What we learned from Ohio State's 38-14 win over Penn State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- It may have taken a halftime adjustment but Ohio State avoided an upset and met expectations, pulling away in the second half to defeat Penn State to remain unbeaten this season.

"We came in at halftime, and we were up by three. You would have thought we were down by 21, but I thought we responded well," coach Ryan Day said. "That's the thing. When you come out in the second half, you have to learn from the first half, but you can't dwell on it."

The 38-14 win over the Nittany Lions marked the Buckeyes' ninth consecutive victory in the series and the tenth in the last 11 meetings. Meanwhile, Penn State's struggles continue after it dropped its fifth straight contest, leaving a sour taste in the Lions' mouths that may last until 2028, which is when the two Big Ten rivals are scheduled to meet again in the regular season.

Here's what we learned from Saturday.

Buckeyes come out of halftime fighting

The mood at the Horseshoe changed when C.J. Donaldson coughed up the football late in the first half, giving the Nittany Lions a chance to tighten up the contest. And PSU took advantage of the short field with Kaytron Allen scoring a one-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter to get Penn State within three.

Saturday marked the first time the Ohio State defense had allowed a first half touchdown.

"I really just didn't feel the intensity that I felt like we needed. I went in there and just put out the fact that this is a game. These guys aren't going to come in here and lay down," safety Caleb Downs said. "We got to go and take it."

The Buckeyes responded with a five play, 75-yard drive out of the locker room, capped off by Donaldson's 1-yard rushing score that redeemed the West Virginia transfer from his earlier fumble.

"We came out and did that at a high level in the second half -- came out and scored," Downs said. "We got out there and then we got a chance on defense and got it three and out. We went out and executed." 

Sayin makes the case for Heisman consideration

Heading into Saturday, Penn State had only been allowing an average of 145 passing yards this season. But Ohio State more than doubled that with quarterback Julian Sayin putting together a second straight four-touchdown, zero-interception performance.

After an impressive outing at Wisconsin, Sayin completed 20 of his 23 passes, which makes for an 87% accuracy rate for the afternoon. Long story short, the most accurate thrower in the country got even better on Saturday.

The redshirt freshman gives all the credit to his teammates.

"This is a team game. And, you know, the the offensive line did a great job today," Sayin said. "Our receivers did a great job today. And, you know, none of it happens without, you know, us as an offense, as a collective."

Even Day, who preaches a team-first mentality every day, thinks Sayin should get some Heisman consideration.

"Even when you look at the Heisman Trophy, it's sort of after the season's over and there's still a whole bunch of football to be played afterwards. So I think that's unique, but that's the tradition," Day said. "But I do think that if Julian continues to play the way that he's playing, he deserves to be in the conversation at the very least."

Penn State QB Grunkemeyer's homecoming

Ethan Grunkemeyer is used to being the spotlight. He served as team captain for Olentangy just two years ago, setting a number of school records along the way.

But Saturday saw a unique situation as the central Ohio native made his second ever collegiate start and his first inside the Horseshoe.

"It was a good experience. Saw a lot of football games in this stadium. This is my first time playing in it so, that was obviously pretty cool," Grunkemeyer said. "And then just based off the play, just gotta go back and watch the film. But we lost so, like I said, not good enough when we lose."

The redshirt freshman ended up completing 19 of his 28 passes for 145 yards and an interception. Those numbers were slightly better than his first outing a week ago at Iowa.

"He made some big third down throws. He once again managed the offense in a hostile environment. I don't think we had any snap count violations. I thought he ran the offense and I thought he did what was expected of him," Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith said. "Ohio State is a talented team and they put pressure on him. I thought he got much better from game one to game two, and I continue to look forward to him just continuing to get better week by week." 

It won't get any easier for Grunkemeyer. He'll make his Beaver Stadium debut next week when Penn State hosts No. 2 Indiana.