COLUMBUS, OHIO— Saturday afternoon’s 20-12 loss at the hands of Ohio State was yet another in a long line of disappointments against the OSU and other top-ten teams for Penn State.
PSU fell short in several ways, especially offensively where it seemed to be no identity or flow on this day.
Let’s dive into some of the other topics of the afternoon.
MARVELOUS MARV
Marvin Harrison Jr. looked every bit the part of the best player in college football against Penn State, hauling in 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
To put some perspective on those numbers, the 162 receiving yards made up 56.6% of quarterback Kyle McCord’s passing yards. McCord targeted Harrison 16 times.
He was the one player that could beat Penn State Ohio State’s offense and he did just that. OSU’s staff did an excellent job of getting Harrison open and working him into crossing routes to beat coverages.
(LACK OF) OFFENSIVE EXECUTION
For all intents and purposes, Penn State’s offense was bad. The Ohio State defense though can be thanked for that, but the lack of execution when plays were available to be made was the biggest factor.
Penn State went 1-for-16 on third downs.
1-FOR-16!
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.That type of play is inexcusable, and the playcalling on such plays was bizarre even with it being against Ohio State. A lot of runs on third and medium and passes on third and short.
The execution just wasn’t where it needed to be oSaturday afternoon and it showed in a big, big way.
CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
Ohio State is the No. 3 team in the country for a reason. It showed that in a big way against Penn State.
Ohio State proved why it was were the better team and have had Penn State’s number for many, many years. McCord didn’t do anything to cost it a win and was steady throughout the game despite the amount of pressure Penn State threw Ohio State’s way.
Harrison, Jr. was as advertised and the Ohio State offense did just enough when they needed it most to get the win. The game felt much different than the scoreboard indicated solely because of Ohio State’s offensive performance.
On the flip side, Penn State could do nothing right when it came to swinging momentum in its favor and couldn’t sustain drives most of the game.
