering Garrett Wilson that gave it a first at its own 46. Four plays later, Stroud found Olave with the 38-yarder off play-action for OSU’s 10-7 lead.
And moments later, after PSU drove crisply to the OSU 37, Clifford was sacked by Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison and stripped of the ball. DT Jerron Cage scooped it and lumbered 57 yards for the score and a 17-7 lead at 2:24. Still, PSU resiliently drove 9 plays to a 47-yard Stout field goal as the half expired for 17-10.
The game lay in the balance for most of the third quarter. But with 4:17 left in the period, Henderson finally found a crease and blasted up the left hash. At the sideline, he made a sidestep at full speed and left PSU’s excellent safety Ji’Ayir Brown grasping at air, then raced down the sideline, 68 yards in all, to the 3. Though certainly gassed, Henderson was handed the ball twice more for the TD that put the Buckeyes up 27-17.
“That’s a great defense,” Henderson said of the Lions. “One of the very best we’ve played. But I needed that defense to prove that I’m tough, too.”
That felt like the play that would end it. Yet, Penn State still would not die. The Lions assembled an answering 11-play, 75-yard march with Clifford clicking off darts to Lambert-Smith for 22, Dotson for 18 and 14, then Washington for 8. Five plays later, Keyvone Lee walked in off left tackle from a yard out and it was 27-24 with 10 seconds to go in the third quarter.
“I thought he battled, you know,” said Franklin of Clifford. “He took some shots. He made some big-time throws in traffic.
“But we’ve just got to eliminate the turnovers. It’s hard to win and turn the ball over.”
That 3-point deficit was as close as the Nits got. They never seriously threatened again. And the play that might’ve hurt the most was the final turnover. Tyreke Smith got edge pressure on Clifford and forced him into a heave downfield for Dotson. It didn’t have enough on it and was easily picked off by corner Cameron Brown with 11:15 left. It set up one of OSU’s two finishing field goals.
What exactly this game bodes for PSU’s future is impossible to tell. It’s another close loss against Ohio State which only reinforces that the Lions can’t seem to get over the hump against the league power in the B1G’s East division.
On the other hand, the Lions have never played scared here under James Franklin in Columbus and always look like they believe they can win. That could affect both their future and his.
David Jones is a columnist for pennlive.com.
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