2023 Penn State football film review: Nittany Lions fail to generate offense against No. 3 Ohio State

Tensions reached new heights in Columbus, Ohio, in a highly anticipated top-10 matchup between No. 7 Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State.

The Buckeyes stifled the Nittany Lions’ roar in the 20-12 defeat, but the final score failed to tell the full story of the 60 minutes played.

While Penn State’s defense provided the pivotal stops, Drew Allar and the offense failed to connect in producing any attack.

Micheal Bolger and Amanda Vogt detail the plays that paved the way to Ohio State’s victory, its seventh in a row against the Nittany Lions.

Amanda

Play we liked: 4th&Goal PSU 2 – Defense prevents Ohio State from scoring

The scarlet and gray nearly became the first team to score against Penn State in the third quarter all season, but the defense had other plans.

Kyle McCord quickly passed it wide on the right side, even with the line of scrimmage, to Carnell Tate, but he was quickly wrapped up by several defenders, and Ohio State turned the ball over on downs.

At the time the score was 10-6 in Buckeye’s favor, so the stop came at a critical time with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.

However, the offense failed to complementarily capitalize on defensive successes throughout the entire game.

Plays we didn’t like:

1st&10 OSU 25 – McCord finds a wide-open Marvin Harrision Jr.

After Penn State notched its second field goal, Ohio State started its next drive with firepower.

The offense marched onto the field and set up at the line of scrimmage without a huddle; McCord dropped a few paces back as Harrison Jr. ran a route down the OSU sideline.

Without any defenders in the area, the wide receiver completed the catch at the 48-yard line before making it to Penn State’s 40-yard line to much elation of the crowd.

Harrison Jr. was wide open — there was no defender within about 10 yards in any direction of his path. His ability to create separation after the snap allowed him to cause issues for the Nittany Lions all afternoon.

The junior finished with 11 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown — this specific reception was his largest gain of the game.

3rd&2 50-yard line – Predictable play call

Third down was a hurdle Penn State failed to clear — the Nittany Lions converted just one of their 16 attempts.

Allar connected with KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a first down in the opening offensive play of the second half for the blue and white. Nicholas Singleton rushed for three yards before Smith’s second reception of the drive for another five yards.

It was then 3rd-and-2, and Penn State lined up with Singleton in the backfield and three out wide on the left. Once Allar took the snap, tight end Theo Johnson ran across behind the linemen to provide a block as Singleton received the handoff.

Ohio State was certainly prepared and stuffed the running back for a loss of three yards.

The Nittany Lions’ decision-making on third downs lacked creativity and appeared somewhat predictable based on the Buckeyes’ ability to shut down their chances.

4th&3 PSU 43 – Allar targets Johnson but incomplete – turnover on downs

JT Tuimoloau was a force on Ohio State’s defensive line and provided a ton of pressure against Allar.

Near midfield, Penn State elected to go for it on fourth down, but the Nittany Lions ultimately failed.

Tuimoloau, who was working against Olu Fashanu, was able to get around behind Allar and hit his arm as he was trying to get the ball up the middle to Johnson.

Allar was provided little time to work through any progressions throughout the entire game because of the heavy pressure Ohio State put up front. Additionally, the Buckeye secondary prevented targets from becoming open downfield.

At the time of this play, the score was 13-6, and because of Penn State’s field position, it made sense to go for it, considering it was down seven points and needed to find a way to generate momentum.

Unique play: 72-yard punt by Jesse Mirco

Penalties caused several problems for Ohio State during its second drive of the second half, and it was forced to punt after failing to convert on 3rd-and-27.

With their backs up against the wall, the Buckeyes punted from deep in their own territory, practically the back edge of their own endzone, and Penn State was expecting a good starting field position.

Daequan Hardy was the punt returner, but as it traveled over midfield, he let it fly over his head.

The ball took a few pro-scarlet-and-gray bounces before settling and being downed at the Nittany Lion 24-yard line for the 72-yard punt.

