Ohio State-Penn State postgame thoughts

What that game lacked in common with the usual Ohio State-Penn State game it made up for in general 2025 Ohio State-ness… with some key exceptions.

Here are my initial takeaways the Buckeyes’ 38-14 win:

That was the most lopsided Ohio State victory over Penn State since a 38-10 decision 10 years ago, a game marked by J.T. Barrett retaking the reins of Urban Meyer’s offense for good from Cardale Jones.

This time around there is no doubt about who should be the quarterback of the Buckeyes, but we are still learning just how good Julian Sayin can be.

I said after the Wisconsin game the biggest development was Sayin showing he could move off his spot, reset and throw accurately downfield. His actual running ability is starting to surface from time to time, too, and his scramble to keep a scoring drive alive in the second quarter was big.

As far as throwing, what else can you say? The guy had four touchdown passes and three incompletions. Penn State’s secondary stinks, but it’s hard to do that against air.

Actually, throwing to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate might be better than throwing against air because they can catch passes that aren’t in exactly the right spot, rare as that need might arise.

Competition might be high, but I’m starting to think this is the best Ohio State receiver duo ever. Smith and David Boston might cancel out for the 1998 team, but Tate seems to be more of a playmaker than Dee Miller. (Egbuka and Smith last year? Well, this version of Smith is better than the freshman edition. Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr.? We didn’t get to see Egbuka at full strength all year in ’23, plus they had to play with the worst Ohio State QB of the last 14 years.)

A few postgame thoughts on Ohio State-Illinois

After writing multiple pieces about the sorry state of the Ohio State running game, I’ve got to give them some credit this week. It wasn’t perfect, but there were some really nice moments. Overall, the blocking appeared to be much better, and so were the backs. Still had a few times when it looked like C.J. Donaldson or Bo Jackson could have broken a tackle and gotten more yards, but I saw some definite progress (without benching Tegra Tshabola, it should be noted).

Seeing them really get it in gear in the fourth quarter was certainly meaningful after the opposite happened at Wisconsin (which has a better run defense than Penn State, admittedly).

Even if you remove Bo Jackson’s 51-yard run, he averaged a solid 4.5 yards per carry while James Peoples flashed a couple of times, too.

(Did that Jackson run remind anyone of Knowles’ defense getting gashed on that field by Michigan in 2022, or what is just me?)

Overall, the Buckeyes averaged 6.5 yards per carry in the second half after getting only 3.5 in the first, and the running game remained pretty diverse. Success seemed to be spread out evenly between the zone and gap plays, too.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

I thought Ohio State might dial back the heavy sets on offense after the success of the passing game at Wisconsin, but they kept at it and were rewarded with not only a better running game but a touchdown for third tight end Bennett Christian.

They also scored yet again with an iso run out of the I formation…

Forgive me, for I was wrong in my Friday newsletter.

Penn State did not, in fact, look like a top 10 team, at least outside of a handful of plays.

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki did empty the bag of tricks, as expected, while Jim Knowles…. I’m not really sure what Jim Knowles did.

OK, he did get the better of Ryan Day and Brian Hartline on one Ohio State red zone trip in the second quarter. He opted to play coverage against 11 personnel and ended up forcing a throwaway on third-and-goal, leading to a field goal.

That was certainly the highlight of the day for the Penn State defense aside from the fumble, which probably should have been blown dead but wasn’t.

Maybe there is just no poison you want to pick when you face this Ohio State offense, but Knowles didn’t seem to come up with much that bothered the Buckeyes. He had a few successful blitzes, but he also left his sub-par coverage guys out the dry multiple times. And that did not come at the expense of the Ohio State running game…

A friend texted me to say he was concerned about the run defense in the first half, but it looked to me like Ohio State was able to stop the run whenever the Buckeyes were really worried about doing so.

Kaytron Allen, a very tough back, got 26 yards on the first play and 50 on his last 20 carries. The Nittany Lions found success with that jumbo set with extra offensive linemen overloading one side, but that is not exactly something you can do up and down the field.

I thought nose tackle Kayden McDonald was really noticeable most of the afternoon, and he ended up with eight tackles. That might be the most important player on the defense given what he allows Matt Patricia to do with the front. Of course there are a lot of candidates for that title.

Yet again we saw Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs all over the field making plays. They make any defensive coordinator look smart.

What did you think? Email me or comment below.

And, as always, thanks for reading!