Inside the failed Penn State goal-to-go series that sunk it against Ohio State

STATE COLLEGE — No. 3 Penn State will no longer hold that ranking after today and also has its first loss after suffering a 20-13 setback at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. There are many reasons why the Lions, yet again, found themselves on the wrong end of a major matchup with the Buckeyes. But the two that will stick out to many should never happen once in the same game, let alone twice. Yet, as head coach James Franklin’s team looks to move on, it will first have to look back and figure out why it managed to reach the OSU three-yard-line twice, once in each half, and not come away with points either time.

The first instance is easier to explain, or at least to understand. Quarterback Drew Allar marched the Lions into goal-to-go territory late in the first half. A touchdown would have put the team ahead at halftime, while a field goal would have pulled it within 14-13. The Lions, instead, came away empty after a nice fade throw to Trey Wallace bounced off his hands and into the arms of Buckeyes’ defensive back Davison Igbinosun for a backbreaking interception. It was an unfortunate play, but also one indicative of a bigger problem: Penn State receivers continue to not consistently make big plays when they’re needed most.

More: Penn State-Ohio State takeaways: Lions can’t cash in as offense struggles in latest loss to the Buckeyes

The second instance will be harder for fans and everyone within the program to move on from. The Lions beautifully schemed a Tyler Warren run, one of the few times it was able to feature him on this day, and he rumbled to the OSU 3. It set up 1st and goal, with plenty of time to go in the fourth quarter, and gave Penn State the chance to score and either tie the game with an extra point or potentially go for two to take the lead. It was the exact moment Andy Kotlenicki was brought to Penn State for. But, the results could not have been more underwhelming.

Three straight Kaytron Allen runs up the middle produced two yards, setting up a pivotal 4th and 1 with a little more than five minutes to go. Kotelnici finally decided to go to the air. Allar took a shotgun snap and wanted Warren, but he was taken away. Penn State ran every route to the same side of the end zone, leading to a jumbled mess. Backup tight end Khalil Dinkins, who may have been interfered with, never had a chance to catch Allar’s pass anyway, and just like that, Penn State’s final chance to take the lead evaporated.

“We had a play call, and we had a man-zone option,” Warren said. “They kind of zoned it off. So we went to the zone side and that was that.”

Added Allar:

“It was basically just a pass. We wanted to get it to Tyler Warren. The safety or nickel, did a good job of playing over the top of it and driving it. It would’ve been a bang-bang play short of the goal line or incomplete. Then, I was looking at Dinkins. We just didn’t connect on it.  “

The Lions must fix this moving forward

Coming up short in the red zone is not a new issue for Penn State this season. It has kicked too many field goals inside of the opponent’s 20-yard line this season. This was worse than that, of course. It will now be up to Kotelnicki and his players to figure out why they failed in two critical moments that could have changed the game. It may not matter next week or the week after, but at some point this season, it will again. And, the outcomes cannot be the same.

“It’s just executing,” running back Nicholas Singleton said. “We made a lot of mistakes. We’re not perfect. But the games like this, we can’t do those mistakes. We have to figure it out through film.”