OHIO STATE

Magic suddenly lacking from Buckeyes

Jon Spencer
Reporter

There's no easy way into State College, Pennsylvania and, as the Buckeyes can attest, it's even harder to get out.

If you've ever made the autumnal trek to Penn State, with a ghoulish nip of Halloween in the air and a death grip on the steering wheel, in fear of the deer — so many deer, you finally feel safe when you reach the leafy borough of Port Matilda, gateway to your destination.

But you're never safe.

I'll never forget 1995, sitting not far from then-Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger, who nervously chewed on a napkin as the Buckeyes rallied for a 28-25 victory, made possible by a pass Bobby Hoying threaded in traffic to leaping 6-foot-7 tight end Rickey Dudley, a converted Buckeye roundballer.

Or the year before (a scheduling quirk resulted in back-to-back trips to Happy Valley) when the No. 1 Nittany Lions steamrolled the Buckeyes 63-14 en route to a disputed national championship behind four touchdowns from Columbus native Ki-Jana Carter. It certainly felt like that lopsided defeat would lead to coach John Cooper's demise, but he hung around for six more years (and a few more losses to Michigan).

Ohio State fans hoped this latest trip would be a repeat of 2014, when the Buckeyes blew a 17-0 lead in Beaver Stadium and gamely fought back to win in double overtime behind quarterback J.T. Barrett, playing hobbled.

Unfortunately, Saturday night's come-from-ahead 24-21 loss felt more like the 2001 trip under first-year coach Jim Tressel. That year the Buckeyes frittered away a 27-9 lead and then had a game-winning field goal blocked, giving Penn State a 29-27 victory and making coach Joe Paterno the winningest Division I coach of all-time with 324 wins.

An ageless Paterno, before being ousted in the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal, would win 85 more games.

Urban Meyer, only 52,  probably has at least that many victories ahead of him. It's just hard to hear himself think right now over the "thwack" of a punt and "thwack" of a field goal getting repelled in the fourth quarter meltdown.

After blowing double-digit leads of 12-0 and 21-7, triggered by uncharacteristic special teams gaffes, Barrett and the second-ranked Buckeyes couldn't conjure any late magic. This time, Barrett — sacked six times —wasn't playing on a bum knee. He was playing with a bum offense.

OK, that's too harsh. Let's just say this: Ohio State's distinction at the beginning of the season as the most inexperienced team in the FBS? It's finally come to bear.

Walk-on Tyler Durbin, who had never even attempted a field goal before practice this season, had his career-long attempt of 45 yards blocked and returned for the game-winning touchdown. We can debate the cause. Was it good penetration by Penn State's Marcus Allen? Was it Durbin being thrust into a pressure situation for the first time? Or was it the field goal unit being rushed onto the field because of sideline indecision on whether to punt or try to expand the lead?

There are bigger questions coming out of this upset loss.

Was it asking too much of Barrett, a calming influence who has gotten the Buckeyes through tight spots before, to mount another comeback under so much duress? With a kiddie corps of receivers around him?

We saw a couple of times where Barrett and tight end Marcus Baugh, who made a nifty spin move on a 26-yard touchdown catch, weren't on the same page. And Baugh is one of the more experienced targets.

The offensive line, with three new starters this season, including a true freshman, picked a terrible time to have its worst game, against a Penn State defense that is finally getting healthy, especially in its banged-up linebacking corps.

Meyer tried to cite protection for the complete absence of a downfield passing game. But the Buckeyes have been vertically challenged for three weeks now and the pass blocking was fine for the most part until right before halftime Saturday. At which point the floodgates opened for the rest of the game.

Ohio State can certainly play the "16 new starters" card and no one will blink an eye. But at some point the adults in the room are going to have to look in the mirror, too. If Curtis Samuel is your best playmaker, as Meyer has stated, why is it taking 25 snaps for him to get his first touch against Indiana two weeks ago and 24 snaps against Penn State?

Two carries all night for Samuel against the Lions. Two?

And why does Noah Brown, he of the four touchdown catches in the win at Oklahoma (which suddenly looks like a mirage), have only 10 catches and one TD in four games since?

Maybe it's a case of too many receivers in the kitchen spoil the soup, or something like that.

On the surface, the defense deserved a better fate. It's not responsible for the 10 points off the two blocked kicks. The Buckeyes should be able to win any game where the defense yields only 14 points.

It's hard to believe Ohio State sacked quarterback Trace McSorley just once. It seemed more like 10. But there wasn't enough help from the back seven. McSorley's eight completions, six ot them in the second half, went for 154 yards. Too many big plays. And the two touchdowns allowed were incomprehensible: a 76-yard drive that took only a minute at the end of the first half and a 90-yard, five-play march in the fourth quarter when all hope appeared lost for the Lions.

So, sorry, the defense doesn't get a pass either.

The good news is Ohio State's playoff fate hasn't really changed. If the Buckeyes win out, they will have beaten Michigan and won the Big Ten, likely over the winner of Saturday's game between Nebraska and host Wisconsin. The league has had as many as four teams in the top 10 this season, so it's hard to see its champ not in the Final Four.

But that's way down the road for a team having trouble seeing 50 yards downfield.

jspencer@nncogannett.com

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OSU By The Numbers

0: Interceptions by the Buckeyes despite limiting Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley to eight completions.

2: Blocked kicks by Penn State in the fourth quarter — a blocked punt leading to three points and a blocked field goal resulting in the winning touchdown.

2: Carries for Curtis Samuel, referred to as the team's best playmaker by coach Urban Meyer.

5: Plays it took Penn State to drive 90 yards for its first touchdown of the fourth quarter.

6: Sacks by Penn State, one more than the Buckeyes had allowed all season.

15: In rounded-up minutes, the Buckeyes' edge in time of possession over the Nittany Lions.

24: Offensive snaps before Curtis Samuel touched the ball on Saturday night.

28: Offensive snaps before Noah Brown touched the ball on Saturday night.

60: Seconds it took for Penn State to drive 74 yards for its first touchdown right before halftime.

137: The Buckeyes' edge in total yardage over Penn State.

154: Yards amassed by Penn State through the air despite only eight completed passes.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was sacked six times Saturday, one more time than he had been entering the game.
Penn State fans celebrate Saturday's 24-21 victory by the Nittany Lions over the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.