Written by Bill Landis at Cleveland.com
Even when Ohio State has struggled under Urban Meyer, you more often than not felt comfortable that the Buckeyes would end up making the play they would need to win.
It didn’t happen on Saturday night at Penn State.
J.T. Barrett was sacked on fourth-and-23 in the final minute, and the Nittany Lions handed the No. 2 Buckeyes a 24-21 loss in front of 107,280 fans in Beaver Stadium.
Put in a position to drive 89 yards for at least a game-tying field goal, Barrett did all he could with poor pass protection, connecting on a pair of third-down throws to Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson to keep the drive alive. But on 3rd-and-10, Penn State linebacker Jason Cabinda came off the right edge to bring Barrett down for the fifth time on the night.
That set up the nearly impossible fourth-down conversion that handed Ohio State just its second regular season Big Ten loss under Urban Meyer.
Barrett finished 28-of-43 for 245 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) outgained Penn State 413-276 in total offense, but Penn State made the decisive plays to win the game.
Special teams blunders finally caught up to Ohio State in the fourth quarter. Marcus Allen blocked a 45-yard Tyler Durbin field goal attempt that was returned 60 yards by Grant Haley for a touchdown that gave Penn State a 24-21 lead with 4:27 left.
Another miscue allowed Penn State back in the game earlier in the quarter. A blocked punt put Ohio State’s defense on a short field, but the Buckeyes limited Penn State to a field goal that cut their lead to 21-17 with 9:33 left. That came after Penn State went 90 yards on five plays, including a 37-yard run by Saquon Barkley, to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 21-14 on a two-yard Trace McSorley run with 13:32 left.
Penn State outscored Ohio State 17-0 in the fourth quarter.
What it means
A rare loss for Ohio State under Meyer, who is now 56-5 as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio State can still win the Big Ten East Division if it wins out, including a win over Michigan on Nov. 26.
Why no Samuel?
Urban Meyer has routinely labeled Curtis Samuel Ohio State’s best offensive playmaker. And for the second time in three games he was largely absent from the gameplan.
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