1) Good first half
Penn State didn’t roll over, staying with the Buckeyes blow for blow. It looked like it was going to get out of hand early, but Penn State took advantage of a rare Ohio State turnover to turn what could have been a 24-7 hole into a 17-14 halftime score.
2) Bad second
Luck ran out on the Nittany Lions in the second half, and everything that was working in the first suddenly stopped working. Ohio State used the opportunity to build a lead Penn State simply couldn’t overcome.
3) Manned up
Ethan Grunkemeyer started his Penn State
career at Iowa, at night, then at Ohio State. Indiana is next, so things don’t ease up, yet that one’s at home. Grunkemeyer did not fare as well, statewide, against the Hawkeyes, but he held his own against the better opponent in Ohio State, going 19-of-27 for 145 yards.
You couldn’t have asked for a tougher stretch for a green quarterback, and, if things work out, will prove quite valuable moving forward.
