Three takeaways from Penn State football’s 20-13 loss to Ohio State in Beaver Stadium

Penn State suffered its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Beaver Stadium, 20-13. The Nittany Lions are now 7-1 with four regular season games remaining.

Here are three takeaways from the matchup:

Curious PSU play-calls in red zone lead to loss

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has breathed new life into this offense, and he deserves a lot of credit for the progress the offense has made this season. But, all that being said, Penn State had some curious play-calls when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter — and that proved to be the difference-maker in this game.

With Penn State trailing 20-13, with about five minutes left in regulation, the Nittany Lions found themselves in a first-and-goal situation at the 3-yard line. RB Kaytron Allen rumbled up the middle for no gain on first down. Second down? Same play for a yard. Third down? Same play for a yard. Fourth down? An incompletion over the middle to WR Khalil Dinkins. Ohio State took over and ran the clock out from there.

Tight end Tyler Warren had just rushed for 33 yards to get this offense in position to score. And Kotelnicki is a creative mind who’s found all sorts of new ways to surprise opponents. Three runs up the middle and an incomplete pass? That was surprising.

Penn State WRs struggle to help offense — again

The Nittany Lion offense has been mostly based around its tight ends and running backs this season, but on Saturday it needed some help from its wide receivers — and it never came. The group struggled to create separation consistently against Ohio State. And one of the biggest plays of the game, a Buckeye interception right before halftime in the end zone, came after Tre Wallace had the ball taken from him by a defensive back on what could have been a touchdown.

The receivers haven’t been harmful to the offense this season, but their lack of progress has been part of what has held the Nittany Lions back. And on Saturday, that was one of the reasons they were unable to get over the hump against Ohio State.

Loss leaves questions about Nittany Lions’ national standing

A loss does not derail the season for the Nittany Lions. They will still likely make the playoff as long as they can win the rest of their games — and potentially even if they go 3-1 in their final four. But this defeat does leave plenty of questions about where the program stands in the new Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions routinely struggle with the nation’s best, much as they did Saturday, and now will have to deal with another program on that level in Oregon. It’s clear at this point that the Buckeyes and Ducks remain a step above Penn State in the national picture, leaving plenty of reason to believe that this program may have reached its peak under James Franklin.

The Nittany Lions are nationally relevant, but not among the nation’s elite — with no discernible path to cross that threshold.

This story was originally published November 2, 2024 at 3:27 PM.