It very well could have been one of his most recent boss’ postgame news conferences.

Bill O’Brien spent a terse 8 1/2 minutes with reporters after a 24-14 loss against Ohio in his debut and he sounded a lot more like Bill Belichick than the man who has been so eloquent since taking over the embattled Penn State football program in January. The honeymoon is definitely over.

Honestly, you couldn’t blame O’Brien for being a little edgy. He had just watched his team blow a 14-3 halftime lead, getting outgained by nearly 200 yards in the second half by a team — albeit a good one — from the Mid-American Conference.

You got the feeling that O’Brien would have rather bolted immediately to the film room to try to find out why the Bobcats converted on 11 of 12 third downs and racked up 301 yards in the second half against a defense that was supposed to be the Nittany Lions’ strength. Maybe he could find an answer to why his NFL-style offense netted just 115 yards and no points after the halftime break and got outrushed 175-92 for the game.

Instead, he faced a packed house that was looking for answers.

While there were multiple candidates to throw under a blue bus, O’Brien fell on his sword.

“We didn’t win the game,” O’Brien said. “It comes down to me being the head football coach. I have to get this team ready to play.”

For the first 30 minutes, he and his staff appeared to have done just that. The Nittany Lions, under quarterback Matt McGloin, moved the ball, though thanks to a fumble, they had just seven points to show for it until freshman Nyeem Wartman blocked a punt late in the half. Wartman’s block led to a short 18-yard touchdown drive.

O’Brien even showed some guts, going on fourth-and-2 and making it from near midfield on the Nittany Lions’ first series.

But, everything fell apart in the final 30 minutes. Maybe it started with a deflected pass — a quacker from Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton that should have been picked off by Stephen Obeng-Agyapong — that went for a 43-yard touchdown, but it ended with a Penn State defense that couldn’t get off the field and a Nittany Lions’ offense that couldn’t keep its defense off the field.

While O’Brien’s postgame gesture was noble, his troops knew that coaching wasn’t the only problem this warm Saturday afternoon before 97,186 fans.

“I think it’s very admirable for him to say that,” said guard John Urschel. “I think we all need to do better individually and we need to do better as a football team.”

“He did a great job today,” said McGloin, who was 27-of-48 for 260 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. “It’s on us. We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to.”

Safety Malcolm Willis spoke at length after the contest about how the game comes down to just that — making plays.

Tettleton (31-for-41 for 324 yards) and tailback Beau Blankenship (31 carries, 119 yards) made the difference for Ohio.

“When it comes down to it, a football player has to make plays,” Willis said.

Part of the problem, Willis said was confusion and maybe that was part of what O’Brien was alluding to about the coaching.

“People had mental busts sometimes,” Willis said.

And some people just didn’t play well and they know it.

“I think it’s very important that we’re all accountable for what we didn’t do or our shortcomings individually as units,” Urschel said. “(O’Brien) might say he needs to do better as a coach, we certainly need to improve as players.”

The good news for O’Brien is that this one loss — one that would have been considered devastating by Nittany Nation several years ago — didn’t dampen his players’ enthusiasm to improve.

Given what they’ve gone through since the Sandusky child-sex scandal rocked the program last November, one loss — even to a MAC team — doesn’t seem like the end of the world.

“It seems like we are always trying to fight something and things aren’t going our way,” McGloin said. “That’s life and that’s football. We have to keep fighting and keep trying to stay positive.”

“Of course, you’re devastated after a loss,” Willis said. “If you’re not upset that you lost, then you shouldn’t be on this team, but we’ve got to move on.”

“We’re not deflated at all,” center Matt Stankiewitch added. “We’re going to stay very strong. Hiccups are going to happen. Speedbumps in the road are going to occur. What we have to do now is focus on what we did right and what we did wrong. Get better at the things we did wrong and make them right and get ready for the next game.”

Maybe that readiness will put O’Brien in a better mood. Next up is a trip south to Virginia and Scott Stadium isn’t an easy environment to play in and win.

“We’ve got 11 games to go and we’re not packing it in,” Urschel said. “We’re not giving up by any means. We’re coming out on every Saturday with the intentions to win. That’s the expectation.”

Their coach made that pretty clear.

Walt Moody is sports editor of the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4630 or wmoody@centredaily.com. Follow him on Twitter@wmoodycdt.