Losses can be tough to take, especially when they come in overtime against a division rival at home. Such was the case for Penn State Saturday night after coming up short in double overtime against No. 13 Ohio State. But this one felt differently. I generally do not subscribe to the idea of moral victories, and head coach James Franklin stated the same after the game Saturday night, but sometimes you can hold your head up high following a loss. Saturday night was one of those exceptions to the rule.
Penn State is clearly behind Ohio State in overall talent and depth on its roster. Ohio State was up 17-0 at halftime (yeah, with some help). This was a Penn State team that lost to Ohio State 63-14 a year ago. None of that mattered though, because Penn State pulled something together to come back to force overtime. The defense scored a touchdown in the third quarter with Anthony Zettel showing off his wheels on an interception return, and the crowd was electric. Knowing their team had given it all they could and never quit, Penn State fans gave the Nittany Lions a standing ovation as they walked off the field.
Nobody feels good after a loss, but Saturday night’s loss to Ohio State served as a reminder of how much hard work will be appreciated through the good times and bad.
Here are a few other thoughts I took out of Saturday night’s setback against the Buckeyes.
1. Penn State’s defense is pretty darn good
Ohio State rolled into Beaver Stadium riding an incredible offensive streak since losing to Virginia Tech. I know I bought into it, which is why I was curious to see how Penn State’s defense would handle it. It handled it just fine. Rather than suggest Ohio State is not as good as they may have looked the past few weeks, this is still a team that put up 63 points on Penn State last season using a similar offensive system. J.T. Barrett may not be a Heisman worthy candidate now, but he had clearly moved on from his first real test against Virginia Tech early in the season. The home environment along with a Penn State defense that would bend at times but not break was a good combo for Penn State.
This Penn State defense is going to give this team every chance possible to win two more games to get into a bowl game.
2. Penn State offense still needs some time to come together
The offense is a work in progress. That is not necessarily something some fans will want to admit, but when you understand the situation on the offensive line and accept that as reality, you can understand why things continue to be painful to watch at times. But there is something to be said about the way Saturday night’s game was called. Penn State embraced the short, quick passes more it seemed to me, and somehow Penn State managed to dig out of a 17-0 hole. Is Hackenberg still making some bad mistakes? Yes. Is the play calling still leaving you scratch your head at times. Yes.
Is there hope for things to get better by the end of the season? Yes. The box score is not going to defend my thoughts here, and I’ll accept that, but I felt as though we saw some progress made Saturday night that can carry over to next week against Maryland.
3. James Franklin had the perfect recipe for recruiting
Sure, Penn State lost, but because the game ended up going to double overtime, Franklin got a chance to show the many recruits attending the game just how electric Beaver Stadium can be. Franklin has been going all out in selling the game day experience at Beaver Stadium since the day he was introduced as head coach. Saturday night may not have gone as he would have liked on the scoreboard, but if he is selling atmosphere to recruits, then he got quite the sales pitch Saturday night.
4. Big Ten referees stink
Yep. I’ll expand on that later though, so stay tuned.
5. Penn State is going bowling
After dropping three straight games, Penn State is still two wins shy of becoming eligible for postseason play. They will get it somewhere. The next four games come against Maryland (105th ranked defense), Indiana (102nd), Temple (47th) and Illinois (114th). If Penn State can’t get some offensive production in two of those next four games, they certainly will not deserve to go to a bowl game. The regular season wraps up at home against Michigan State. We’ll see where things stand closer to when that game rolls around, but I believe Penn State should be able to pick up a pair of wins before that game.
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