Buckeye Recap - Penn St.
By Chris Lauderback www.elevenwarriors.com
By Chris Lauderback www.elevenwarriors.com
"YOU POKING THE WRONG LION BUDDY.."
Penn State defensive lineman Shareef Miller's pregame bulletin board material suggesting Haskins would fold if hit enough times looked like it might ring true as the signal-caller completed just 7-of-16 passes for 62 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the face of constant first half pressure but to his credit, the redshirt sophomore responded to the challenge over the final 30 minutes of game time.
With his team trailing 13-7 at the break and 26-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Haskins was spectacular down the stretch completing 15-of-23 throws for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the second half including a masterful 7-of-10 tosses for 138 and both of those touchdowns in the final quarter of action.
The fourth quarter domination included leading a 96-yard scoring drive by completing 3-of-5 throws for 73 yards, the final 24 coming via the game-winning hook-up with Hill.
After a first half in which Haskins couldn't lead Ohio State to more than 25 yards on any of its nine possessions, he engineered touchdown drives of 75, 75 and 96 yards in the second half.
Haskins was far from perfect – looking completely shook in the first half – but he stepped up before it was too late and this experience should serve him well down the road.
FLAGS, ERRORS AND GAFFES
Despite picking up the win, Ohio State made more than enough mistakes to lose and probably should have.
Penalties continued to be a ridiculous issue as the Buckeyes posted 10 accepted penalties tallying 105 yards. Entering the game as the nation's 105th-most penalized team averaging 8.0 per game, the Buckeyes upped the ante Saturday night, dropping their ranking to No. 113 with 8.4 flags per game.
It looked like the costliest of them all might be a Luke Farrell facemask that wiped out a Sean Nuernberger 33-yard field goal putting OSU in front 17-13 with 6:17 left in the third quarter. Naturally, Nuernberger missed a 48-yard reboot.
Fellow tight end Rashod Berry, who came in to the game unofficially leading the Buckeyes in penalties, continued shooting his team in the foot with a dropped pass that fell into the arms of Penn State's Garrett Taylor for an interception leading directly to a field goal. (He did have a nice block on Victor's TD scamper.)
For all the hype heaped upon Ohio State's collective tight ends in preseason – I know I was guilty of thinking Berry could be a breakout player – the group has failed to deliver. Through five games, the trio of Berry, Farrell and Jeremy Ruckert has four catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns along with at least five penalties.
The defense also made its share of mistakes, the biggest coming on the second 93-yard touchdown given up this year as Shaun Wade got beat on a slant and Isaiah Pryor, among others, took a fatal angle on Penn State burner K.J. Hamler. The Silver Bullets' penchant for giving up big plays rolled on as they surrendered three pass plays of 30+ yards and 10 rushing plays of 10+ yards, eight of which came from quarterback Trace McSorley.
Obviously, everyone will take a 5-0 record but constant flags and defensive lapses will eventually bite this team if not addressed.
RUSH TO JUDGMENT
Ohio State's rushing attack hasn't been its usual dominant self this season but many thought that would change against a Penn State defense ranked just No. 82 against the run yielding nearly 173 yards per game.
Instead, the Buckeyes put up a fourth-straight game of declining yards per carry – this time finishing at 3.2 yards per tote – and their 119 total rushing yards served as the fewest in a game since the 88 yards gained as Clemson doled out a 31-0 suffocation in the 2016 Orange Bowl. And even in that spanking the Buckeyes averaged 3.8 per carry.
| OPPONENT | RUSH ATT | RUSH YARDS | YARDS PER CARRY | TOUCHDOWNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OREGON STATE | 53 | 375 | 7.1 | 5 |
| RUTGERS | 40 | 225 | 5.6 | 2 |
| TCU | 42 | 182 | 4.3 | 1 |
| TULANE | 38 | 151 | 4.0 | 2 |
| PENN STATE | 37 | 119 | 3.2 | 1 |
Yes, Penn State was a blitz-happy defense most of the night but I'm confident the film will show the interior of the Buckeye offensive line, in particular, struggled to pick up and execute its assignments.
The Buckeyes managed only four rushing plays of 10+ yards on 37 attempts with a long of 13 by a running back (Parris Campbell had an 18 yarder).
J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber both ran hard but could never get to the second-level clean as Dobbins posted a 17-for-57 line, good for 3.4 per carry with a long of eight while Weber was a little better going 9-for-51, a 5.7 yard average with a long of 13.
Not great, Bob.
SHOWING SOME LEG
| PUNT | YARDS | PSU FIELD POS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | OWN 21 |
| 2 | 49 | OWN 20 |
| 3 | 53 | OWN 15 |
| 4 | 44 | OWN 19 |
| 5 | 58 | OWN 2 |
| 6 | 44 | OWN 29 |
| 7 | 42 | OWN 25 |
| 8 | 45 | OWN 38 |
| 9 | 52 | OWN 27 |
I'm guessing Jim Tressel slept well after watching Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman turn in an outstanding performance as he averaged 47.9 yards on nine boots.
Consistency was Chrisman's biggest contribution last night as his shortest punt still went a respectable 42 yards while he launched three over 50 yards including a 58-yarder pinning Penn State at its own 2-yard line (though PSU did score a TD about a minute later).
Chrisman also put three efforts inside the 20 and now ranks 15th-nationally with 44.6 yards per attempt.
On the road in a nasty environment, there were much sexier storylines but Chrisman fielded all the snaps cleanly, got kicks off smoothly and turned in a very consistent performance.
WITHOUT A TRACE
Trace McSorley is a damn ball player. He'll end his career with a 1-2 record against Ohio State but I offer respect to a dude that just kept coming.
McSorley only completed 16-of-32 throws but a handful of them were huge connections as he amassed 286 yards through the air with a pair of touchdowns.
