Ohio State Game Grades vs. Penn State
Ohio State played its second consecutive night game on the road and took one on the chin Saturday night, losing to Penn State, 24-21. J.T. Barrett’s 245 passing yards were not enough to overcome the Penn State defense and the White Out crowd.
Ohio State's defense held Penn State running back Saquon Barkley under 100 yards rushing and Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley to 8-of-23 passing, but special teams blunders hurt them at crucial points in the game.
Here are the grades for the Buckeyes.
Rushing Offense: D
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Where was Curtis Samuel?
Samuel only had two carries on the night: one for a 74-yard touchdown run and one for a three-yard loss. The Buckeyes got complacent with the zone read between Mike Weber and J.T. Barrett.
Barrett had 17 rushes for 26 yards and Weber had 71 yards on 21 carries. The offensive line did not open holes the way it has throughout the season, due in large part to Penn State's ability to stop the read option.
Passing Offense: C
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It needs to be said, and there is no other way to say it: The Ohio State offensive line was terrible.
The line gave J.T. Barrett no time to throw and allowed pressure the entire game. Marcus Baugh was a heavy target for Barrett, and Curtis Samuel had a handful of catches.
The wide receiving corp continues to struggle to get open. With that being said, Barrett completed 28 of 43 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. He was accurate on the run, but that was necessary due to the pressure on him every time he dropped back to pass.
Rushing Defense: B
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Holding Saquon Barkley under 100 yards was a huge task going in, and Ohio State did just that.
Barkley had just 12 carries for 99 yards. Most of those yards came in the first quarter. Trace McSorley hurt the Buckeyes on the ground, though.
McSorley had 19 carries for 63 yards and a score. Most of his carries were the result of him reading Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard.
Passing Defense: A
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Ohio State's rushman package, which uses four pass-rushers, threw Trace McSorley off his game. McSorley completed eight of his 23 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown pass.
The secondary gave up a few long throws, and the youth of the unit showed. The back end did a nice job blanketing DaeSean Hamilton, arguably Penn State’s best receiver, holding him to one catch.
Special Teams: F
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The special teams unit more closely resembled a tire fire for the Buckeyes than it did a special teams unit.
Cameron Johnston had a bad hold, causing Tyler Durbin to miss an extra point on Ohio State's first touchdown of the night. Johnston also took what seemed like an eternity to punt in the third quarter, causing a blocked punt.
Tyler Durbin had a 45-yard field goal blocked with just over four minutes to play. That blocked kick was returned for a Penn State touchdown, which proved to be the game-winning score.
Conclusion
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The Ohio State offense could not find a rhythm all night, in large part because it was dominated at the line of scrimmage. The Buckeyes will look to bounce back next week, when Northwestern visits Columbus.
The fan reaction should be interesting to see.
How did you think Ohio State looked? Leave your comments below.
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