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Penn State Football: Nittany Lions collapse in fourth quarter against Buckeyes

By Barry Leonard Jr.

STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes against Baron Browning #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 29, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes against Baron Browning #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 29, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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In the biggest game of the year for Penn State football, the Nittany Lions collapsed in the final frame.

For the second consecutive year, Penn State football held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against Ohio State but was unable to finish off the Buckeyes. A late collapse by the Nittany Lions, both on offense and defense, doomed them in what was the biggest game of the year in the Big Ten. They ultimately fell to the Buckeyes, 27-26.

This one was always going to be close, as both teams boasted potent offenses and struggling defenses. However, for the most part, particularly on the Penn State side, the defense stood tall. Penn State, the highest-scoring team in the nation coming into the contest, couldn’t get plays when they were needed most.

The game started slow as far as scoring, with Penn State holding a 3-0 lead after the first quarter and a 13-0 lead late into the second quarter. The Nittany Lions were completely dominating the Buckeyes statistically, but continued to be plagued by stalled drives in Ohio State territory — settling for field goals instead of touchdowns, and even missing a field goal attempt.

A Miles Sanders fumble late in the second quarter changed the entire complexion of the game. That led to a Dwayne Haskins to JK Dobbins touchdown pass that swung momentum to the side of the Buckeyes.

Ohio State followed that up with a quick third-quarter score on a Dobbins run to go up 14-13.

The score remained that way until Penn State stormed back with two fourth-quarter touchdowns — a two-yard pass from Trace McSorley to Pat Freiermuth and a one-yard touchdown run by Sanders.

Penn State led by 12 with just eight minutes to play, but was unable to hang on. Ohio State got two quick touchdown passes by Haskins to go ahead by one.

Needing only a field goal to win, Penn State had a promising last-minute drive, but eventually turned the ball over on downs to all but end the game.

Penn State will look back on this one and second-guess itself for a long time. A questionable decision to go for it on fourth down in Ohio State territory instead of kicking a field goal in the third quarter and an unsuccessful run up the middle on the offense’s last play of the game will surely be critiqued.

Third down proved to be the demise for the Nittany Lions, as they converted just four out of 17 chances. They only went 1-3 on fourth down.

For the Nittany Lions, McSorley was the star of the game, throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns. He also paced the Nittany Lions with 187 rushing yards. Yet, when the game was on the line, the coaching staff decided to run Sanders instead of put the ball in McSorley’s hands.

Freshman phenom KJ Hamler led the receivers with 138 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Penn State got eight tackles from linebacker Koa Farmer. Fellow linebacker Cam Brown was second on the team with six tackles.

This loss will hurt the Nittany Lions, especially knowing that they outplayed the Buckeyes for a large majority of the game. They have a bye coming up next week, so there will be plenty of time to go through the tape of this one.

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