Ohio State Falls to Penn State, 20-14

In a year filled with disappointment, Ohio State's performance against Penn State today ranks among the biggest letdowns. With zero hope for a Big Ten title game berth after Wisconsin's earlier victory over Illinois, and coming off a terrible performance last weekend against Purdue, it remained to be seen whether the Buckeyes would come out motivated, flat, or some mishmash in-between.

The first two drives answered that question. Penn State opened the game with a 5-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 39-yard Stephfon Green touchdown run. The speedy senior ran untouched through a gaping hole left vacated by Ohio State's linebackers, who continued their considerable struggles against anyone quicker than Fat Albert.

Ohio State responded with a Jim Bollman special, a 9-play, 7-run drive that ended with a fumbled snap and punt. If not Ohio State's third most successful drive on the day, it was in the upper half, only clearly outshone by two touchdown drives in the second quarter.

The defense, it appeared, had quit on interim head coach Luke Fickell and coordinator Jim Heacock, giving up 17 points, 250 yards, and all hope against the Penn State offense in the first half. Nittany Lion quarterback Matt McGloin, while not threatening, was quite effective throwing short-to-intermediate routes, consistently hitting wide receivers Justin Brown and Derek Moye on slants and curls and poking holes in the Buckeye's zone coverage.

Penn State's big wrinkle was the "Wildcat" formation, a direct-snap to the running back that has fluttered in-and-out of vogue across college football and the NFL these past few seasons. Penn State offensive coordinator Jay Paterno dusted off the formation, practiced it with a plethora of tailbacks, and then unveiled it against an Ohio State defense that was entirely unprepared to defend it.  39 rushes, 239 yards, and 6.1 yards per carry validated Paterno's scheme and flummoxed Buckeye defenders who looked like they had never seen it before.

To be fair, Fickell and staff did a fine job adjusting to the Wildcat and refocusing the team in the second half. Penn State, after their unchallenged opening, mustered zero points and less than 100 yards to finish the game. If Ohio State possessed any offensive ability---really, any at all---the game could have been won at a comfortable margin.

As we have come to expect, the offense consisted of heavy applications of Boom Herron and Braxton Miller and a sparse application of everyone else. Herron received 18 carries for 76 yards, and Miller ran 18 times for 105 yards and one touchdown, a beautiful 24-yard gallop that cut Penn State's lead to 10-7 early in the second quarter.

On their next drive, the Nittany Lion tailback Silas Redd gashed the porous run defense with a 42-yard run over the right side. McGloin followed the gain with a 20-yard pass to Moye, setting up another easy touchdown trot for Green and resuming the ten point margin, 17-7.

Ohio State's second, and last, score on the day was set up by an excellent defensive play. With 8 minutes left in the half, Orhian Johnson intercepted McGloin and returned the ball to the Penn State 37-yard line, establishing a short field for the neutered Buckeye offense to start from. After four runs and 30 yards, 24 of which came on one Miller rush, Ohio State had the ball at Penn State's 7-yard line on third down. Jake Stoneburner then emerged from hibernation, caught a sharp Miller touchdown pass, and promptly returned to his den, not to be heard from again for the rest of the game.

With little time left before the half, Penn State moved downfield quickly and Anthony Fera hit a 43-yard field goal, placing the halftime, and final, score at 20--14. The two teams traded unsuccessful series for the rest of the game, each battling the other to look more inept. The Buckeyes won by virtue of two critical fumbles, one critical drop, and many critical play-calling errors.

I broached this topic in the gamethread, but I will return to it again. The most harmful part of this season, perhaps, has been the utter lack of development the young offensive players have shown. The wide receivers have not improved, the young running backs may have regressed, and the key cog to it all, Braxton Miller, looks as poor a passer as he did in his first start against Colorado. If Urban Meyer is indeed the next head coach, he will walk into an offensive situation that looks nearly the same, or worse, as it did when Jim Tressel left last season.

Now, it's The Game. Given the struggles and disappointments 2011 has proffered, an upset victory over a Michigan program that has regained its swagger would redeem this staff's failed coaching effort. It's been 2,919 days, 4 hours, 37 minutes, and 13 seconds since Michigan last defeated Ohio State. Let's see 3,000, Coach Fick.

Go Bucks!  Beat Michigan.