Off a concerning showing against Nebraska, morale among the fanbase was not high. The defense showed great fight, but the OL was at the forefront of everyone's minds. The Simmons absence deeply affected the offense. But hey, we need to give Zen Michalski time to settle in; it was only his first start. Except he already went down with an injury, so it's onto Plan C. At least it's Penn State, which isn't really known for very good defensive lines, right? Oh wait, they are totally known for that. And lining up for them is projected first-rounder and eventual 3rd overall pick Abdul Carter at DE. Hopefully Donovan Jackson can hold up after kicking out to tackle...

Going into Week 10

• Perspective - Level-headed assessments of Ohio State's performance would show that it wasn't all bad. The passing game was effective, generating 221 yards and 13.8 yards per pass, with Howard completing 81.25% percent of his attempts and, not for nothing, threw two beautiful deep ball TDs with that weenie arm of his. The defense was key in the victory as well, racking up another goal line stand (1:27), generating a pick, and holding Nebraska to 4.6 yards per pass and 3.1 yards per carry. 
• Hope - During his weekly radio spot, famously critical Day publicly voiced trust in the OL, saying they were "ready" for Penn State. Twice, actually. Many, myself included, had a reaction along the lines of, "Well, that makes one of us." The state of the OL even made some of us long for the Stud era. Donovan Jackson would kick out to LT, and Carson Hinzman, who, up to this point, barely played after losing the C position to Seth McLaughlin and getting beat out for the RG spot by Tshabola, would take the LG spot. Word during the offesason was that he had developed well, but we hadn't seen much of him yet. Day also wanted to build on the momentum of a more disruptive pass rush. 
• AVBuckeye saw reasons to be encouraged about the OL in Ohio State's final score the previous week after watching Kyle Jone's Film Study. Had Chip Kelly found a way to make things work? AVBuckeye's optimism didn't stop there, though. These posts were a treat to look back on, honestly. 
• Stacking Up - This would be Ohio State's matchup game of the season. While the Buckeyes boasted NFL talent throughout the roster, Dan Hope gave Penn State the edge at TE, OT, IOL, and LB, though they possessed plenty of dangerous players elsewhere as well. The Buckeyes won at DT by a narrow margin and had Dani Dennis-Sutton not been out with injury, they may have also gotten the nod at DE.
• Some of us saw this as a potential crossroads for Day's future here. With emotions high and success in meeting season goals lacking, fans were nearing an inflection point. 
• Game Preview - Pretty simple: it's a do-or-die game for Ohio State this week and if it doesn't want to die, it needs better OL play up front to withstand PSU's elite DL and it needs to find a way to generate some offense, even if that means leaning on the passing game. The defense would have to pressure Drew Allar (whom everyone now seemed to believe in?) and lock down Tyler Warren, their dominant star TE. Penn State players were hungry and confident that they could get over the hump and earn Penn State's first win against the Buckeyes since that fluke game in 2016 (should've called that time out, Urban). Our favorite guest poster from our non-rival lays out Penn State's chances of pulling it off. 
• Last Call - Fascinating stat in here: thus far, Jim Knowles' defense had never forced a 4th-quarter punt against any of its AP top-five opponents ('22 TCUN, '22 UGA, '23 TCUN, '24 Oregon). Not good; I hope that changes. 

Week 10 @ #3 Penn State in 40 Minutes

Open Threads: Q1 | Q2 | Halftime | Q3 | Q4  

Coming Out of Week 10

• Game Summary - In a big game, in a raucous atmosphere, OSU dropped its nuts, winning 20-13. Penn State fought hard, taking an early lead and all the momentum with a creative opening drive for a FG and a quick pick six. The Buckeyes held fast, utilizing its OL creatively to grind their way down the field before striking with a 25-yard TD pass to Egbuka. I'll refrain from summarizing the rest but it was a well-played, hard-fought game on both sides with crazy plays and Ohio State made a goal line stand to then stage a 5-minute walk-off drive that was as beautiful as any sunset I've ever seen. And what a difference a game can make, as joy overflowed in the comments.
• Presser Bullets - After the game, Ryan Day said the team was at a crossroads. Uh, was he reading through Cmillertime247's thread from above? Playing angry, playing physically, playing tough, and playing through adversity, he saw this as a springboard moving forward. Do yourself a favor and watch through some of the player interviews. Those guys were beaming. And also, shoutout to Chip Kelly for finding ways to best work with this offensive line. 
• Three Key Stats - The rushing attack returned with a vengeance, tallying 164 yards against PSU's vaunted front seven. A glorious goal line stand and an incredible interception forced PSU to go just 1 for 3 in its red zone trips. 
• Elite Defense - Allowing only six points, the defense took another step towards the final form we remember. Although one could possibly take issue with allowing Penn State to move the ball up to the goal line, the way the defense stood up the PSU offense was pretty amazing. The never-give-up, give-us-an-inch-and-we'll-defend-it mentality would go on to be a major feature of the 2024 defense. 
• OL o_o - Wow, okay. Facing a ton of adversity, losing the guy we thought we could least afford to lose, then losing the guy that was supposed to be the next best option, coming off an ugly performance, the OL roared back in a way that totally blindsided me. And, to be clear, it wasn't like they played a perfect game, nor would I even say they dominated that game. But they held up, took some blows, delivered their own, and then when Ohio State needed to grind out the clock, they absolutely delivered. No offense to the OLs of recent history, but I haven't seen us run the ball like that, against competition like that, in a high-stakes moment like that, too many times. Love it. They finished the day with 4.4 ypc (5.2 discounting sacks) and 176 rushing yards against the #8 rushing defense. Now the question became, could they carry this momentum forward?

Up Next: Purdue