In Penn State’s 38-10 loss to Ohio State Saturday night, the Nittany Lions’ front five was fully intact — personnel wise. Both center Angelo Mangiro and tackle Andrew Nelson started together for the first time since Penn State’s second game of the season against Buffalo. But the two players did little good protecting quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The Buckeyes’ defense sacked the junior passer five times, which was the most sacks the Lions allowed in a game since their opening week loss to Temple where they allowed 10. Through Penn State’s first seven games of the season, opposing defenses have dropped Hackenberg behind the line 24 times. That averages out to 3.43 sacks per game, which is sixth-worst in the FBS. Ohio State, coincidentally, sacks its opponents an average of 3.43 times per game, which is good for fifth-best in the nation. The Lions lost 24 yards on the Buckeyes’ five sacks. Ohio State had a total of eight tackles-for-loss. “We got some negative yardage plays that put us in some challenging situations with their D-line and [Joey] Bosa,” coach James Franklin said. “I thought at times, with the interior of our offensive line, we struggled and got beat. …
Continue Reading: Penn State football’s problems at offensive line continue in loss to Ohio State
