Penn State Coaches To Blame In Ohio State Loss

Before the Penn State game I had three points that Penn State would have to do to win the game.

The first was to contain the Buckeye's run game. This obviously was not done.

The Buckeyes were able to run the ball with ease between the tackles with "Boom" Herron and Brandon Saine. Every time it looked as if Penn State would make a big stop with a third and long, Terrelle Pryor was always able to escape outside the pocket for the first down.

Penn State looked unprepared to handle the Buckeyes run offense. The DE's were unable to contain the outside, and the Penn State LB's were unable to tackle in the middle.

Penn State also seemed to be more concerned with Terrelle Pryor passing the ball on third and long, rather than doing what he does best, which is run.

Pryor proved why he is an all-class athlete by being able to outrun Penn State's DE's and LB's.

My second point for the game was to stop big plays with Devier Posey and Ray Small. Again, this was not done at all.

I knew Penn State would be in trouble when Ray Small returned his first punt opportunity inside the Penn State 25.

Penn State did not prepare for such a dangerous return man. Penn State constantly gave Small an opportunity to return punts, and they did not get down the field to cover the punts.

The second man Penn State had to stop was the outstanding receiver Devier Posey. Posey has almost double the receptions of any other Ohio State receivers (45 receptions), and he is also the leading in yards and touchdowns.

Penn State constantly left Posey in single coverage and rarely ever put any pressure on him at the line. Posey also could have had another touchdown—he burned the Penn State secondary in the first half, only to be slightly over thrown.

Posey then made Penn State pay on nearly the exact same route burning Penn State for a 62 yard touchdown. This not only was a big play, but it also caught Penn States' players and fans completely off-guard.

Penn State's coaches need to better prepare the secondary for big, talented receivers like Posey.

Penn State appeared to be completely off-guard for the play action and this is credited to poor coaching and poor film reading.

My last point for the game was to not let the talented Ohio State front seven control our offense. Unfortunately, Penn State looked over-matched and unprepared to make adjustments.

Penn State was held to a pathetic 76 yards running the ball. Even this high of a number is deceiving. Penn State never looked comfortable running the ball up the middle, and was run down by Ohio State's more athletic linebackers anytime the run went outside.

All game No. 36 Brian Rolle and No. 7 Jermale Hines were having their names called out over the PA system. Despite lacking in size, both of these backers were able to diminish Royster's and Green's efforts to the outside.

After failing to ever establish the run, Penn State's coaching staff never let Clark challenge the secondary, despite seeing single coverage for most of the game.

This is all on the coaching staff.

Ohio State is ranked in the top ten against the run—clearly they backed this up on Saturday—and ranked in the top 25 against the pass.

Penn State should have challenged Ohio State's smaller corners with Moye, Zugg, and Quarless. Penn State only took two shots down the field the whole game.

Penn State's coaches should have challenged the Ohio State defense and given some freedom for the senior quarterback.

Penn State failed to do all three of these points horribly.

The coaches did not have the team prepared for a very predictable Ohio State offense, and they were unwilling to adjust their offense.

Look for Penn State to be challenged the rest of the season in their run defense, and look for teams to really focus on shutting down Royster to force the game in Clark's hands.