Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Ohio State run- ning back Ezekiel Elliott was a horse for the Buckeyes Saturday night, producing one steady run after another. He fin- ished with 153 yards on 27 carries, plus a touchdown. Otherwise, Penn State's Saquon Barkley was the star with his 26 carries for 194 yards. PLAY OF THE GAMEWith Penn State trailing by 14 and facing a crucial fourth-and-2 at Ohio State's 13-yard line, quarterback Christian Hackenberg didn't see Barkley standing wide open to his right. It would almost certainly have gone for a touch- down, but instead, the junior sig- nal-caller was brought down in the backfield by Ohio State's Tommy Schutt, ending the scoring threat and, effectively, Penn State's chance at a comeback. BEST PASSJ.T. Barrett's best im- personation of the Tim Tebow jump shot for a touchdown was worthy of its inspiration. The play was one of two final nails in Penn State's coffin on the night. BEST RUNPick one: Was it Barrett's 14-yard touchdown to put Ohio State up 21-3 in the second quarter? For our money, it was Braxton Miller's direct snap, faking a pitch and running into the heart of Penn State's defense. The former QB bounced out of it, backward, sprung to his left, and scurried 15 yards for a Buckeye first down. He looked like he was a video game character. Had the Buckeyes not been so phenomenal, Barkley's return produced its own set of highlights, especially his 56-yarder in the fourth quarter. BEST CATCHHow on earth did Chris Godwin come down with Hackenberg's first attempt of the second half? In one-on-one coverage, Godwin wasn't open, but the ball bobbled for a full sec- ond before landing squarely in his arms, which he then took an additional 15 yards downfield to complete the 56- yard completion. It stands as Penn State's longest pass play of the season. WORST DROPThere's really only one option in this category. With the Nit- tany Lions driving down the field early against the Buckeyes and already lead- ing, 3-0, Hackenberg's well-placed ball to tight end Mike Gesicki was flat-out botched. What would have been a con- nection deep into Buckeye territory wound up as a simple incompletion. BEST SACKAlready in the shadow of his own end zone, Penn State quarter- back Hackenberg was met abruptly by Adolphus Washington early in the third quarter. The sack went for a 5-yard loss and pinned the Nittany Lions even deeper. BEST HITStuck in the arms of An- thony Zettel, OSU quarterback Cardale Jones was met from behind by an ab- solute steamroll from Nittany Lion de- fensive end Carl Nassib. The combined sack was Penn State's first of the game. BEST EFFORTHackenberg's screen pass to DaeSean Hamilton at the start of the second half looked like a nice pickup for a handful of yards in the red zone. Instead, running a tightrope down the sideline, Hamilton managed to go full extension to score the Nittany Lions' only touchdown of the evening. BEST KICKOhio State's specialists weren't knocking home clutch field goals, but the precision punting and kickoffs were remarkable. Penn State's average field position was its own 17- yard line. Such a dynamic contrast to Penn State's kicking situation. WORST KICKFollowing a tough se- quence late in the first quarter when Barkley's touchdown carry was called back because of a hold, after which Hackenberg took a 7-yard sack, Chris Gulla failed to provide a silver lining by helping flip field position. His 28-yard punt gave Ohio State possession at its own 30 instead of pinned deep. Daniel Pasquariello's 29-yarder in the third quarter was a backbreaker, too. The Lions' punting was, to put it diplomati- cally, atrocious. BEST DECISIONPenn State bottled up Ohio State's passing game through the first quarter. So Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer turned to Barrett, Miller and Jones to carry the ball. Elliott capped the five-play, 45-yard touchdown drive with a 10-yard highlight reel run. The Buckeyes stuck with the run and gashed the Lions the rest of the evening. WORST DECISIONDesperately needing to respond to Ohio State's first touch- down, Penn State's third-and-short call to Barkley led to a takedown in the back- field. The Buckeyes soon had the ball again and all of the game's momentum. MOST TELLING MOMENTBarrett en- tered as the Buckeyes' quarterback to open the second quarter, and he and El- liott traded carries until Barrett and the sped-up Buckeye offense walked in for an easy 5-yard touchdown. Barrett's ar- rival coincided with the Buckeyes' first points of the game on a 10-play, 70- yard drive. He changes the game for Ohio State. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' loss to Ohio State O c T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O m 4 PLAYER OF THE GAME El- liott rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries against the Nittany Lions. Photo by Steve Manuel

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