CLEVELAND, Ohio — Give Penn State coach James Franklin a new, dynamic offensive coordinator. Give him a five-star wide receiver off of Ohio State’s roster. Give him a 10-0 lead, a fumble that negates an OSU touchdown, and four downs to gain three yards that would tie the game.
And what do you get?
More of the same. The Buckeyes beat Penn State 20-13 on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, marking eight straight wins against a program that is supposed to be on (or at least near) their level. The Nittany Lions are 56-12 at home since hiring coach James Franklin, and five of those losses (compared to one win) came against Ohio State. Franklin has now lost 18 of his 21 games against top 10 opponents, and 10 of those losses have come against Ohio State. Penn State’s vaunted front seven typically feasts against an offensive line starting two players at new positions, but this group of newbies played for, well, you know.
The Buckeyes have dominated Penn State for a decade. But Saturday’s short-handed road win, during which the Buckeyes met — or Penn State failed to meet — almost every winning moment, stamped Ohio State’s ownership of this conference “rivalry.”
That is, if we can still use such a word to describe this game.
...Franklin’s program also earned every disbelieving head scratch from viewers wondering how Ohio State gained 176 rushing yards (4.4 per carry) with a shuffling, struggling offensive line against the nation’s 13th-ranked rushing defense entering Saturday’s game.
Ohio State ran 11 straight run plays — and the last 5:13 off the clock — to close this game.
...Drew Allar....committed to Penn State with a plan to prove Ohio State wrong for passing over an in-state star. But in eight quarters against the Buckeyes, Allar has led one touchdown drive (last year with 29 seconds left in Penn State’s 20-12 loss). He didn’t complete a pass to a wide receiver or tight end on Saturday until Penn State’s final first-half possession. New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and Ohio State transfer receiver Julian Fleming (one catch, four yards) have changed nothing about Penn State’s Buckeye fortunes.
What could? Penn State is 0-2 with 18 offensive points against the Buckeyes since dipping into Ohio for the highest-rated quarterback recruit in modern school history. They’ve lost eight straight games to OSU, four straight at home and two straight after holding the Buckeyes to 21 points or fewer (OSU has six such total wins in the Ryan Day Era). The Buckeyes spotted Penn State 14 points early thanks to quarterback Will Howard’s pick-six and fumble through the end zone. They gave PSU four downs to gain three yards for the tie in the fourth quarter. Then OSU gave the Nittany Lions five minutes to stop the run against an injured, out-of-position offensive line.
How did the Franklin’s team respond?
With more of the same. It blew a double-digit lead against Ohio State for the third time under his leadership. It failed to score on three basic goal-line run plays — then a fourth basic pass play — on their would-be game-tying drive. It allowed four first downs on OSU’s 11-play, run-only, 58-yard drive to close the game, and it likely left the stadium thinking, unironically, “this close.”
We shouldn’t be surprised anymore, and I’m not sure we should still consider this game a “rivalry.” Because since Grant Haley’s blocked kick from 2016, we know how this game ends.
Penn State enters the week with a strong record, impressive roster and a new wrinkle designed to beat big brother. But no matter how many “scares” they give the Buckeyes, they muster the same, underwhelming result every time:
An empty threat.
There is contempt for PSU in this writer's words. You can read it, you can feel it.
