COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Nittany Lions' special teams played well enough for Penn State to win the game. In fact, for three-plus quarters, they were a huge reason why the No. 2 Lions were winning the game.
Saquon Barkley returned the opening kick 97 yards for a touchdown. Koa Farmer returned a short kick 59 yards that made way for the Lions to extend their lead to 28-10 after Trace McSorley and the offense capitalized on the favorable short field.
But then...
Much like the Lions' blocked kick that upset Ohio State a year ago, the Buckeyes took advantage of a punt unit that was sucked in too tight and made it pay. Two plays later, J.T. Barrett and Ohio State scored to narrow the deficit to 35-27, a pivotal moment in the game.
"Special teams was the story of the game for us," James Franklin said following the Lions' 39-38 loss to No. 6 Ohio State. "You look at the yards and the yards didn't make any sense. Well, we had a kickoff return for a touchdown, another kickoff return for a huge play. The stats didn't really tell the story. Even if you look at time of possession for most of the game it was pretty balanced. Special teams plays a huge part, once again blocked punts, so if you get a punt blocked against you you're going to have a hard time being successful."
It begs the question of what else the Nittany Lions needed to do to secure the win and also emphasizes the point that was hammered home all week: The margin of error in a game with two teams ranked this high is extremely slim. For all the improvements Penn State made in special teams thus far -- and it's noticeable with Barkley tallying two kick returns for touchdowns this season and punt returner DeAndre Thompkins for one, it still had an issue.
The one lapse on the punt block was huge and was one Franklin equated to being similar to a turnover considering where Ohio State recovered the punt. Win the punt block battle, win the game, but having a kick return for a touchdown and a 59-yard return that set up another should bode pretty well in the probability of securing a win.
As Penn State's defense couldn't get a stop down the stretch and the Buckeyes posted 19 fourth-quarter points, all kicker Tyler Davis could do was look on from the sideline. The Lions' senior hit a 24-yarder in the fourth quarter, the only field goal he attempted, but never had a shot for a game winner as McSorley was flushed from the pocket, the Lions' 4-minute offense was stagnant and the team's inability to run the ball was magnified.
SECOND DOWN
Where was the pass rush?
Well, it was missing, to put it mildly. Barrett had his way and completed 13-of-13 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. He was sacked zero times in that quarter and while the focus all week was on the cage drills the Lions did to try and contain the dual-threat quarterback, Barrett and the Buckeyes' tempo had the Lions gassed by the fourth quarter.
Look at how clean the pocket was here for the decisive touchdown:
"We're usually about to get to quarterbacks through pass rush or blitzes, but we weren't able to do that tonight," Franklin said. "Again, when you got a quarterback that's been as starting as long as he has and you look at his numbers and his statistics, he's a damn good quarterback. We weren't able to make him uncomfortable in the pocket tonight at all."
Losing starting defensive end Ryan Buchholz in the first quarter didn't help and Buchholz returned to the sideline in the second half on crutches and with his left foot in a boot. While Franklin doesn't discuss injuries, one has to think losing Buchholz for any amount of time is a major concern. Penn State is already without Torrence Brown, the starter who Buchholz replaced when Brown sustained a season-ending knee injury earlier this year.
Shaka Toney, the Lions' speed rusher, was used more in the rotation and so were freshman Yetur Gross-Matos and redshirt freshman Shane Simmons. Defensive line coach Sean Spencer said last week during his session with the media that it's no secret he doesn't want Toney, the speed rusher, in when the Lions are down around the goal line. Well, as the Buckeyes moved the ball, they did have Toney in there, likely out of necessity in that situation.
Shareef Miller, the starter opposite Buchholz, was at a loss for words as to why they had no answers for the Buckeyes' front. Miller had one sack and Curtis Cothran had the other, so while this is by no means just a defensive end problem -- and Franklin mentioned the Lions couldn't get home with the blitzes, either -- it really brings into question what was so different with Penn State in the first half where they limited Ohio State to 17 points versus the 19 they were tagged for in the final quarter?
"We kinda came off the gas," linebacker Manny Bowen said, citing the Buckeyes' halftime adjustments. He said he couldn't pinpoint exactly what they did that made getting to Barrett so difficult in the second half. "The lesson would be that we've got to stay on it and that we've got to finish these games. The last four minutes of the game is where they came back. If we executed like we should've, we would've been fine."
Franklin said the defense hasn't handled sudden change situations well for awhile, not just Saturday night, and why that is, why this defense can't go back out and get a stop after the offense falters or after they're put on a short field, will be examined from here on out.
"We still have a lot to prove," Bowen said. "This was just a reality check for us."
THIRD DOWN
What's wrong with the 4-minute offense, the O-line and the run game?
Well, let's lump these three topics together because they all work in unison and Penn State didn't have much to like from any of these three categories.
