Ohio State’s problems dominate takeaways from week in college football

Ohio State really spit the bit. The Buckeyes were abysmal overall in their 24-21 loss at Penn State. Obviously that’s going to dominate our takeaways from the third Saturday in October…

1. If you ever wondered how a top five team can lose to an opponent that doesn’t even really play well, Urban Meyer’s team put on a clinic.

The Nittany Lions were inefficient on offense, had a field goal blocked, lost a muffed punt and gave up a safety on an errant long snap. And they won.

Of course, Ohio State also muffed a punt, had a punt blocked, had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown and missed an extra point kick. The return teams were totally ineffective, too, with the kickoff return unit particularly bad.

RELATED: 7 things to know from Ohio State’s loss at Penn State

2. Ohio State looked unprepared for Penn State’s defensive strategies, although they shouldn’t have been too surprising.

The Nittany Lions have gummed up Meyer’s running game before, and Indiana produced a blue print for slowing the Ohio State passing game: Keep everything in front of you and make the Buckeyes march.

3. The Nittany Lions front seven played well, benefitting from the return of linebackers Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell, who had been out with injuries prior to PSU’s bye week.

They took advantage of an Ohio State offensive line that looked very much like it had two first-year starters at tackle and a true freshman at left guard.

4. Pass protection has been an issue for the past two seasons, and it is definitely the biggest concern for the Buckeyes from here on out.

They may just not have enough guys ready to play on the offensive line after losing three starters from last year.

The problems elsewhere appear more mental: Receivers dropping passes, failed checks on hot routes and still too many penalties. Those are things that can be corrected.

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5. However, the last two games have provided further example that for as good as J.T. Barrett is, his physical limitations create a smaller margin for error than having a player like Terrelle Pryor or Braxton Miller catching the snaps.

Barrett is incredibly productive, but there are times a team needs someone with a stronger and/or more accurate arm or someone that can make a defender miss and go 50 yards for a score, especially if the offensive line is just average (See Penn State and for that matter Michigan offenses this year).

To excel at the highest level over the long haul as a game manager requires extreme, almost unsustainable consistency and more help from the supporting cast than Barrett has gotten the past few weeks since the explosion at Oklahoma. That’s why Urban Meyer’s No. 1 key to success is recruiting players who will win individual matchups. It’s the easiest way to win.

6. What about the rest of college football?

It wasn’t all that interesting of a day. Alabama dominated Texas A&M while Michigan, Washington and Louisville blew out bad teams. West Virginia stayed undefeated, something that could suddenly be of concern for Ohio State down the road.

7, Updated College Football Playoff projection: Alabama, Clemson, Washington and Michigan.

Ohio State still likely controls its own destiny unless West Virginia wins out. The Buckeyes don’t look like they would have a great chance to beat the Wolverines right now based on the problems laid out above, although Michigan is far from invincible.

There’s still a long time until the end of November, and you can bet Ohio State won’t be the last team to be upset.

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