Ohio State Football: Grading the Week 12 Loss to Penn State

Ohio State's down season just continues to drag on after a tough 20-14 loss to Penn State in their home finale Saturday.

OSU fell to 6-5, their most losses since 2001, Jim Tressel's first season as head coach.

And outside of the rumors of Urban Meyer possibly going to Ohio State looming, there is not too much to like about this season as a whole.

The final game at Michigan, a gimme game for the last three years, suddenly looks like a loss and it's quite amazing to see how much this team has fallen off in just one season.

Here is the report card for Saturday's home loss.

Quarterback: B

Braxton Miller may not have the most impressive stat line, but a near 100/100 game is not bad at all, especially in a low-scoring game.

Miller had yet another rushing TD on Saturday, his fourth straight game with a rushing TD, to go with 105 total yards.

Another good sign of his day was that he did not turn the football over for the second straight game, which is always encouraging to see from a freshman QB.

The biggest downside is only throwing for 83 yards on 7-17 passing, which has been indicative of the type of passing game OSU has had. Whether that's just a result of lack of talent or poor coaching, it's just been very tough to watch at times.

Running Backs: C-

Committing two fumbles in one day is not going to help a struggling offense, and it's arguably what cost them the game Saturday.

Carlos Hyde's fumble showed his inexperience, but Dan Herron's fumble came off a poor Wildcat exchange.

What's even worse of the stat is that the running backs (Herron, Hyde and Jordan Hall) combined for just three more yards—108 yards on 24 carries—than Miller had on just 18 runs.

Penn State sold out against the run all day because they didn't fear OSU's passing, and rightfully so because they have seemed incapable of ever having a big game.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B-

Welcome back, DeVier Posey.

The senior receiver made his long-awaited return from suspension count, as he had four receptions for 66 yards including a phenomenal one-handed catch along the sideline.

In addition, TE Jake Stoneburner found the end zone for the first time in a long time for OSU's only passing touchdown of the game.

Other than that, there wasn't much out of the passing game, as Corey Brown had the only other catch among receivers for just 10 yards.

Saturday really showed how much this group really missed having Posey as a go-to threat. 

Offensive Line: D+

This group had quite the down day, allowing Miller to be sacked three times and looking very inconsistent.

But there were much bigger injustices including another run of poor snaps by Mike Brewster, who has been just one of many returners who has been disappointing this season.

Even worse was JB Shugarts' false start on a fourth down late in the game that ultimately cost Ohio State the game.

There is no excuse from any player, let alone a senior who has been a three-year starter, to commit a false start on a fourth down.

Defensive Line: C+

Ohio State's huge goal line stand in the second half really bumped up this grade after getting no sacks on the night.

John Simon was almost a non-factor all day with just two total tackles, but Jonathan Hankins did have a solid game with seven tackles, including one for a loss.

But this was the rare game where the front four did nothing as the Penn State front line had a tremendous game opening up holes for the running game.

It took this group a long time to contain Penn State's running game, but it never really got put back under wraps at all.

Linebackers: D-

Ryan Shazier's outstanding 15-tackle game just barely kept this grade from being an F. That's the biggest statement about this group of LBs.

OSU's linebacker corps has been an unmitigated disaster all season long as they not only have had little to no impact, but have actually been a major detriment to the defense.

They are among the biggest culprits of surprisingly poor tackling that led to three Penn State runs of over 35 yards on the afternoon.

Etienne Sabino might benefit from a move to defensive end next season as he looks out of place at MLB.

The fact that OSU has not given freshman Curtis Grant a chance to play at LB is stunning. He can't possibly be worse than the guys already there except for Shazier, right?

Defensive Backs: C

This group was actually not tested too much through the air, but they did contain Penn State's aerial attack and held Matt McGloin to just 88 yards passing.

Orhian Johnson did have a big interception in the first half that set up Ohio State's second touchdown of the game.

However, tackling and discipline continue to be an issue with this group as Travis Howard committed a pass interference on the first play of the game, leading to a Penn State touchdown.

Christian Bryant has tremendous raw talent, but his on-field discipline really leaves something to be desired.

Special Teams: Incomplete

Special teams was almost a non-factor for Ohio State as they only had two extra points and four punts on the day.

They really didn't have too much of an impact and did not attempt one field goal at all in the loss.

Therefore, they earn an incomplete because there wasn't much they did to affect the game one way or the other.

Coaching: F

Every week, it becomes more and more obvious that this coaching staff looks lost without Jim Tressel.

Even worse, these coaches look like they aren't trying to make a statement to keep their jobs with the Urban Meyer rumors growing by the day.

Fickell and his staff look scared of making a mistake instead of being "men of action" like he promised back in his introductory press conference in June.

Not only do they look inept, but it's stunning how it seems like they are afraid to fight for their jobs and their players.

This collective group looks like they are one foot out the door. And it's not even worth discussing the amount of Wildcat plays OSU ran unless you want your brain to explode.

Intangibles: F

Buckeye fans should give Tom Bradley and Penn State plenty of credit for getting a big road win overcoming unprecedented distractions.

They had every reason to come into Columbus and lay down and look for some sympathy. But they worked hard and pulled out a huge win over a Buckeye team that needs to spend a lot of time looking at themselves in the mirror.

They need a near miracle to go into Michigan and beat a red-hot Wolverines team that demolished Nebraska on Saturday as well.

Ohio State's only saving graces are Braxton Miller and the rivalry factor, but Brady Hoke will have his guys ready to play next Saturday in Ann Arbor.

If Ohio State doesn't find some ounce of motivation to do what they did in 2001 as underdogs on the road, the streak since Michigan last beat Ohio State won't hit 3,000 days. And at this point a year ago, that seemed like a given.

What a difference a year makes.

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