UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Justin Fields led No. 3-ranked Ohio State so well against No. 18 Penn State, even rare errors by the Buckeyes worked out in a 38-25 victory against the Nittany Lions Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
Fields threw for four touchdowns with 318 passing yards as he continued to build on an already impressive resume.
The loss gives the Nittany Lions their first 0-2 start since 2012. It is their first defeat in a home opener in seven years.
Fields and his squad came to Happy Valley to dominate. They showed anyone who still had championship ambitions after the Indiana loss what a real contender does when faced with an inferior opponent.
It took the Buckeyes three plays and less than 90 seconds to show how dominant they are. The monsters in Scarlet and Gray did it so quickly on the opening drive they didn’t need their All-American quarterback to do anything more than hand the ball off to a group of reliable runners.
Fields placed the ball in the hands of Garrett Wilson on the first play from scrimmage. Wilson deftly ran the jet sweep between the tackles on the way to a 62-yard run. That play set the tone for the Buckeyes.
"We weren't able to make them uncomfortable," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "They're a good team and they're going to make plays. We needed to make more big plays than we did. We knew we needed to score points coming into the game. We knew we would have to go for it on fourth down as often as possible."
Master Teague III got the next two carries. Fields handed it off to Teague as the Buckeyes offensive line bullied the Nittany Lions at the 13. Teague took it to the 4 then eased into the end zone to give the Buckeyes a 7-0 advantage on a drive that took 1:17.
The Buckeyes won the contest on the defensive and offensive line. Penn State had a paltry 44 yards rushing while the Buckeyes had 208. Ohio State averaged 4.6 yards per rush and held the Nittany Lions to 1.6 yards per attempt.
"We struggled to run the ball and protect our quarterback," Franklin said. "We did not win the line of scrimmage tonight. We couldn't get any tackles for loss on defense. We let our quarterback get hit too much and we struggled to run the ball."
Saturday, the Nittany Lions had one question to answer. It’s a simple question that kids asked when they’re in the backseat on a long car ride: “Are we there yet?” Penn State fans asked. The Buckeyes resoundingly said no. Every time there was an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to make it a closer game or even take the lead the Buckeyes would shut them down.
Quarterback Sean Clifford couldn’t get the offense going on the first drive. Franklin showed some moxie by going for it on fourth-and-2 with the ball on their 45. Franklin took a chance here; it’s the type of dice-rolling a team does when it knows it has to go deep in the trick bag to have a shot at winning.
"When you're playing a team like Ohio State, you have to be aggressive," Franklin said. "We went for it looking for an opportunity. We were trying to build some momentum."
Franklin's plan didn't work. Clifford threw an incompletion.
Fields then capped a five-play 45-yard scoring drive with a 26-yard pass to receiver Chris Olave for a 14-0 lead with 8:39 left in the first quarter. Joey Porter Jr. was all over Olave. Fields threw it in a spot where only Olave could catch it. Olave did because that’s what great players on great teams do.
The game wasn’t all bad. Jake Pinegar hit a 31-yard field goal with 2:57 left in the first quarter to put the Nittany Lions on the board. All things considered, 14-3 at the end of the first quarter wasn’t so bad.
The Nittany Lions defense, playing without linebacker Jesse Luketa for the first half, kept the Buckeyes relatively in check. A missed field goal in the second quarter by Blake Hauibel helped the cause. The Nittany Lions got a break at the end of the half.
Ohio State left one second on the clock in their final possession of the half. Both teams had to return from the locker room. Jordan Stout converted a 50-yard field goal for Penn State. The score at the half was 21-6.
Franklin thought the situation was bizarre with both teams having to come back on the field for the kick. However, he was happy to get an opportunity for points.
"It was big for us," Franklin said. "It was good to get on the board to end the half."
Clifford led the Lions on a 75-yard drive to start the second half. Jahan Datson caught a 14-yard pass from Clifford to bring the score to 21-13. The Nittany Lions had five first downs and 75 yards on the drive, which matched their total for the first half. Despite everything that didn’t go well, the Nittany Lions were within a touchdown.
Olave caught his second touchdown on a beautiful 49-yard pass from Fields with 2:33 left in third. Dominic DiMaccio hit a field goal with 1:33, and it was a 31-13 lead for the Buckeyes.
Dotson had one of the best one-handed catches you’ll see to bring the Nittany Lions to 38-25. Penn State tried a 2-point conversion that failed. The ensuing onside kick also failed.
A 13-point loss is never good. The Nittany Lions showed a lot of fight. But it wasn’t enough to even make it a single-digit game much less beat the Buckeyes.
Penn State isn’t ready for championship contention yet. Ohio State is, and Franklin’s 1-6 record against the Buckeyes proves it. The Nittany Lions’ dreams of a title ended before they started, just like the game. But they will have a game next week against Maryland at home that could start them toward the path to at least a good bowl game.
"We have to keep our heads up," Dotson said. "We are going to wake up on Sunday and go to practice. We aren't going to stop fighting."
Nubyjas Wilborn: nwilborn@post-gazette.com and Twitter @NubyjasW.
First Published: November 1, 2020, 4:08 a.m.
Updated: November 1, 2020, 1:35 p.m.
