Licking wounds

Penn State fans are licking their wounds after the beatdown by Ohio State on Saturday. The game had a very similar look and feel to the loss to Iowa in September. The Nittany Lions were pushed around at the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. In addition to losing the battle on the line of scrimmage Penn State also lost the field position battle. The Lions average start for their drives was inside their own 20 for the game. Ohio State always seemed to be starting near midfield and of course their first Buckeyes possession started on the Nits 9. Penn State must also address their play on special teams. Jeremy Boone needs to kick the ball much higher. All his punts were low and the Ohio State returners had a 15-20 yard cushion before they faced a Lions tackler. Compare that to the punts of Ohio State's John Thoma who boomed it high and deep all afternoon and pinned Penn State inside the 20 most of the day.

The losses also points out, once again, the weak non conference schedule that Penn State played this year. How does Eastern Illinois, Akron and Syracuse really prepare you for the likes of Iowa and Ohio State. Penn State must begin to play some better opponents in the non conference schedule if they are going to be a contender.