Penn State seeks rebound against OSU
COLUMBUS — After last week’s blowout of Indiana, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season.
At this point it would be bigger news if Stroud — or some other Buckeyes freshman — doesn’t take home the honor every week.
Stroud has the No. 5 Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) back on track after an early stumble and steamrolling through the conference schedule.
Now comes No. 20 Penn State for a Saturday night clash that lost a good deal of its luster after the Nittany Lions lost a baffling nine-overtime game to lowly Illinois last week that sent them tumbling 13 spots in the AP Top 25.
That has Penn State (5-2, 2-2), an 18 1/2-point underdog, trying to bounce back after two straight losses that have generated a vitriolic avalanche of social media griping and second-guessing.
“There’s a lot of noise out there. There always is,” coach James Franklin said. “This is college football. When things are going well everybody is patting you on the back. When you have a loss there’s challenges that come with that, there’s criticism that comes with that. I thought we had a really good practice and meeting on Sunday and discussed those things in detail. And I think our guys have responded well.”
Defensive end Arnold Ebiketie said the loss hurt, especially given that Penn State squandered multiple chances to win. But there is no time to dwell on it.
“We have a lot of football left in front of us,” Ebiketie said. “Last week didn’t go our way. We’re not going to put our heads down. We’re just going to keep fighting because we know what we’re capable of doing.”
The good news for Franklin is that he expects Sean Clifford to be 100% on Saturday. The senior quarterback suffered an unspecified injury in the loss to Iowa on Oct. 9. After a bye week, he was able to play against Illinois but evidently was limited.
“Sean is much further ahead now to being back to 100%, so that’s a positive,” Franklin said. “We feel really good about that.”
With a lot of football left, Clifford said he will try to be wary of his health.
“But at the same time, I’m going to have to make the plays that are there,” he said. “And if that means sacrificing my body for a first down or a touchdown, I’m going to do it.”
SUPER C.J.
The Buckeyes’ 54-7 beatdown of Indiana in terrible weather last week added to their best-in-the-nation offensive stats behind Stroud, who is being talked about as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. It helps that he plays with one of the best wide receiver tandems in the country, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, and a prodigy running back in freshman TreVeyon Henderson.
TREVEYON TRENDING
Henderson’s numbers don’t reflect how dynamic the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder has been. That’s because he’s done most of his damage early before sitting out in the second half of blowouts.
In his breakout game against Tulsa on Sept. 9, the Hopewell, Virginia, native rushed for a freshman school record 277 yards and three touchdowns. Last week he got nine carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a TD pass. The telling stat: His 8.79 yards-percarry average leads the nation.
CHALLENGING DEFENSE
Penn State’s defense, if it can play up to par again after allowing 395 yards to the rush-heavy Illini, will be the best Ohio State has seen this season. The unit is sixth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 14.7 points a game, and has given up just nine touchdowns. Penn State is 26th nationally in total defense and is allowing 178 passing yards per game. Ohio State is averaging 352 yards through the air.
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“Penn State was just in one of those funks. And to think that they’ve forgotten how to play football is ludicrous,” ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said this week. “Too much pride on that roster. Too much talent on that roster. They have been backed into a corner. They have a chance to salvage their season by beating Ohio State in Columbus. I expect them to be the kind of team you would expect them to be, and not the team that played against Illinois last week.”
Hinkle gained 12 yards. Hemmelgarn then went down the right sideline before cutting back across on a 39-yard score with 1:17 showing in the opening period. Another kick by Bowers was true for a 21-0 cushion.
Franklin finished up the first period and started the second, but had to punt again. This one got a gust of wind and favorable bounce on the turf, with St. Marys returning it to the 15.
Mabry started it off well with a 20-yard gain, and a penalty on Franklin added 15 more yards. Two plays later, Reineke dropped back to throw. He was hit as he released the ball. It popped up in
the air, and was caught by Pierce Bauerle of Franklin.
Bauerle took it 60 yards the other way to get the visitors on the board. The St. Marys defense did break through and block the extra point attempt.
The next Roughriders drive started at its own 41. The Riders switched between Henschen, Hinkle and Hemmelgarn as they steadily marched down the field. The longest gain was 13 yards by Hemmelgarn. On the 10th play, Reineke stuck it across from the 1, and Bowers added the kick to make it 28-6.
Yet another threeand-out followed for the
Wildcats. The punt was downed at the Riders 40. Working quickly, as has been their habit, St. Marys bulled its way through the Franklin defense, getting at least four yards on every carry.
Upon reaching the 20, Reineke changed it up. He dropped back and tossed a perfect fade to Hemmelgarn in the back left corner of the end zone with 1:20 left in the half. The kick would account for the score at the break, 35-6.
Franklin got the ball to start the third quarter. Brown ran twice for short gains. He then threw it, with junior Keegan Sharpe picking it off and returning it to
the 11.
Hinkle gained eight yards, and sophomore Cody Wallace put the sixth touchdown of the night on the board with 9:55 to go. The kick by Bowers was good, and that set the running clock in motion.
Franklin couldn’t move the chains on the ensuing drive. They lined up for the punt, but the ball was snapped over the punter’s head.
After a scramble, St. Marys was in business at the Wildcats’ 12. Two plays later, Kevin Perry ran eight yards for the score, and Logan Rush booted the point-after.
The teams traded interceptions, with Caleb Felver getting the pick
for the Riders. With just over two minutes remaining, Brown was able to reach the end zone, and the PAT would account for the final score of 49-13.
Game Notes
The other Western Buckeye League teams playing Friday, both won as well. Wapakoneta shut out Dunbar 300, and Shawnee blanked Hughes 28-0.
Shawnee will face #1 Badin next Friday, with the winner of that game meeting the winner of St. Marys and Chaminade-Julienne. The other quarterfinals will be #15 Alter at #7 Tippecanoe and #6 Wapakoneta