Penn State football had one of the more surprising statistical anomalies of the college football season against Ohio State.

Tight end Tyler Warren and quarterback Drew Allar led the Nittany Lions in rushing and running back Nick Singleton led in receiving. As a result, the offense scored only six points, despite being inside Ohio State’s five-yard line twice. Both times, the Nittany Lions walked off the field with no points.

With the White Out game against Washington just three days away, James Franklin and his coaching staff are trying to learn from their offensive struggles against the Buckeyes.

“I feel like myself and the coaching staff handled it very differently than how we had in the past,” Franklin said of the Ohio State game on Monday. “There was a ton of time spent on that in the offseason. A ton of time was spent on that during the week; being very intentional about how we approach this game.”

Although the approach was different, the result was the same. Penn State lost to Ohio State for the eighth straight year, and this time, questionable play calls, penalties, and the inefficient use of talent was the downfall of the Nittany Lions.

With under a minute left in the first half, Trey Wallace made an incredible one-handed grab at the three-yard line. Penn State didn’t use its last timeout of the half and instead hurried to the line and snapped the ball with 14 seconds left. Allar targeted Wallace again, but he bobbled the catch and Ohio State corner Davison Igbinosun made a spectacular interception.

In a similar situation in the fourth quarter, Warren took a direct snap, broke off a 33-yard run to the left, and was downed at the same three-yard line as Wallace in front of the student section. Kaytron Allen took three straight handoffs and gained only two yards.

Penn State, while down by seven with five minutes left in the game, ran a play-action pass on 4th-and-goal on the one-yard line, and it fell incomplete. Turnover on downs. Warren never touched the ball on the goal line, and the offense never got the ball back and lost the game.

“Hindsight is 20-20, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to create movement and score when you need one yard,” Franklin said. “Whether that’s picking up a critical fourth down or whether that’s goal line. We got to do some things better scheme-wise, but also, we’ve got to do a little bit.”

It was an uncanny game on the ground for Allen and Singleton. The backfield duo combined for 42 of Penn State’s 120 rushing yards against the Buckeyes — less than 40% of the rushing total. It’s something Franklin was aiming to correct against the Huskies’ 70th-ranked rushing defense.

“We’ve got to get our traditional running game going. I think that’s going to be a combination of both still doing some of the heavy stuff, but I think we can expand on some of the spread stuff as well to get some guys out of the box to create more space,” Franklin said. “And then also from a scheme standpoint as well, making sure we’re making them defend the field as much as possible. So outside runs, outside zones, which also could have an impact on inside zones in gap schemes as well.”

Maybe the biggest difference in the game was the Penn State wide receivers. It was a game that was reminiscent of last season’s group. Wallace’s 21-yard reception was the biggest play from a room that combined for three total catches and 49 yards.

The Nittany Lions have had a 100-yard receiver in three games this season. The last one was Liam Clifford’s 107-yard game against UCLA on October 5, and there hasn’t been one since. Franklin said it’s an area the offense will focus on for the remainder of the season.

“We have got to be able to threaten people. Got to be able to stretch people. You have to be able to make plays, create separation, and make tough catches. That needs to happen,” Franklin said. “I think that needs to be an emphasis really for the rest of the season.”