Halftime Analysis: Ohio State Defense Carrying Heavy Load, Buckeyes Lead at the Break

The Buckeyes lead Penn State in a tight game at the half. Here are some thoughts as Ohio State has struggled to get its offense going.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Oct 30, 2021 9:21 PM EDT

Halftime Score: Ohio State 17, Penn State 10

The first quarter was a bit of a wake up call for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who didn't exactly click on all cylinders. TreVeyon Henderson had a miserable time trying to run the ball against a Nittany Lions defense that was torched on the ground last week.

C.J. Stroud's third drive of the half finally looked a bit better, as he took the team down the field with a handful of really nice plays. But the drive stalled and Ohio State had to settle for a field goal.

The biggest problem for Ohio State came up front. Luke Wypler has committed multiple snap infractions, Thayer Munford is having a rough game at left guard and Nicholas Petit-Frere has been a bit sloppy at left tackle. Penn State is killing the Buckeyes at the line of scrimmage and Ohio State hasn't been able to get its rushing attack going at all. If they can't fix the problems up front, this isn't going to be a good night.

Live Updates: No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 20 Penn State Nittany Lions

So far, I think the defense has played largely as well as it has all year. They've been the target of most of the national criticism, arguing they haven't been tested over the last month. But they've done a great job so far tonight to keep the offense in the game when they clearly haven't had a great start to the game. Several times, the Buckeyes have come up with huge stops.

Ohio State finally took its first lead when head coach Ryan Day seemingly saw something he loved. Late in the second quarter with the team driving, Day went running down the sideline and changed the play for C.J. Stroud. Stroud then connected with Chris Olave for a long score.

The following series, Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith stripped sacked Sean Clifford and Jerron Cage picked it up. The 305-pound defensive tackle raced it back 55 yards for a touchdown, marking Ohio State's sixth defensive score of the season.

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