Big plays lead Ohio State football to win over Penn State: Takeaways
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Julian Sayin had another 300-yard passing game and Penn State delivered a few first-half blows, but No. 1 Ohio State steadily pulled away in a 38-14 win on Nov. 1 at Ohio Stadium.
At halftime, the Nittany Lions (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) had pulled within a field goal after a C.J. Donaldson fumble set them up for a 20-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of the second quarter only for the Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0) to come out firing. Two third-quarter touchdowns, both of which were keyed by 57-yard passes, pushed the game out of reach and sent the Nittany Lions to a fifth straight loss.
Here are the game's top takeaways.
Big plays were a big deal for Ohio State
Penn State’s defense hadn’t given up much in the way of big plays this season. Opponents had managed just one play of more than 40 yards against the Nittany Lions this year, but before the third quarter was over the Buckeyes already had three.
The first was a 45-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate with 6:18 left in the first half that made it a 17-7 lead for the Buckeyes. The second was a 57-yard completion to Tate on the second play of the second half, giving Ohio State the ball on the Penn State 4-yard line. Donaldson would score from the 1-yard line to make it 24-14 three plays later, and after a Penn State punt on the next possession Sayin again picked up 57 yards on a pass.
This time it went to Jeremiah Smith, who moved Ohio State from its own 22-yard line to the Penn State 21-yard line with his 57-yard catch. Sayin then finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bennett Christian to make it a 31-14 lead with 3:21 left in the third quarter.
Those three passes accounted for 43.6% of Ohio State’s total offense at that point.Ohio State’s red zone defense struggled
The Buckeyes brought the No. 1 defense in the nation into Ohio Stadium, but before halftime they had already surrendered two touchdowns to a Penn State team ranked 37th in red zone offense. The Nittany Lions’ first touchdown was on a 75-yard drive down the field capped by a 3-yard run by Nicholas Singleton, but the second scoring drive covered less ground and was helped by the Buckeyes.
Ahead 17-7, Ohio State got the ball back with two minutes left and a chance to add to its lead before the half. Instead, Donaldson fumbled the ball on Ohio State’s first play, giving Penn State a short field and some momentum. Penn State turned the first turnover of the game into a 20-yard touchdown drive finished off by a 1-yard Kaytron Allen rush that set the halftime score at 17-14.
When Allen found the end zone with 20 seconds remaining in the first half, the Nittany Lions coaches in the press box booth could audibly be heard from the hallway yelling their excitement about a second touchdown from inside the red zone. Ohio State had allowed 12 first-half points all season until that point.
Julian Sayin’s legs set up his arm for touchdown
Penn State had just cut into Ohio State’s 10-0 lead with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ended with the first first-half touchdown allowed by the Buckeyes all season, and the Nittany Lions were in business for more. Trailing 10-7, Penn State forced a Sayin incompletion on Ohio State’s first play and then stopped Bo Jackson for modest gain to set up third and 5 from the Ohio State 30-yard line.
Sayin dropped back to pass but couldn’t find anyone open, and with the pocket starting to close he tucked the ball and ran into open space, picking up nine yards and a first down before being tackled by two Nittany Lions. It extended the drive, and three plays later Sayin lofted a 45-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate to push the lead back to 10 points.
Rushing attack still largely ineffective for Ohio State
Ohio State opened the fourth quarter with the ball and a 31-14 lead, but that was thanks to the passing game while the rushing attack remained unimpressive.
Through three quarters, Sayin was 18 of 21 for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Ohio State collectively had 19 carries for 65 yards, an average of 3.4 yards per carry. The longest carry was an Isaiah West rush for 11 yards to that point, while Sayin’s 9-yard scramble was the second-longest rush for the Buckeyes while the game was still relatively close.
Penn State entered the game allowing 158.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked 90th nationally and 16th in the Big Ten.
Bo Jackson did make it interesting in the fourth quarter with a 51-yard rush.
Ohio State's defensive line rose up in second half
The Buckeyes did not get to Penn State quarterback and Olentangy product Ethan Grunkemeyer during the first half, failing to record a sack in the first 30 minutes as the redshirt freshman stood in, made some plays and helped keep the offense moving.
The second half was a different story. Penn State's first three drives of the second half all yielded punts for the same reason: a third-down sack by the Buckeyes. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. got it started when he sacked him for an 8-yard loss on third and 6 from the Penn State 37-yard line to end the first drive.
The next time, it was Arvell Reese who took Grunkemeyer down for an 11-yard loss on third and 10 from the Penn State 31. And on the third drive, Jackson ended a flea flicker attempt with a 14-yard sack despite an illegal motion penalty that the Buckeyes declined.
The next time Penn State had the ball, Ohio State's lead was up to 38-14.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football uses big plays to pull away from Penn State
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