Putting a bow on the thing in State College

Before moving on to Iowa, time to put a bow on the Penn State game with some final thoughts:

• It’s worth reiterating the facets of the spectacular show put on by Junior DT Cameron Heyward Saturday. Heyward led the team in tackles with 11 including 3 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks. Any defensive lineman leading the team in tackles is a remarkable occurrence. D Linemen are usually caught up doing the dirty work plugging holes and chasing quarterbacks out of the pocket. It’s such a rare occurrence in fact that the last time a D Lineman led the team in tackles it was Simon Fraser on August 30, 2003 against Washington (7 tackles, 1 sack).
• Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring at 29 points per game. I repeat, Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring at 29 points per game. So much for offensive futility I guess.
• A 4th shutout of the season occurred for the Buckeyes. Though it was called a touchdown on the field, and though the replay didn’t provide enough conclusive evidence to overturn the ruling on the field, Daryll Clark (more specifically the ball he was holding) did not cross the goal line. No matter, a defensive tour de force notwithstanding.
• Despite still missing on several throws, Terrelle Pryor showed noticeable zip on several other short range completions, something that has been lacking this year. Also, the fact that he overthrew Dane Sanzenbacher instead of underthrowing him shows he might be closer to finding some touch on the long ball. Chicks dig the long ball.
• Another look at the defensive statistics post-Penn State are eye-opening. The Buckeyes are now ranked 23rd nationally in sacks, 11th in pass defense, 6th in pass efficiency defense and total defense, 4th in scoring defense and 3rd in rushing defense. That’s top 10 in almost every defensive category. For all of Pryor’s interceptions this year, the Buckeyes still sit at 13th nationally in turnover margin.
• Special teams. Upon further review, I clearly missed the gap in special teams for Penn State. Despite being pretty weak in kicking on the Ohio State side, Penn State sits at 115th nationally in net punting- an issue that was clearly exploited by Ohio State and Ray Small. Players making plays in big games.
• The new-look aggressive secondary for Ohio State is big with me. The corners were much more aggressive on the line of scrimmage Saturday instead of the weak zone crap we’ve seen for much of the last two years. It resulted in only 125 total passing yards to Penn State, 96 of those going to Graham Zug on mostly three plays. The longest of those was 31 yards. That 31-yarder to Zug is in limited company. Since the 85 yard scramble pass to Navy RB Marcus Curry in the opener (85 yards- I’m sure you remember it), the Buckeye secondary has given up only two other passes the entire season of 30 or more yards. 32 yards to Indiana’s Tandon Doss and 33 yards to Wisconsin’s Nick Toon. Thank the D-Line for part of that, but either way that’s solid secondary play.

You’re welcome.