COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two months ago, Penn State fans were full of hope and looking forward to a potential No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup on Nov. 1 against Ohio State. They thought if there was any year the Nittany Lions could beat the Buckeyes, this was the one.
But a loss to Oregon late in September derailed Penn State. James Franklin was fired two weeks later, and it flew to Columbus winless in the Big Ten and without a Power Four victory.
It would’ve been a tough task to upset Ohio State without Drew Allar and with the current state of the Nittany Lions’ defense. As expected, Penn State couldn’t pull it off, and Ohio State took home a 38-14 win to remain undefeated.
Here’s three takeaways from the Nittany Lions’ loss.
Defense needs to pick a struggle
Throughout the first seven games, it was Penn State’s run defense that was consistently struggling. Against Ohio State, the Nittany Lions’ pass defense was the area of weakness for Jim Knowles’ defense.
Penn State allowed Sayin to throw for 316 yards, four touchdowns and complete 87% of his passes. The sophomore had 300 passing yards with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Additionally, the Nittany Lions were absolutely torched by Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith multiple times, with Tate having catches of 45 and 57 yards and Smith having one for 57 as well.
Interim head coach Terry Smith said Wednesday the Nittany Lions cannot get beat by the deep ball. That ended up being the difference in Saturday’s loss, as Tate’s 57-yard catch came on the second play of the second half, killing all the momentum Penn State built heading into the locker room.
Tate finished with 124 yards and a touchdown, while Smith finished with 123 yards and two touchdowns. Penn State’s pass defense was nothing short of poor against the Buckeyes, which was a bit of a surprise considering the previous issues were against the run, not necessarily the pass.
The poor running defense reared its head at times, including a 51-yard rush in the fourth quarter by Bo Jackson. Overall, Jackson and CJ Donaldson combined for 122 rushing yards with Jackson significantly adding to his total late in the fourth quarter.
Get Nick Singleton the ball in space, good things happen
Kaytron Allen was Penn State’s primary running back against Iowa two weeks ago, and for good reason. But Nick Singleton is still an important piece of the Nittany Lions’ offense, and that was clear versus Ohio State.
On Penn State’s first scoring drive, Singleton had five touches for 42 yards and a touchdown including two catches for 16 and 13 yards respectively. He also had two rushes for five yards and eventually found open-space for a three-yard touchdown.
After that drive by Singleton, the Nittany Lions didn’t go back to Singleton in space, and the offense struggled. Their only other touchdown came when they needed just 13 yards after a fumble recovery.
There were a few other times Singleton and Allen were on the field at the same time, but the ball was given to Allen instead. Allen finished with 86 all-purpose yards, while Singleton ended with 46 on 19 less touches. 28 of those yards were receiving and a team-high.
Penn State needs to retain Chaz Coleman
The Nittany Lions are likely going to have some roster turnover this offseason as a new head coach comes to town. With James Franklin likely coaching elsewhere, he’ll surely recruit some of his players from Penn State to follow him.
Whoever the new coach is, they have to make sure Chaz Coleman stays in Happy Valley.
The true freshman, who’s finally healthy after sustaining an illness before UCLA, had one of his most productive games of the season. Coleman recovered a fumble forced by Dani Dennis-Sutton and had a filthy spin move to get pressure on Julian Sayin on a crucial third-and-goal.
Coleman may not have popped out on the stat sheet, but he had one of his best games in his first season at Penn State, and it’s crucial Penn State keeps him around for the 2026 season.
