Ohio State Game Won't Define Offense, Penn State Lineman Says
Penn State began a new game week Sunday following its loss to Ohio State, and starting over brought challenges. Even on Tuesday, three days after the 20-12 loss to the Buckeyes, some residue remained.
"It’s a little early to say move forward or put it behind them completely, but I think that people are working their way out of being sad about the loss and that people are, with the work week starting, getting more focused on the opponent to come and moving forward over time," Penn State offensive lineman Caedan Wallace said Tuesday. "It’s only been a couple days."
Sunday marked the first time in 357 days that Penn State watched game film of a loss, and both instances involved Ohio State. Following their scheduled off day Monday, the Lions returned to pregame mode Tuesday in preparation to face Indiana at Beaver Stadium. Last year, the Lions began an 11-game win streak against the Hoosiers, which ended at Ohio Stadium last Saturday. To start another, Penn State (6-1) must turn toward the future. The Lions say they're getting there.
"It didn’t go the way we planned, but there’s always room for improvement," linebacker and special teams captain Dominic DeLuca said Tuesday, "and that’s what we’re going to do and that’s what we’re going to focus on, and everyone was bought into trying to get better this week."
DeLuca said the players responded by taking Sunday's practice "with a full head of steam," something Wallace, a thoughtful fifth-year senior, echoed. He said players demonstrated resilience both during the game and afterward as they attempted to rally and then learn from falling short.
"I learned we’re all fighters, we’re all resilient," Wallace said. ".... Everyone's being accountable for what happened in the game. No one's trying to point fingers and blame and stuff like that. Everyone's being a man about it and taking responsibility for their part in what happened Saturday and working to move forward."
Quarterback Drew Allar led the way immediately after the game, shouldering responsibility for the loss in an emotional postgame press conference. Allar said he "sucked" in an 18-for-42 performance against the Buckeyes and fought back tears describing how he would get better.
"Drew never gave up," Wallace said. "He’s a great leader for us, and we’re just excited for our bounceback this week."
Penn State's offense delivered its least productive performance of the season, totaling 167 yards of offense and two field goals before its last-minute touchdown drive. Entering the game, Penn State led the Big Ten in scoring offense (44.3 points per game) and had the nation's longest streak of games with 30+ points (13). Wallace believes the Lions can get back to that.
"I don’t want people to let one game define how they view our offense this year," Wallace said. "I think we’re a good group of guys, we’re a tough group of people. We’re smart and we’re resilient. So with all these qualities, I feel like that builds a good offense. We’re just trying to stay focused and keep getting better and make our corrections."
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