3 takeaways from Ohio State football’s 33-24 win vs PSU

While the Ohio State football team’s win against Penn State was not in the dominant fashion many expected, the Buckeyes walked away with their first top 25 matchup of the season.

Ohio State is certainly capable of playing a much better game than what they did Saturday night, so some disappointment is understandable. However, I was still personally surprised by how many people wrote off Penn State all week. It seems no matter the circumstances, the Nittany Lions manage to give OSU their best shot every season. That was true yet again in Saturday’s game.

Some of the expectations for the Bucks to dominate from start to finish were a little too lofty, especially when it seems PSU prepared for their matchup against OSU for two weeks. Even though a lot went wrong for Ohio State, this was still a good win that will lead to growth on this football team.

Here are three takeaways from Ohio State’s 33-24 win over Penn State.

1. The Buckeye defense won the game in a tightly-contested affair

Off the bat, let’s discuss the good. The Silver Bullets were flying on Saturday night and were the difference in the game.

The defense did give up too much yardage, particularly in the air with 361 passing yards allowed. The rushing defense was great yet again allowing only 33 yards and 1.1 yards per attempt. This forced Penn State to settle with using screens and bubble routes in bulk to use as an extension of the run game.

It was frustrating so much yardage was given up on what felt like 4-5 of the same plays called by PSU. Even with a lot of passing yards allowed, the corner play for Ohio State was great. This reason alone should prove why there shouldn’t be major concerns in the secondary going forward.

Denzel Burke’s name was rarely called throughout the night, which is a good thing for corners. Burke held up extremely well on his side of the field and was not beat consistently by any means.

What’s really exciting is how well Cam Brown played in coverage. Brown’s interception was huge, but his coverage was fantastic as he rarely gave up anything.

Any defensive back allowing a 2.8 passer rating is unheard of. Don’t think Brown hardly played either, he had 44 snaps on the night. This defense is going to be quite good going forward if Brown starts playing this well.

Another aspect that was huge for the defense was the exceptional level linebacker Steele Chambers played at yet again. Unfortunately, his night was ended short due to targeting and he will miss the first half of Nebraska. When Chambers was on the field, this defense was playing their best football of the year.

The pass rush was fabulous as well with their four sacks. After that first quarter, the defensive line was generating pressure all night.

What truly won the night was the Buckeye defense forcing three turnovers. None were handouts either as one was a strip-sack, one was an interception after Sean Clifford was hit, and another was a strip by Marcus Williamson. Plus, the defensive touchdown from Jerron Cage was the game-changer of the contest.

Overall, OSU’s defense is continuing to get better and better. With so many young players being huge factors, this defense still has plenty of room for growth.