STATE COLLEGE, PA – It was unlikely that Ohio would pull off a repeat of its 2012 upset of Penn State in State College, but it looked particularly inept, especially on the offensive end, in Saturday's 46-10 blowout loss.
In a drive at the end of the first half, Ohio took the ball 75 yards on eight plays for a touchdown. Ohio called multiple trick plays and looked like it might have finally found something that worked on offense.
However, it was not to be, as the Bobcats didn't enter Nittany Lions' territory again until the fourth quarter. Outside of that one drive, they had just 108 yards on 10 drives in the first three quarters of play. Those drives ended in seven punts, a safety, a turnover on downs and the end of the first half.
That may be expected when Ohio is facing as big of a talent disadvantage as it was Saturday. Still, after a dazzling offensive display against Florida Atlantic in week one, Ohio would have hoped to look a bit better on that side of the ball against Penn State.
Kurtis Rourke, who threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns in week one, struggled mightily Saturday, completing 14 of his 30 passes for just 119 yards. Sieh Bangura, who was Ohio's leading rusher in week one with 114 yards, couldn't get anything going on the ground with just 25 yards on seven carries.
While the rest of the game looked dire for Ohio's offense, its touchdown drive inspired some confidence. A couple of well-designed trick plays, including a pass to Rourke from wide receiver Jacoby Jones, helped cut Penn State's lead to just 12 with about 1:30 remaining in the first half.
The touchdown also came after Ohio's defense kept Penn State out of the end zone on three straight drives, their best stretch of the night. But that trend would not continue, as Penn State drove right down the field and got the lead back up to 19.
That drive featured a 34-yard pass from Sean Clifford to Parker Washington, one of a number of big plays for Penn State.
"(We allowed) too many big plays," head coach Tim Albin said. "We had some missed tackles, but they've got some great players in space."
While Ohio's defense gave up 46 points, the defensive line, which Albin has focused on a lot this season, was one of the few bright spots. They kept consistent pressure on the quarterback, generating five sacks.
"That's (Coach Nowinsky's) track record, to get to the quarterback," Albin said. "But I thought we left two or three out there."
Games are often won and lost in the trenches, and while that was certainly the case Saturday, it happened in two very different ways. Ohio's defensive line was able to get to the quarterback but was gashed for 234 yards rushing and an average of 6.9 yards per carry.
On the other side, Ohio's offensive line was solid in pass protection, allowing only one sack, but couldn't get any push in the running game and Ohio rushed for just 100 yards.
Some of the optimism from last week's season-opening win is gone, but there are still reasons to believe that Ohio has turned a corner.
While it is clear that there will be growing pains in year two under Albin, Ohio is on the road back to the top end of the Mid-American Conference.
