In a game that had bone-crushing hits, elite defense all around, and incredibly frustrating and lackluster offense, the Ohio State Buckeyes stifled Penn State with the help of the new-age Silver Bullets. At almost every junction, Drew Allar looked sped up and missed what felt like two dozen easy throws.
Silver Bullets Dominate in Top 10 Win Over Penn State
THE Silver Bullets
The road to 7-0 was not easy nor was it pretty. Even then, the Ohio State offense owes this one to the defense. As a unit, they held Penn State out of the endzone for 59:31 and held the Nittany Lions to 1-16 on third down. That mark is “good” for the single-worst conversion percentage by any top 25 team in any game in the last decade. That lone conversion came at the end of the game on that last-ditch touchdown drive. They held Allar to just 191 yards and a late touchdown on 18 of 43 passing
Heading into this game, Penn State averaged 44.3 points and nearly 427 yards per game. On this day, the Silver Bullets held them to 12 points and 240 yards.
Despite how inefficient the offense played, Ohio State was still able to move the ball. In total, they accounted for 365 yards and 20 points. Penn State’s defensive average to date was 194 yards and eight points allowed. It was not an offensive clinic by any means. However, against a defense as good as Penn State’s, Kyle McCord, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Cade Stover, and Miyan Williams got the job done.
Tuimoloau Time
Some players just have that team that they kick it up a notch every time they face off. For whatever reason, when Jaylahn Tuimoloau lines up against Penn State, he goes nuclear.
Last year, Tuimoloau put on one of the greatest displays of defensive prowess in recent Ohio State memory. This year, he was able to take over the fourth quarter and cap off yet another dominant performance.
Once again, Tuimoloau’s performance on the field was not accurately portrayed on the stat sheet. Officially, he finished with a sack and a pass breakup. That sack was on the first play of the fourth quarter on a crucial third down. Also occurring in the fourth quarter, Tuimoloau got a hand up to break up a fourth-down pass which allowed Ohio State to drive the short field and score the game-winning touchdown.
Tuimoloau faced off against future top-10 pick, Olu Fashanu and regularly won his assignment. 44 was in the backfield on almost every dropback and was the main reason for Allar’s sped-up internal clock and happy feet. If Tuimoloau wasn’t in the face of Allar, he was busy getting tackled.
Against one of the best left tackles in college football, Tuimoloau was able to take over and disrupt just about everything Penn State attempted to do.
Great Players Play Great
Through six games, Penn State allowed just 121 yards per game through the air. Even if they were not up to par, the Ohio State offense is not exactly UMASS or Iowa, two teams Penn State dominated in the weeks prior. By himself, Harrison notched a career-best 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.
Tuimoloau wasn’t the only one facing off against a future first-rounder. Kalen King is a consensus top-20 pick in next year’s NFL draft right now and he was just overmatched.
As he does, Harrison was able to excel at every part of the game. He had a few early drops but made up for them as the game went on. 63 of his 162 yards came in the fourth quarter as he put the offense on his back. His two chunk plays — a 28-yard gain on second down and an 18-yard touchdown — were made possible by his incredible route running off of the line.
As Ryan Day put it, Harrison is, “one of the most special players in the country.” He showed it once again as he notched his third consecutive 100-yard game and 12th of his career. With Wisconsin (212.3 passing yards per game allowed), Rutgers (160.6), Michigan State (219.2), Minnesota (235.3), and Michigan (142.1) to go, Harrison will have an opportunity to break David Boston‘s record of 14 100-yard games.
Missing Stars Didn’t Matter
Three stars for the Buckeyes were out with injuries in this game. The Silver Bullets were missing Denzel Burke while the offense was without TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka.
Without Henderson and Egbuka, the offense was noticeably slower. Chip Trayanum and Williams stepped up in Henderson’s absence and ran the ball for 84 yards and a score (Williams). While they were able to run for a few chunk plays, only averaging 2.2 yards per game is not ideal. The Buckeyes were missing Henderson’s athletic abilities. They kept trying to stretch the run game laterally but nearly Trayanum nor Williams has that explosive trait as Henderson does.
Missing Egbuka hurt. While Harrison was able to go off, the next closest wide receiver was Carnell Tate with just 21 yards and three catches. Penn State has an elite secondary, so this is likely more of a case of a great defense than one of a lack of depth. Ohio State saw last week what they have in Tate and the rest of the depth. Either way, Egbuka would have been a game-changer for this offense.
Defensively, Jermaine Matthews and Jordan Hancock stepped up in a massive way. Matthews, the true freshman played the most snaps of his young career and finished with three tackles and a pass breakup. Hancock jumped off the screen by making a handful of splash plays. Statistically, he finished with five tackles and a pass breakup.
Allar’s accuracy was not there today but the play of Matthews and Hancock made his job significantly more difficult. While opposing Big Ten coaches may have been quoted in the preseason with the belief that the Ohio State corners were a bit overrated, they stepped up against an efficient offense.
Offensive Concerns
Despite the Silver Bullets taking over the game, there was a feeling that they bailed out McCord and the offense. Sure, the offense grossly outperformed Penn State’s averages, but it was not as impressive as it could have been.
McCord finished with 286 yards and a touchdown but he missed on plenty of his passes. Even on routine passes, McCord has struggled with placing the ball where it needs to be. On deeper passes, he continued to throw it late which resulted in an underthrow. If he did not have a generational talent on the other end, this game may have been completely different.
Additionally, the Ohio State offensive line struggled. As a team, the Buckeyes only managed 1.9 yards per rush. That was due, in part, to the fact that the offensive line was thoroughly overpowered and lost ground. Too often was Penn State in the backfield right off of the snap. The lowest moment of this offense was its inability to score after Devin Brown got the ball down to the Penn State one-yard line. They had two shots which resulted in a blown-up run that lost a yard and a busted passing play where McCord had to scramble and hit Tate short of the end zone.
Perhaps it was just because Penn State has an elite defense. Ohio State has struggled on offense and in the Red Zone in particular. Regardless, these issues will need to be rectified before that matchup with Michigan. [Alleged] Stolen signs cannot be blamed on an offense that can’t punch it in from inside the five.