Of course, McSorley did his best work with his feet, consistently punishing Ohio State for either failing to account for him in man coverage or simply roasting the spy on the way to 25 carries for 175 yards including jaunts of 19, 23 and 51 yards.
Subtract McSorley from the running game and Penn State went for just 31 yards on 19 carries.
The reality is that Ohio State caught a break when James Franklin and company took two timeouts before dialing up a draw play on 4th-and-5 to effectively end the game. I have no idea how you don't dance with who brought you in that scenario but Buckeye fans will take it. At the same time, I tip my cap to the kid.
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1. This passing game is not flawless.
This was the first time all season that Dwayne Haskins wasn’t pinpoint on his throws. In fact, he was downright inaccurate at times. Throws were at receivers’ feet, or well out of their reach, or not even in the vicinity. But at the end of the day, Haskins was still 22-of-39 for 270 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. This wasn’t a wakeup call to anybody inside the program, but maybe it was for the rest of us. Dwayne Haskins is not perfect, and neither is the pass protection. But it’s still pretty damn good.
2. There is hope for the linebackers.
One week after failing to record a single tackle, the Buckeye starting linebackers had a total of 12 tackles in the first half alone against Penn State. Tuf Borland (8), Malik Harrison (8), and Pete Werner (5) combined for 21 total tackles in the game. Harrison was effective as a spy, and each of the starters had a tackle in the backfield. Werner and Harrison flipped back and forth between Sam and Will, and Borland and Baron Browning traded the Mike spot throughout the game. After some rough patches this season, this was their most complete game as a unit.
3. But it will need to micromanaged.
Everyone saw Tuf Borland struggle to chase the football in the open field, but don’t forget what you also saw when he forced a fumble that led to OSU’s first touchdown, or his sack of Trace McSorley. Of course, on the same drive as that sack, Borland gave up a touchdown pass while also committing pass interference. Baron Browning has replaced Borland on many passing downs and that probably needs to continue moving forward. I know there is clamoring for more of Browning or Justin Hilliard, but Greg Schiano clearly prefers Borland as the run stopper.
4. This team is still learning how to run the ball.
Ohio State rushed for 119 yards on 37 carries (3.2 ypc), which is less than half what both Pitt and Illinois rushed for against Penn State when they played the Nittany Lions earlier in the season. J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber combined for 108 yards rushing on 26 carries, which isn’t very good, but both players get better with opportunities. The Buckeyes are still working out the kinks on how to best run the ball when the quarterback isn’t a running threat. Ohio State’s rushing totals have gone from 375 to 225 to 182 to 151 and then to 119 in their five games this season. The 1,052 yards rushing over the first five games this season is the worst total for the Buckeyes since 2011. And while many have concerns with the short-yardage game, Ohio State never (ultimately) failed on short-yardage with the running backs. OSU had six short-yardage situations against Penn State. Dobbins picked up eight yards on third-and-two, Haskins threw an incompletion on third-and-three, Dobbins picked up one yard on third-and-two, then followed that up picking up a yard on fourth-and-one. Haskins was stopped on fourth-and-one, and then Weber picked up 11 yards on third-and-three. So while none of the running game is pretty, there are things that can catch your eye.
5. Chase Young has taken the next step.
After failing to record a tackle against TCU — and seeing Nick Bosa succumb to an injury in the same game — Chase Young has stepped up his play, as has the entire defensive line. Against Penn State, however, Young went full Bosa. He became a household name with two sacks and three tackles for loss. As the story goes, he was everything the Buckeyes needed and more. This is just the start for Young. He dominated a great opponent and was key in Ohio State’s win. But now he needs to follow it up and keep the momentum headed in the proper direction.
6. The defense is more than capable.
The Ohio State defensive line won this game, but they got help from every level. There was plenty of bending, yet very little breaking. The big plays still need to be worked out — and I’m not exactly sure they will be, but the way the Buckeyes stalled Penn State’s drives was very impressive. They were outstanding on third-down defense, be it long yards to go or short yards. Everyone on this Ohio State defense knows they have yet to play their best game as a unit, but so far they have done enough good things to be effective. Eventually, however, this effective Buckeye defense needs to grow into a defense that dominates opponents.
7. The penalties are spreading.
Now the offensive and defensive penalties have spread to the special teams. I guess at this point the only positive is that Urban Meyer hasn’t been flagged for being on the field yet.
8. Drue Chrisman is the truth.
Drue Chrisman has been outstanding since he took over for Cameron Johnston last year, and Saturday night may have been his best game as a Buckeye. He punted a career-high nine times and his 47.9-yard average is a career best in games where he punted more than twice. He had three punts over 50 yards and put three inside the 20-yard line. He flipped the field as well as he flips bottles and was one of Ohio State’s best players. Chrisman answered every tough situation with a clutch kick.
9. Zone 6? More like Block O.
The receiver blocking in this game was outstanding, which is why it was suggested to me by a very intelligent person that the receivers should change their name from Zone 6 to Block O. Ryan Day told the receivers at the half that the offense was going to go to more screen passes and the receivers would need to be ready to block. They clearly were ready and they executed. Day and Kevin Wilson and Urban Meyer would have never gone this route if they weren’t completely confident in both the playmaking abilities of their receivers and their blocking. And the coaches were proven 100% correct.
10. Dwayne Haskins is better today than he was on Friday.
Expecting Dwayne Haskins to go 21-of-24 against Penn State was unrealistic, but having experienced what he experienced Saturday night in State College has made him a better quarterback than he was before the game started. No, he wasn’t perfect, but he’s closer to it than he was before. Games like this make him better equipped to handle tough situations the next time they arise. Haskins was under fire the entire game and never folded. In fact, he only got stronger.
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