Ohio State's Blueprint for Making the College Football Playoff After Loss to PSU

Ohio State still controls its own destiny for a potential berth in the College Football Playoff.

The path to college football's biggest stage just became much more difficult, of course, after the Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the season via a stunning 24-21 upset at the hands of Penn State. But the playoff is still well within reach for Urban Meyer's squad, as a pair of once-beaten teams proved just last year.

In 2015, Oklahoma overcame a brutal defeat to an eventual seven-loss Texas squad. In Week 10, Michigan State fell to a seven-loss Nebraska team, only to bounce back and beat No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Iowa to earn a playoff invite.

Can the Buckeyes—who dropped to No. 6 in the AP poll this week—make a similar recovery and save their season?

It's possible, but for Ohio State to rebound and finish the season undefeated, it has to follow this blueprint.

Find a Deep Threat

Ohio State's offense will be stuck in mud until it finds a reliable deep threat.

It was a similar situation that plagued the Buckeyes in early 2014. After the departure of leading receiver Corey Brown, a young group of wideouts struggled to separate on the perimeter, and it allowed opposing defenses to load the box and sell out on intermediate routes.

The only thing that can beat that defense is a blazer out wide who can beat his man in one-on-one situations. Devin Smith became that guy down the stretch of the Buckeyes' title run in '14, and Meyer needs to find a playmaker who can do the same.

To his credit, Ohio State's head man is aware of the problem, but he has faith he can get it fixed for the home stretch.

"We're not panicking yet, but we're not where we need to be," Meyer said of the Buckeyes wide receivers, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors. "We're developing a little bit; we're having a little bit of growing pains at that position, but we're going to be good."

Meyer identified two players who could fill that role. First was James Clark, the wideout who beat Penn State defensive back Jordan Smith late in the game but was robbed of a potentially game-changing play due to a missed pass interference call.

The second option is Parris Campbell, the starting wideout whom Meyer tabbed as a "big play waiting to happen," via Seger.

Fix a Broken Offensive Line

A deep threat is important, but it will be moot if the Buckeyes don't fix their issues along the offensive line.

Cracks started to show in Week 7 against Wisconsin, when the Buckeyes had trouble blocking T.J. Watt and a wave of versatile pass-rushers. But the dam broke in Happy Valley, as an offensive line that surrendered just five sacks through six games gave up an incredible five sacks in the second half alone in the upset loss to Penn State.

It was reminiscent of Ohio State's inability to block Virginia Tech in a similar-feeling upset back in 2014. But the difference here is Penn State didn't use a gimmicky defensive front the Buckeyes had never seen before. Their offensive tackles were just overwhelmed by a motivated pass rush.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

"Offensively, we didn't control the line of scrimmage," Meyer said, according to Jeremy Birmingham of Land of 10. "[J.T. Barrett] was under pressure all night when we threw it, and then we didn't move them off the ball in the run game."

It wasn't just right tackle Isaiah Prince, the first-year starter who was noticeably and consistently beat Saturday night. Barrett's blind side was routinely exposed, as left tackle Jamarco Jones and left guard Michael Jordan struggled to contain Garrett Sickels, the defensive end who returned after a first-half suspension and single-handedly changed the feel of the game.

Channel the Anger

Few coaches in the country are better at getting their teams to bounce back from a loss than Meyer. All three of his national titles came during a season in which his team suffered a deflating loss.

In 2006, his Florida team overcame a 27-17 defeat to Auburn only to rally and beat Ohio State soundly in the BCS title game. Two years later, the No. 1 Gators were upset by an unranked Ole Miss squad before ripping off 10 straight wins to claim the national championship over Oklahoma. And Ohio State's 2014 title, of course, came after the Buckeyes fell to Virginia Tech in a Week 2 upset.

Even last year's squad that entered the year as the unanimous preseason No. 1 team bounced back from its first loss to Michigan State in Week 12. Even though their title hopes had been dashed, the Buckeyes came back angry and looked like a completely different (and drastically better) team in their final two games, beating ranked Michigan and Notre Dame teams by an average of 22.5 points.

Can Meyer and the Buckeyes rediscover that mentality?

Just one day after the loss to Penn State, it looks that way. Leading rusher Mike Weber tweeted:

The Buckeyes don't have much time to regroup and refocus. An improving Northwestern squad will invade Ohio Stadium Saturday, and it's bringing the Big Ten's best sack artist in Ifeadi Odenigbo, who already has eight on the year.

And if Ohio State gets by the Wildcats, it'll have a chance to prove itself worthy of a playoff bid when it hosts two teams currently ranked in the Top 10, as No. 7 Nebraska and No. 2 Michigan come calling in a tough November slate.

David Regimbal is the lead Ohio State football writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.