By Kyle Golik
The old adage, it takes one to know one, applies with former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer complementing current Ohio State coach Ryan Day on his 20-13 win on the road at No. 3 Penn State.
“This is one of the most impressive wins in the Ryan Day era,” Meyer said during FOX’s Postgame show.
Meyer, who was up against it in the 2017 classic at Ohio State, saw his Buckeye trailing 35-20 entering the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, Ohio State completed the 39-38 comeback against then the No. 2 Penn State team – a high in the Franklin era, as Ohio State outscored Penn State 19-3.
Meyer always referred to this game as one of his signature wins in his career, always citing the toughness Ohio State had to demonstrate with their backs against the wall.
Similar to the 2017 bunch, this year’s Buckeyes were facing similar obstacles.
After losing an all-time classic at Autzen Stadium against Oregon, Ohio State seeming sluggish. Against Nebraska, the Cornhuskers were able to limit the number of opportunities for Ohio State and the game was a lot closer than expected.
More Sports News
Ohio State’s defense dug deep against Nebraska and completed a goal-line stand that helped preserve a 21-17 win.
This week, it seemed Penn State was finally going to get Ohio State. Early in the first quarter, Penn State raced to a 10-0 lead after a Zion Tracy pick-six. Ohio State had to find themselves and knowing how to handle these situations they made adjustments.
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard settled down and later in the first quarter, on a misdirection play Howard was able to locate wide receiver Emeka Egbuka for the opening touchdown.
“What he gives us is a toughness at quarterback… He had a look in his eye all week that he was not going to lose this game,” Day said following the game about Howard’s performance. It makes sense, as the Pennsylvania native never got recruited by his in-state school.
Howard was gritty and had resolve, after connecting with wide receiver Brandon Inniss at the head of the first half, there was a sense the momentum fully swung for Ohio State.
Much like against Nebraska, the defense was called in crunch time to once again dial up their specialty: the goal line stand.
Penn State had gotten the ball to the Ohio State three-yard line behind a 33-yard run by tight end Tyler Warren. It positioned Penn State to get the tying touchdown. As Penn State got closer, the Ohio State defensive line did not allow running back Kaytron Allen to get to the one-yard line.
With Penn State facing a fourth and goal, the defense was expecting something from Tyler Warren or another gadget play in offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s playbook. Instead, Penn State opted to pass and quarterback Drew Allar had no real good open options and tried to thread the needle to tight Khalil Dinkins only to have it fall incomplete.
“It comes down to the players. Coaches can put you in a situation, but the players have got to go do it. They did it, and I’m proud of them”, Day said after the game about the stop and the ensuing drive that milked the final 5:13 of game time.
If anything reinforced the toughness of Ohio State, it was how their offensive line dominated an elite Penn State unit, one that entered the game in the Top 10 of the nation against the run, and took it to them.
Penn State tried to fool Ohio State, but Ohio State didn’t play games when the stakes were the highest. There were no gadget plays or package swaps, it was dominance in the trenches and 11 straight runs to bury Penn State.
If anyone was questioning Ohio State’s toughness before this game, after this test no one should. “You get questioned about your toughness. You get questioned about your offensive line. All you have to do is show a 58-yard drive, 11-straight runs against a Penn State team in this stadium to close out a game,” Meyer said. “Their toughness was there, the offensive line — to me — won this football game.”
Ohio State recognized the gravity of the situation, if they lost it was a potential playoff elimination game for them. They would have needed help getting in, now all their goals are in front of them. They can seek a rematch with Oregon in Indianapolis for the Big Ten playoff and now the College Football Playoff door is wide open.
“We were at a crossroads. This was a big game for us. We didn’t want to publicly say that. We said that behind closed doors. This was a big game for us,” Day said after the game.
Any doubters of Ohio State and Day will exist, you can still downplay them over their dominance of Penn State but you know Penn State really wanted this just as bad as the Buckeyes. Day proved once again when Ohio State needed a big one, he can get it done. If this is the game where Ohio State hits it stride, it could signify a coronation in their rivalry with Michigan and avenge a loss to Oregon.
“Guys came back on this team for a reason. It was to go win the rivalry game (vs. Michigan), win the Big Ten championship and win a national championship,” Day said, and all of it is true because they know how to win the biggest games that matter.