Let's start with the 4-minute offense: Leading 38-33, the Lions got the ball back with 4:14 left in the game and started the drive at their own 15. The sequence wasn't pretty as it netted the Lions -4 yards.
•Barkley run up the middle for a loss of seven yards
•Barkley run up the middle for a loss of two yards
•Barkley run to the left for five yards
•Gillikin punt
“You’ve got to know that the other team, at that point, they’re in attack mode,” McSorley said. "They’re pinning their ears back. They’re going to do whatever it takes. Scratch. Claw. Rip at the ball. Throw you down. For them, it’s always, at all costs, get a stop. I think that’s where the mentality comes in. As an offense, you need to have that mentality that no matter what happens, no matter what we see, we’ve got to get the job done."
Even when the Lions got the ball back with 1:45 left and trailed 39-38, they had all three timeouts. They were gift-wrapped excellent starting field position at the Penn State 41 after the Buckeyes inexplicably squibbed it short. We've seen this offense execute the two-minute drill quite a bit, especially on the road against Iowa, but this sequence was a mess and that brings me to the second part: The offensive line.
•McSorley sideline pass incomplete to Barkley
•McSorley sacked for a loss of five yards
•McSorley incomplete to Gesicki
•McSorley incomplete to Johnson
The line collapsed on the Lions' final drive and part of that can be traced to personnel. Left tackle Ryan Bates was rolled up on and left and then came back briefly but left again. Will Fries had to move from right tackle to left tackle in Bates' absence, and reserve Chasz Wright checked in at right tackle.
Wright has only been used on the field goal unit for the past few weeks. He saw his role dwindle since Iowa, where he looked to be slowed by an ankle injury. The Lions opted not to move guard Brendan Mahon to tackle during the bye week and again in the game, presumably meaning they like their tackle depth more than their interior depth for the time being. But, against a strong defensive front, this line was overmatched and exposed late in the game. Should Bates miss any time, this group could be in trouble.
The wrinkles Penn State used last week with Barkley taking the direct snaps and all the motion that created confusion weren't part of the game plan this week. Perhaps that could've helped this o-line a bit, but with the athleticism on the other side of the line, the Buckeyes had their way.
And about this run game? Well, see the previous two entries because with no ability to grind out the clock in a 4-minute situation and injuries up front, it didn't matter if a Heisman Trophy candidate was carrying the ball. Barkley had seven carries in the second half that went for either no yards or negative yards, a sign that something's got to give with this line.
“Four-minute offense is something that hurt us last year, and it hurt us again,” Franklin said. “I thought we changed our identity and we tried to run the ball, and it’s easy for me to say this right now, but as the play-caller, we’re not protecting well and we’re not running the ball. So it’s easy to sit here and say after the fact that we need to be better in that situation.”
FOURTH DOWN
The 18-point lead might've changed how the game was called.
One has to wonder if Penn State getting vanilla and playing it safe -- especially with a large lead -- ultimately came back to haunt them. The Nittany Lions have more wrinkles in this offense -- much like the ones they showed off against Michigan -- and they didn't go to their two-quarterback package at all either.
They settled for a field goal after a 10-play, 64-yard drive spanned 5:23 in the fourth quarter and stalled when they got to first and goal at the Ohio State 7- yard line. That sequence around the goal line included three straight rushes after a 21-yard completion to Saeed Blacknall and a 22-yard catch by Mike Gesicki that helped the Lions get into the red zone. It was one instance, but as Franklin said, there's a lot to re-examine after this one.
"I didn't manage the game well, we didn't call the game good enough," Franklin said. "There's enough blame to be spread all around here. The reality is we didn't win the game against a really good opponent on the road."
The Lions even looked to be getting all the breaks, stopping the Buckeyes on a questionable 4th-down decision to go for it and pass up a 42-yard field goal attempt, the pass interference penalty that went Penn State's way, and even the interception that was reversed to a touchdown to DeAndre Thompkins.
Still, when they needed to finish off the Buckeyes, the Lions couldn't, and that's one lesson that will be a tough pill for Franklin and the Lions to swallow.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
QUICK HITS
• McSorley was chugging down the field as the lead blocker for Barkley's 36-yard touchdown that extended the Lions' lead to 21-3. It was quite the hustle play by the quarterback.
• The Buckeyes re-kicked after having an offsides penalty and Farmer, who joked earlier this season that he's a retired kick returner now because of Barkley's success back there, took it 59 yards.
• Reserve tight end Jon Holland drew a pass interference penalty that helped the Lions' one drive and also was called on to field two short kicks, a test for his hands that he passed.
• Thompkins said he knew right away his touchdown was going to stand because of how he hauled the ball in. He was certain he had it in complete control. Holland drew a pass interference penalty on that drive, a key one.
• Senior offensive tackle Andrew Nelson continues to not make the travel roster. Penn State hasn't given any official word on Nelson and whether or not they still think he'll maybe be able to play at all this season. That need is magnified even more now, after Bates was injured in the game.