Ohio State Stock Report After Buckeyes Bury Penn State

No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes went to No. 3 Penn State looking for a comeback win against the Nittany Lions. After a one-point defeat to Oregon Ducksbye week and narrow victory with poor performance over Nebraska CornhuskersThe momentum wasn’t on Ohio State’s side.

Much of Ohio State’s problems on offense come down to poor play on the offensive line. Losing left tackle Josh Simmons for the season against the Ducks was potentially more costly than losing that game. His backup, Zen Michalski, was then injured against the Cornhuskers.

Against a Nittany Lions team that Ohio State has had fairly consistent success against in recent history, this team looked much better from the opening frame thanks to an interesting personnel change. Donovan Jackson moved to left tackle, and last year’s starting center Carson Hinzman got the start at left guard.

The move ultimately worked and the Buckeyes won 20–13. It seems that in this episode of Earnings Up and Stocks Down, the obvious unit needs some recognition.

Despite facing one of the best rushers in college football and lacking true offensive tackle length, Donovan Jackson held up pretty well against Adbul Carter.

Jackson wasn’t the only bright spot. Hinzman, Seth McLaughlin and Tegra Tshabola certainly cleared space at center for Quinshawn Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, especially on the big drive of the game.

Judkins finished the game with 95 yards on 14 carries, and Henderson and Will Howard added another 78 yards combined on the ground. It’s all down to the big guys.

This dominant attacking performance likely set up the starting group for the remainder of the season.

Howard didn’t have his best game. He made two serious mistakes that could have been extremely costly.

The pick-six on the first drive was the result of him not paying attention to the corner while trying to beat Jeremiah Smith’s route down low. This immediately put the Buckeyes up 10-0.

When the Buckeyes pulled back and gained all the momentum, it looked like they would lead 21-10. Instead, Howard took the ball down the one-yard line, kicked off his left foot and went over the pylon for a touchback. The lack of a football defense gave the Nittany Lions a much-needed stoppage that seemed unlikely at the time.

Those two mistakes were the biggest ones, but he also missed a few shots. Carnell Tate would have scored a touchdown had Howard not thrown the ball behind him, causing the circus catch to be incomplete due to being pushed to the boundary. Unfortunately, missed opportunities like this hold this offense back.

To Howard’s credit, he didn’t let those mistakes ruin his performance. He continued to fight, compete and run when the Buckeyes needed him. His time management late in the game was also excellent.

The defense has been playing well lately, but they deserve a lot of credit as a unit for this win. Whenever they were backed against their own end zone, they made big plays.

Drew Allar threw a very smart ball to Harrison Wallace III late in the first half in the corner of the end zone. A little push from Wallace allowed Davison Igbinosun to get his hands in there and grab the ball. Not only did he receive the ball, but he kept his feet in bounds for an incredible interception.

In the second half, Penn State scored first from the Ohio State three-yard line. After scoring three straight points, the Buckeyes settled in fourth place thanks to excellent coverage. Lathan Ransom jumped over Tyler Warren’s route, and Caleb Downs was all over Khalil Dinkins’ route.

Cody Simon again led the team in tackles with 10 total and added another sack. Fellow linebacker Sonny Styles also made nine tackles.