Three takeaways from Penn Stat...

Penn State went into Columbus undefeated and came out with a loss after falling to Ohio State, 20-12.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s matchup.

Overall, Penn State remains a step behind

For the ninth time in 10 matchups, Penn State head coach James Franklin failed to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes. He and the Nittany Lions came into the matchup as underdogs but with arguably the program’s most talented team in his 10 seasons as head coach. Instead of taking advantage of a golden opportunity — with star receiver Emeka Egbuka and star cornerback Denzel Burke not playing — he and his team will now head back to State College needing to beat an even tougher Michigan team in a few weeks. The program still has a chance to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time, but Saturday it failed to take the final step forward to elite status.

PSU’s defense can hang with anyone

The Nittany Lions may not be elite — but the defense most definitely is. Defense coordinator Manny Diaz’s squad proved Saturday that it belongs among the nation’s top units. Penn State limited the Buckeyes to less than 2.5 yards per rush, and Ohio State scored well below its season average of 33.7 points with 20 points Saturday.

That won’t serve as a consolation to the Nittany Lion faithful, but facts are facts. The defense finished with nine tackles for loss and five pass breakups. Wideout Marvin Harrison was the only consistent offensive force out there, and he made a day out of turning short slants into 8-12 yards at a time. This defense can keep Penn State in any game, but it can’t score in every game. (And it nearly did that Saturday, too, until a penalty negated the fumble return TD.)

Allar’s poor first half prevents quick start

There may be consternation about how offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich called the first half, but early on he was calling plays that led to big runs and open receivers. The biggest problem was that sophomore quarterback Drew Allar struggled to find his open pass catchers and wasn’t always on target when he did. He missed one throw to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a ball that was overthrown and would have been a first down in Ohio State territory. He and Lambert-Smith failed to connect again on a comeback route, where Allar threw the pass as if he was expecting his receiver to break back toward the ball much sooner.

His struggles to connect in the passing game were ultimately what allowed the Buckeyes to go into the half with a 10-6 lead. And it didn’t get any better. Going 1-for-16 on third downs certainly didn’t help either.