Ohio State football: Giving credit where it is due

During and after the Ohio State football team’s 33-24 dogfight win over Penn State, I saw many opinions from insiders criticizing a couple of Buckeye units. While some were quite justified, I felt much was not. So, I want to give credit where it is due.

The offensive line was rightly criticized in the first half for struggling with run blocking and throughout the game for short yardage failures. While they too often did not get near enough push in short-yardage, I can’t put all the blame on this unit. Ryan Day’s unimaginative play-calling made it easy for Penn State to jam the middle with more bodies than could be blocked.

Let’s give this group some credit it deserves. After TreVeyon Henderson rushed for just twenty yards in the first half, adjustments were made, and the Buckeye offensive line helped him explode for 132 yards in the second half. Credit must also be given for their work in protecting C.J. Stroud.

Penn State brought a lot of pressure in the first quarter and was very disruptive. But, for the remainder of the game, this unit gave Stroud time to find his receivers. The Buckeye quarterback was not sacked, and the Nittany Lions were credited with just one hurry. The offensive line was not perfect, but I don’t think they were nearly as bad as some have claimed.

The defense came under a lot of criticism for allowing Sean Clifford to throw for 361 yards. Keep this in mind: to reach that total he had to throw the ball 52 times. That comes out to a very unimpressive less than seven yards per attempt.

Penn State had to throw it so much because the Buckeye defense made them one-dimensional by taking away their run game. If you don’t include yardage lost to sacks, they averaged less than two yards per carry. I’m in total disagreement with one national writer who claimed Clifford picked apart OSU whenever they blitzed.

Most of the time he made a bad throw or just plain had to throw it away in those situations. The majority of his completions came on bubble screens and against soft zones. The Buckeyes sacked him four times and were credited with five quarterback hurries.

They also forced three turnovers that were turned into ten points. Ryan Day said the defense won the game for the Buckeyes. I’ll put far more stock in his opinion than those who are paid to write or talk about the game.

Lastly, let’s give some credit to Penn State. Just as they always do, they played like madmen against the Buckeyes. You don’t think they’re dying to beat OSU? Head coach James Franklin admitted they worked on Ohio State for two weeks.

In other words, they pretty much sacrificed their game with Illinois to get ready for the Buckeyes. While OSU’s biggest rival is Michigan, without question the Nittany Lions’ fiercest rival is Ohio State. They threw everything they could at the Buckeyes. Give them some credit for making life difficult for OSU.

It wasn’t perfect, but it also wasn’t nearly as bad as some make it. The Ohio State football team still won by two scores. Ryan Day says survive and advance. If the Buckeyes keep winning, everything will take care of itself.