Penn State defense ‘didn’t go back to our fundamentals’ in fourth-quarter collapse vs. Ohio State
The Penn State defense gave up 296 yards in the second half, compared to 93 in the first. Of those 296 yards, 173 came from the fourth quarter.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.– Penn State did not end the "Whiteout" in the way they had hoped.
The Nittany Lions blew a 26-14 lead with eight minutes to play. Ohio State scored two unanswered touchdowns and stopped Penn State on 4th and 5 to win 27-26.
"At the end of the game we obviously had a situation there going for it on fourth down," head coach James Franklin said. "After we don't have the success that we should of have, obviously we should have called something different there."
The Penn State defense gave up 296 yards in the second half, compared to 93 in the first. Of those 296 yards, 173 came from the fourth quarter.
"Their tempo kind of got to us," linebacker Jan Johnson said. "Maybe we were a little bit relaxed on defense and we just had to tackle. We didn't go back to our fundamentals in the fourth quarter."
This game seemed all too familiar, but in a different location. Last year, the Nittany Lions gave up a 35-20 lead against the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter in Columbus and lost the game 39-38, making this the second year Penn State fell with a one-point difference.
"When you're playing the top teams in the country it comes down to just 1 yard," Johnson said. "The difference is 1 yard. It's one guy falling a little bit forward on offense when we're on defense and need to stop them. It's very little things that separate the top from the elite."
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Franklin emphasized the difference between being great and being elite multiple times after the game. He said that as much as they have worked, they are not an elite team yet and they've become too comfortable with being great.
"I'm going to make sure that everyone in our program, including myself, is very uncomfortable," Franklin said. "You only grow in life when you're uncomfortable. So we are going to break through and become an elite program by doing all the little things."
Franklin and defensive players Koa Farmer, Amani Oruwariye, Garrett Taylor, and Johnson had a very clear explanation on what those little things are that will make them an elite program. It is finding a way to overcome adversity consistently.
"It's eliminating distractions," Taylor said. "If coach is talking to us and he's telling dudes to stop taking their tape off and we still have dudes taking the tape off, you guys hear that and you may not think it's important, but that's the difference in a point."