Penn State came into this game as 18.5 point underdogs. The Nittany Lions knew they could not afford to have very many mistakes and still beat the Buckeyes. In the end, the Nittany Lions just made too many mistakes.
On a second quarter possession Sean Clifford failed to step into a throw which led to him under-throwing Theo Johnson. If Clifford steps into the throw it is, at worst, a first down, if not a touchdown. The following play KeAndre Lambert-Smith was victim fo poor field awareness as he stepped out of bounds without a defender close to him before coming back in to catch the ball for illegal touching.