Penn State Football: Position grades versus Ohio State

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 29: Garrett Taylor #17 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs after making an interception in the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 29, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

The Nittany Lions dropped their first game of the 2018 season to Ohio State in heartbreaking fashion, 27-26.

For the second straight season, Penn State Football lost to Ohio State by one point, but this time, it seemed to sting a bit more. While last year’s loss to Ohio State was bad, losing at home is always worse, especially in front of the White Out crowd, which was better than ever, as it set a Beaver Stadium attendance record with 110,889 fans at the game.

Just like in 2017, the Nittany Lions blew a fourth-quarter lead, as they were up 26-14 with eight minutes left in the game. Penn State also led 13-0 towards the end of the first half before a Miles Sanders fumble set up an Ohio State touchdown prior to halftime.

While Trace McSorley played one of his best games ever at Penn State, all eyes were on the coaching staff after the loss, as the defense allowed two touchdowns in the last eight minutes of the game, and the Nittany Lions had one of the most controversial plays of the college football season with the game on the line.

The loss dropped Penn State to number 11 in the AP Poll, and moved Ohio State up to number three. The Nittany Lions will have a bye week next week before they take on Michigan State at home on October 13th. Penn State will need to win out to have a chance at making the College Football Playoff (53% chance to make it if they win out according to ESPN’s College Football Playoff Predictor).

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