Post-Game Link Dump: Ohio State

Hello, sadists. I drew the short straw and thus had to cull through the internet for the postmortem following the first loss for our beloved Nittany Lions. First, if you haven’t already, you can read Chris’ recap. Also, if you are so inclined, you can also check out the mothership’s recap and then if you are really interested in torturing yourself, you can read back through their liveblog of the game.

Not surprisingly, Ohio State was Bill Connelly’s Team of the Week. The absolutely, most simplified tl:dr gist of the game was Penn State was bad on first down and it cost them the game. In my mind, that was never more true than the drive following the fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, which eventually led to the blocked punt.

David Jones at PennLive had the appropriate reaction of Penn State didn’t blow the game, Ohio State won it. “Fatigue and attrition” eventually stacked up as the game went on and the Nittany Lions ran out of magic tricks to hold it off any longer. On a related note, depth is still an issue along both lines and, unfortunately, rears its ugly head against elite competition, but it is getting better as the youth on the team gets more experience and high-level recruiting continues to keeps it intact.

In case you have a short memory, last year’s loss in Happy Vally ultimately did not affect the Buckeyes’ season as they ended up in the playoff when it was all said and done. The team realizes this fact and that’s why they don’t believe the season is over yet. Andrew Callahan at Lions247 argues Penn State still firmly belongs in the playoff conversation. Meanwhile, Mark Wogenrich of The Morning Call has the path for the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff all mapped out.