Ohio State finally took 'action' in win over Penn State, altering our view of the Buckeyes' ceiling
Ohio State had just completed a goal line stand to keep a touchdown lead in a physical game against a hungry Penn State team in front of a record crowd in Beaver Stadium.
After the deflating turnover on downs, the ball was situated on the Ohio State 1-yard line. There was only 5:13 remaining in the game.
Lights. Camera… Action.
That’s a word Ryan Day likes to say a lot. It’s not about talking. It’s about doing. It’s not about competing hard in close games. It’s about winning those close games. In tough moments against good teams with season-altering games on the line, how will Ohio State respond? That’s how Day is ultimately judged.
By … Action.
Behind a beaten-up offensive line that had been criticized and questioned for the previous seven days, Ohio State finally took action.
A program that has lost so many of these pivotal and winnable games under Day’s leadership because of a single play, mistake, or call had finally had enough. The Buckeyes ran 10 offensive plays — all runs — and punched Penn State in the mouth repeatedly. Some were hard-nosed runs by Quinshon Judkins. Others were from quarterback Will Howard. But time and time again, Ohio State picked up crucial yards as the clock kept ticking.
Penn State never touched the ball again. Ohio State won 20-13. But the most important thing was that the Buckeyes, on that drive, were what they had failed to be at times in the past. They were everything they were supposed to be this year. Bullying. Overwhelming. Dominant. Talented. Ohio State was just a monster another top-five team couldn’t physically handle.
Talk about catharsis for Ohio State fans.
Finally.
Finally.
Finally.
“To finish that drive the way we did is just going to springboard our physicality, our toughness as we head into the back half of the season,” Day said after the game. “These guys won it. One of the things we talked about this week was that in life, you’re going to have these opportunities where you have to go will yourself to win. You have to go take something. You have to find out a way to get that thing done, whether it’s for your family, your career or the game of football. Our guys did that today.”
Ohio State spent the first half of its season blowing out overmatched opponents. It looked so dominant against bad teams it was easy to assume these Buckeyes were going to be equal to the sum of their talented parts. They looked great. They looked like the favorite to win the national championship.
But then Ohio State went to Oregon and lost a heartbreaker Oct. 13, losing star offensive tackle Josh Simmons to a season-ending injury. A Day late and a dollar short. Again.
Then after a two-week break, the Buckeyes returned home and laid an egg against Nebraska in a near-loss at home in which it looked completely incapable of replacing Simmons. Ohio State couldn’t run the ball. It couldn’t block. It looked lethargic. It looked like a team that wasn’t anywhere close to a national title contender. To make matters worse, Zen Michalski, the offensive tackle who replaced Simmons, was injured at the end of the game against the Cornhuskers.
That set up this entire week, where the discourse was about not only how Ohio State’s offensive line was in deep trouble but also about how the Buckeyes could have a $20 million roster and no answers for an offensive line injury. Those hurt, but they’re also very common. Heading into a matchup against Penn State, a team that has future top-10 NFL Draft selection Abdul Carter, the situation seemed dire.
Ohio State came out with an entirely new offensive line alignment against Penn State. Star guard Donovan Jackson kicked out to left tackle, matching up with Carter for a lot of that game. Carson Hinzman, who started all of Ohio State’s 12 regular-season games at center a year ago but found himself out of the starting lineup this year, stepped in at left guard. Jackson played admirably. Hinzman played like he was offended he could ever not start.
Ohio State found its new offensive line alignment. You can question why they didn’t discover this during the two weeks leading up to Nebraska, but it doesn’t matter. Ohio State won the Nebraska game and came into Penn State ready to prove it’s season has plenty of life.
It all culminated in that final drive.
This may feel like a redemption tour for Day. It’s a top-five win and those matter, especially when he came into the game with a 2-7 record in these games. Don’t move the goal posts now and say Penn State stinks or that he isn’t Ohio State’s coach to beat the Nittany Lions. That was a huge win, one that likely locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff for these Buckeyes.
But what this actually does is set up for Ohio State is a chance to prove it can do it again.
It’s a chance, to, well, take action.