No. 20 Penn State football loses close battle with No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus, 33-24
Penn State football lost a close matchup with Ohio State Saturday night in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, 33-24.
Penn State was able to get out in front of the Buckeyes early after the teams exchanged fumbles on their first drives of the game. The Nittany Lions were able to stop Ohio State and get the ball back to redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford, who led the team down the field for an 89-yard scoring drive that ended with a touchdown and a 7-0 Penn State lead.
Clifford found redshirt sophomore tight end Brenton Strange for a five-yard touchdown to earn that lead with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
Ohio State responded with 17 straight points to take the 17-7 lead in the second quarter. The Buckeyes scored on two big plays.
The first touchdown came on a 38-yard pass from redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud to senior wide receiver Chris Olave. The Nittany Lions opened their next drive by moving the ball down the field, but that came to a screeching halt when Clifford fumbled and redshirt senior Jerron Cage returned the loose ball 57 yards for a touchdown.
Penn State was able to answer before the end of the half with a 47-yard field goal that made it a one-possession game at 17-10 and the ball going to the Nittany Lions to open the second half.
They took advantage with a 12-play 75-yard drive that was punctuated with a Jahan Dotson two-yard touchdown run on a direct snap to tie the game at 17.
The Buckeyes were able to score 10 straight points from there to take a 27-17 lead in the game. They kicked a field goal to get the first three points and then a three-play drive that featured three runs by freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson, including a 68-yard run on the first play of the drive to get the ball down to the three-yard line.
Penn State once again answered with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Keyvone Lee.
However, the Nittany Lions were unable to pull out the victory in the end, falling to the Buckeyes, 33-24.
Player of the game
Parker Washington: Washington was tremendous for the Nittany Lions in the game, earning X catches for XX yards from Clifford. Many of those yards came after the catch, with Clifford finding the sophomore receiver in position to create a play in the open field. Washington did just that, carving up the Ohio State defense for several big plays.
He was the most consistent weapon Penn State had in the game and allowed the team to keep it close with the timely catches he made and the timely yards after the catch he generated. Washington continued to prove himself as a reliable option for the Nittany Lions behind senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson. In fact, he may be the senior’s successor as the team’s top target in 2022.
Stat of the game
10: That’s how many points Ohio State’s offense scored in the first half Saturday night. The Nittany Lions were able to stifle the Buckeyes for the most part, giving up only a single offensive touchdown that came on a big play. Penn State had mostly stifled Ohio State up until that point, allowing only 19 rushing yards on 12 carries.
The Nittany Lions were able to consistently get pressure on Stroud in the first half and made him uncomfortable as a passer. Stroud threw for 170 yards in the half, but the defense was able to tighten up when the Buckeyes got in close. Not to mention, it turned Ohio State over twice and gave the offense extra opportunities to go down the field and generate points.
Up next
at Maryland: Penn State heads on the road again next week in desperate need of a win. The Nittany Lions will travel to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins Saturday. They will need a victory to get off the schneid after dropping their third game in a row Saturday night in Columbus.
The Nittany Lions have now lost to Iowa, Illinois and Ohio State with two more high-level opponents remaining in Michigan and Michigan State. A win over Maryland should at least give Penn State a chance at eight wins this season.
