COLUMBUS, OHIO — Penn State entered halftime down 17-14 after forcing a fumble and turning it into points.
Then, after the half, the bottom fell out, or I guess it would be better said the top was blown off the secondary.
Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate were unstoppable and Julian Sayin proved he should be atop the Heisman finalist list with his impressive showing against Penn State.
More from the game:
IN LIKE A LION … OUT LIKE A LAMB
Photo by Eddie Provident, Nittany Sports Now
Penn State entered the half with momentum and found itself with the game well within reach trailing by three. From that moment on, PSU was outscored by 21 points and out gained by 199 yards by the Buckeyes.
It was just an absolutely dominant performance from an Ohio State team worthy of its No. 1 ranking. Although Ohio State has earned that, Penn State has also earned its 3-5 record and played exactly like that in the second half.
The game itself was a microcosm of the season as a whole for the Nittany Lions, one that showed promise and an ability to do things on offense followed by a second half that makes people wonder how this team was ever ranked at No. 2 this season.
THE DOWNFIELD PASS
Photo by Eddie Provident, Nittany Sports Now
Or lack thereof.
Penn State starting quarterbacks have failed to reach 150 yards and beyond in four out of five games against Big Ten opponents this season. Against Ohio State, Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for 145 and an interception.
The average completion was 7.6 yards and that included plays of 16, 18 and 26 yards.
Grunkemeyer had multiple opportunities to get the ball downfield and missed on many, though, most of it was the result of poor protection up front.
It’s something that’s come to be expected from Penn State and the inability to stretch the field or even threaten to is further prohibiting the offense from doing much of anything necessary to be competitive against teams that have a pulse.
GO, GO Away GADGET …
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
Gadgets only work when there is an actual threat they could be deployed.
On the first drive of the game, Penn State was in a groove and moving the ball well only to be thwarted by back-to-back plays with Liam Clifford lining up in some form or fashion at quarterback.
Then there was the travesty to start the fourth quarter that featured a multitude of pitches and resulted in a sack and loss of 14 yards by the time it was all said and done.
It speaks volumes that Clifford is getting reps at quarterback even given the injuries to Drew Allar and now Jaxon Smolik … it has officially gone from good to bad to downright ugly and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better anytime soon.
