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Penn State football report card after first loss of the year

Penn State football report card after first loss of the year

Matthew O’Haren-Imagn images

Figure: c

On some level, when judging this game, you have to point your hand at Ohio State. The Buckeyes were the favorite and proved why. They’re just better, just like they have been for the past decade. But that doesn’t make this any less frustrating from Penn State’s perspective. For years, the benchmark for the Nittany Lions has been what they do against Ohio State and Michigan. And time and time again, the offense has failed to do its part to get this team past the Buckeyes. Two trips to the red zone yielded no points, and that simply can’t happen against an opponent of this caliber.

The defense kept the game within shooting distance for as long as possible, but was unable to give the attack a chance in the fourth quarter. Of course, there was little reason to think it would have made any difference at all. So it’s somewhat back to the drawing board for Penn State, but the good news is there will be no more regular season games against this tough opponent. However, there is work to be done.

Penn State will be back home next week for its first Big Ten game against new conference member Washington. A start time for next week’s match has not yet been announced.