Penn State Football 2018 Season Rewind: Nittany Lions blow late lead to Ohio State

Heartbreaking loss deals blow to Penn State football’s 2018 season 

Eight minutes. That’s all that stood between Penn State football and a major step toward getting into the conversation for a spot in the College Football Playoff. When Miles Sanders broke into the end zone from a yard out, the Nittany Lions had the Buckeyes on the ropes with just a few minutes remaining.

However, in a short amount of time, the elation and raucous noise of Beaver Stadium transformed into stunned silence as the Buckeyes walked off the field with the 27-26 comeback victory.

The atmosphere surrounding Beaver Stadium on that perfect September day was nothing short of a party. The excitement was evident, as was the anticipation of the annual White Out. Ohio State was in town, as was the national media, preparing for the nationally televised primetime game.

The Nittany Lions used that atmosphere and energy to build a small, yet important lead early, scoring the first 13 points of the game. The electricity in the stadium really amped up when quarterback Trace McSorley connected on a 93-yard touchdown to KJ Hamler.

Ohio State struck late in the second quarter with a Dwayne Haskins to J.K. Dobbins touchdown pass to cut the Penn State lead to six before halftime. The Buckeyes carried that momentum into the third quarter when Dobbins scored his second touchdown of the game.

Penn State, down just one point heading into the fourth quarter, wasn’t ready to back down against the Buckeyes.

McSorley ignited the home crowd when he found freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth in the end zone to go up by six points. That lead was extended to 12 by the Sanders touchdown with just eight minutes remaining.

That’s when things went downhill for the Nittany Lions — the defense collapsed and the playcalling on offense became, well, weird and unexplainable.

After Ohio State went down by 12, the Buckeyes struck on a three-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Haskins to Binjimen Victor.

The Nittany Lions got the ball back still up by five, and could have put the game away by sustaining a long drive. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions could only must four plays and had to punt the ball right back to the Buckeyes. Although Blake Gillikin did his job for the Nittany Lions and pinned the Buckeyes on their own four.

Needing a big stop on defense, Penn State was unable to come up with it. Haskins drove the Buckeyes 96 yards and hit K.J. Hill on the go-ahead touchdown pass. The Buckeyes failed on the two-point attempt, so Penn State still had a chance, down just one.

Penn State’s final drive had a promising start when McSorley connected with Freiermuth for 27 yards to get the ball up near midfield. However, a sack, an incomplete pass, and a McSorley run had the Nittany Lions facing a critical fourth-and-five.

After timeouts by both teams, the Nittany Lions looked confused on offense and nearly didn’t get the ball snapped in time. Instead of a high-percentage play, or even letting McSorley do something, the ball was handed off to Sanders, who was quickly dropped for a loss, thus ending the game.

Penn State’s collapse in the fourth quarter was certainly stunning, as was the decision to take the ball out of McSorley’s hands in the biggest moment. The senior quarterback was clearly the best player on the field, passing for 286 yards, rushing for 175, and accounting for two touchdowns.

Ohio State had no answer for McSorley on the ground, and yet, his number wasn’t called when he was needed most.

The loss to the Buckeyes stung, as he shocked the home crowd and seemed to put a damper on the rest of the season. For the second consecutive year, the Nittany Lions had the Buckeyes beat in the fourth quarter, and failed to hold the lead.

Blowing a lead and losing against the No. 4 team in the country wasn’t the way James Franklin and company wanted to head into the bye week.