Blue White Illustrated

lied for a 39-38 victory. At one point in the second quarter, the Lions were up by 18 points, but behind the pinpoint pass- ing of J.T. Barrett, Ohio State was able to put together its biggest comeback in two decades. The Buckeyes played a mistake-ridden game, full of penalties, special teams gaffes and turnovers. Penn State was able to take advantage on several occasions, scoring first-half touchdowns on a kick- off return and a pair of short-field op- portunities. The Lions had the lead for 58 minutes even though they were out- gained, 529 yards to 283. But in the end, Barrett was too hot to handle. The senior completed 33 of 39 passes for 328 yards and four touch- downs, shredding a Penn State defense that had gone into the a>ernoon allow- ing only 9.6 points per game. "More than anything, I'm hurting for those kids in that locker room," James Franklin said. "We didn't finish. We had an opportunity. I thought we played good, but obviously not good enough." The second-ranked Lions dropped to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, as sixth-ranked Ohio State (7-1, 5-0) seized the lead in the race for the Big Ten East Division title. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • Saquon Barkley showed yet again that Penn State's coaching staff made the right call in electing to use him on kickoff returns. His 97-yard return to open the game gave the Lions a nice head start. And that wasn't their only big play in the return game. Koa Farmer, who returned kicks earlier in his career, had a 60-yard runback to set up a touchdown a>er Ohio State began pooching its kickoffs to avoid giving Barkley a chance to make a play in the open field. • Trace McSorley was under heavy duress all night but still managed to complete 17 of 29 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 49 rushing yards and another TD on the ground. • Ohio State ended Penn State's streak of holding opponents scoreless in the first quarter, but the Nittany Lions did lead 14-3 a>er 15 minutes, so their quick- start trend continued. THE BAD • Once the Buckeyes stopped beating themselves with penalties – they fin- ished the game with 10 for 79 yards in losses – they had a lot of success against a Penn State defense that had been al- lowing only 282.9 yards per game. In ad- dition to his accurate passing, Barrett rushed for 95 yards, while running back J.K. Dobbins added 88 on only 13 carries. "I think as the game went on, their of- fensive line was able to protect the quar- terback, and he got very comfortable," Franklin said. "When you have a quarter- back who's played that much football, and he's standing in the pocket, with the athleticism and speed that they have at wide receiver, it's going to cause a long day." • Penn State's offensive line wasn't able to handle the Buckeyes' powerful defen- sive front. The Lions managed only 91 rushing yards on 35 carries, as Ohio State racked up 13 tackles for loss. With their ability to make plays in the backfield, the Buckeyes repeatedly put Penn State in daunting second- and third-and-long situations, helping account for their suc- cess. Barkley, who had enjoyed two big games against Ohio State earlier in his career, rushed for only 44 yards on 21 carries, and 36 of those yards came on a single carry – a second-quarter touch- down run. Nor were the Lions able to give McSor- ley a clean pocket. He was sacked only twice but was under constant pressure. Said Franklin, "We're not protecting well, and we're not running the ball." SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 14:45 PSU Barkley, Saquon 97-yard kickoff return (Davis, Tyler kick)..........................................................................7-0 11:36 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 13-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 23 yards, TOP 1:56........................................................14-0 4:38 OSU Nuernberger, S. 38-yard field goal 9 plays, 37 yards, TOP 2:58....................................................... 14-3 2ND 11:40 PSU Barkley, Saquon 36-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 81 yards, TOP 3:20........................................................ 21-3 9:32 OSU McLaurin, Terry 14-yard pass from Barrett, J.T. (Nuernberger, S. kick) 5 plays, 63 yards, TOP 2:01...................................................... 21-10 8:06 PSU McSorley, Trace 6-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 2 plays, 23 yards, TOP 1:08..................................................... 28-10 4:56 OSU Weber, Mike 2-yard run (Nuernberger, S. kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:10.................................................... 28-17 3RD 11:37 OSU Nuernberger, S. 36-yard field goal 10 plays, 57 yards, TOP 3:23.................................................. 28-20 7:25 PSU Thompkins, DeAndre 37-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 4:09................................................. 35-20 4TH 11:05 OSU Dixon, Johnnie 38-yard pass from Barrett, J.T. (Nuernberger, S. kick) 2 plays, 47 yards, TOP 0:34.................................................... 35-27 5:42 PSU Davis, Tyler 24-yard field goal 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 5:18...................................................38-27 4:20 OSU Dixon, Johnnie 10-yard pass from Barrett, J.T. (Dixon, Johnnie rush failed) 5 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:17.......................................................38-33 1:48 OSU Baugh, Marcus 1-yard pass from Barrett, J.T. (Barrett, J.T. rush failed) 5 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:19..................................................... 38-39 O c T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

• Cover