Had Hardy backtracked and possibly called for a fair catch, Penn State would have started its drive much closer to the 50-yard line. Considering how prominent its offensive struggles were, having a good field position could have alleviated some pressure on the Nittany Lions’ backs.

Micheal

Play we liked: 1st&10 PSU 38 — Allar connects with Johnson for a 34-yard gain

Ohio State had just tallied its first touchdown of the day, and as the Horseshoe’s energy built, Allar and the offense looked to silence it with their own response midway through the second quarter.

Mike Yurcich sent the Nittany Lions offense out with six men on the line, a wide receiver at the top and bottom of the play, and Allar in shotgun formation with max protection from Tyler Warren to his left and Singleton to his right.

Ohio State came out with four men on the line, four linebackers in the box with them, and a safety over the top as the far-side corner pressed and the near-side cornerback played nine yards off the ball.

Off the snap, the offensive line shifted to the right as Sal Wormley pulled from his spot to block on the left side. Allar faked the handoff to Singleton, who followed Wormley to trick the defense into thinking it was a run.

Johnson, who was the sixth man on the left side of the line, snuck by the defense undetected as Allar dropped back and found him at the sticks. The junior tight end added an extra 24 yards to the play down the sideline to put Penn State into enemy territory and eventually settle for a 41-yard field goal.

The play-action design and movement in the backfield caused one of the Buckeyes linebackers to rush Allar, which left Johnson wide open for the first down and plenty more.

Play we didn’t like: Penn State in its “Best Quarter”

The Nittany Lions have statistically been one of the top teams in the nation in the third quarter as they have outscored their opponents 87-0 in previous games. However, this was not the case for the blue and white in this one.

Coming out of halftime with plenty of time for adjustments down by four, Penn State ran 11 plays for a total of 25 yards, one first down while going 0 for three on third downs.

On 3rd and 2, from the PSU 50-yard line and 12:50 left to go in the quarter, Singleton was handed the ball up the gut and was immediately stuffed for a loss of three on the play. Despite having six blockers on the line with Johnson motioning from the far side of the field to help block, the offensive line got little to no push for the sophomore running back.

Onto the next drive, Allar faced a 3rd and 8 from the PSU 26. Off of the dropback, Allar locked eyes with Lambert-Smith 30 yards down the field and lofted one up for his receiver to make a play.

Lambert-Smith went toe to toe against Jermaine Mathews Jr. but couldn’t get in position to make the catch.

The final third-down attempt of the quarter came after the goal line stand that Amanda talked about earlier. It was 3rd and 1 from Penn State’s own 11-yard, and Yurcich called for Allar to quickly get the ball off to Singleton on the near right side, who would run for the first down with a blocker or two to help.

This did not happen.

Allar threw the ball behind Singleton after the rush from the edge almost blocked the pass. The star running back juggled the ball behind the line of scrimmage before eventually dropping the pass and being tackled to the ground.

Even if he caught the ball, it would have been a hard-fought battle from behind the line of scrimmage to gain the yard that Penn State needed for the first down.

Unique play: 4th&1 PSU 11 — Tyler Elsdon recovers a muffed punt at midfield

The Penn State defense stepped up at the goal line on 4th and goal to keep Ohio State out of the end zone down by four.

Backed up in the end zone to start the drive, the Nittany Lions offense failed to get anything going and were forced to put their defense back out on the field, or so they thought.

Riley Thompson sent a high-flying kick from the front of the end zone to the PSU 45 that was waved off by Jayden Ballard. However, the ball continued to roll as Penn State got down the field and touched Julian Fleming’s foot as he continued to block unknowingly to his returner’s call on the field.

Immediately, Elsdon recognized the potential of giving the offense the ball at midfield and keeping the defense on the sideline. The junior raced after it and snuggled the ball into his care to breathe life back into Penn State’s sideline at the end of the third quarter.

Amanda Vogt is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amandaevogt@gmail.com.

Micheal Bolger is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.