COLUMBUS, Ohio — The era of annual Ohio State-Penn State games came to an anti-climactic end on Saturday.
The top-ranked Buckeyes dominated the Nittany Lions 38-14 for their ninth consecutive win in the series heading into a two-year pause. The two teams have met every year since Penn State joined the Big Ten.
What was expected to be a top-five matchup before the season was far from it, as Penn State has yet to earn a Power 4 win as it searches for a new head coach. But despite it being such a one-sided game, there was actually a decent amount to take away from going forward for Ohio State heading into its final stretch against Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan.
Julian Sayin can win the Heisman
It seems like each week I rewatch the Ohio State game and think, “That was Sayin’s best game so far.” It was true again on Saturday.
Sayin has thrown for 2,188 yards and ranks first in the FBS in completion rate (80.7 percent), second in yards per attempt (10.0) and third in touchdowns (23), all while throwing just three interceptions. His completion rate is more than seven percentage points better than second-place Demond Williams Jr. of Washington (73.1).
Sayin has made throws short and long and is growing with medium throws up the seam. He also hasn’t been intercepted since Sept. 13.
For most of the season, I thought the best way to make Sayin uncomfortable would be to pressure him, which is why I was looking forward to this game even though Penn State has been struggling. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles can find unique ways to pressure the quarterback, and defensive ends Chaz Coleman and Dani Dennis-Sutton can rush the passer with the best of them.
That’s what happened on Saturday: Ohio State gave up 10 pressures against the Nittany Lions and a 41.7 pressure rate, the highest of the season, per TruMedia. And yet Sayin responded in the best way possible. He completed 6 of 9 attempts when under pressure for 158 yards with two touchdowns. Though his three incompletions came against pressure, he made the right decision to throw the ball away as opposed to forcing it.
Sayin has completed 33 of 47 passes under pressure for 455 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. His 189.4 passer rating while under pressure is the highest in the country, according to TruMedia.
Sayin has four more yards, three more touchdowns and two more interceptions than Alabama’s Ty Simpson in the same number of games. Sayin also has 64 more yards, two less touchdowns and one less interception, in one less game, than Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. There’s a case to be made for all, but Sayin got my vote in this week’s Heisman straw poll at The Athletic — and he’s up to second behind Mendoza in the poll.
I understand Penn State is a shell of what we thought, but if Sayin continues to develop at this pace, is Ohio State unstoppable?
I’m not sure I’m convinced of that answer yet, but it sure seems like scoring 17 points on the Buckeyes’ defense is already impossible. Add in Sayin playing this well, with this receiving corps, and I’m not exactly sure what opponents can do against the Buckeyes.
Carnell Tate has been embarrassing defensive backs
Though Jeremiah Smith got most of the offseason buzz, I expected Tate to be one of the best receivers in the country too. Still, I didn’t quite expect just how good he’s been so far.
He’s caught 39 passes for 711 yards and seven touchdowns, leading the Big Ten with an average of 18.2 yards per catch. According to TruMedia, he leads the FBS with an average of 15.5 yards per target. He also has zero drops.
Tate makes defensive backs look like they’re moving in slow motion, especially in open space. This touchdown, which came off a double move leaving the defender in the dust, was as impressive as any contested catch he made this year:
Tate already proved last season that he was one of the best route-runners in college football. He also has exceptional awareness on the sidelines, and he’s become one of the best deep ball threats in the country.
Through eight games, Tate has been targeted 10 times on passes beyond 20 yards; he’s caught nine of them for 383 yards and five touchdowns.
He’s benefiting from the coverages teams have to put over Smith, but that shouldn’t take away from how easy Tate is making football look right now. He tracks the ball well in the air, has good hands, can run every route on the field and looks like a lock to be Ohio State’s sixth first-round pick receiver in the past five years.
Ohio State’s best rushing performance in Big Ten play
The Buckeyes ran for 164 yards and averaged 5.13 yards per carry, both their best since the Ohio game.
Penn State’s rushing defense is not good, as the linebackers are banged up and the ones on the field aren’t up to par. Still, I was impressed by a few things in the run game.
First, I thought the tight ends did a great job run blocking. In the past few games, especially against Illinois, Ohio State struggled to target the right defenders, and even when they were on target, the fundamentals were off, and defenders made plays in the backfield too easily.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday. The targeting part doesn’t have as much to do with Penn State’s inability to stop the run; it’s more about Ohio State being focused on it, in my opinion. I thought Max Klare was better, and Will Kacmarek was as good as expected.
Second, I thought the freshman running back pair of Bo Jackson and Isaiah West was terrific at running through contact and around defenders. Jackson had 13 carries for 105 yards, averaging 8.1 yards per carry. And though West had just 13 yards on four carries, he looked the part. James Peoples had a nice 11-yard run, too.
As annoying as it might be for fans, Ohio State is going to continue to play all four running backs — also including CJ Donaldson, who fumbled against Penn State. But it’s becoming clear that when the Playoff begins, Jackson will get the bulk of the carries. Ohio State just doesn’t want to burn him out yet.
A healthier Kenyatta Jackson is a scary sight
The first half of the season wasn’t easy for Jackson. The defensive end was injured in the opener against Texas and battled some other injuries, but the second off week seemed to help him.
Saturday was his best game of the year. He dominated Penn State’s offensive line.
Jackson is the far-side edge rusher on this snap, and it looks like he’s in a contain assignment, tasked to keep quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer in the pocket. He’s not moving much and just looks content keeping the offensive lineman in place, but once he realizes Grunkemeyer isn’t going anywhere, he throws his man to the side to make the sack.
He finished with seven pressures and two sacks, and he was engaged in the run game as well.
Though Ohio State struggled against toss sweeps from the Nittany Lions, Jackson did a nice job of disrupting the plays in the backfield even when he didn’t make the tackle.
All eyes on Ann Arbor
With the Penn State game in the rearview mirror, it’s hard not to look ahead to Nov. 29 at Michigan.
Though this game won’t be quite as important as the 2022 and 2023 top-three matchups that determined a Playoff spot, it’s shaping up to be important for both teams, beyond Ohio State trying to end its rivalry losing streak.
Ohio State will be favored heavily in its next three games against Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers. Michigan will also be favored on the road against Northwestern and Maryland. If Ohio State goes to Michigan undefeated and the Wolverines have just two losses, not only will Michigan be playing for a Playoff berth, but they’ll be playing to send the winner to the Big Ten title game.
There are a lot of tiebreaker scenarios, but if Ohio State loses to Michigan, both teams will have one Big Ten loss and the Wolverines will have the head-to-head tiebreaker. There are other teams involved right now like Iowa, USC and Oregon, but the Hawkeyes and Ducks play this weekend, while USC plays both Oregon and Iowa in the next few weeks.
Though it seems like Ohio State and Indiana are on a crash course for the Big Ten title game, there’s still a lot of football to be played as Ohio State pursues its first Big Ten title since 2019 and a No. 1 seed with a trip to the Rose Bowl.