Penn State’s fourth-down call in the final two minutes of their 27-26 loss to Ohio State on Saturday night has been roundly criticized, but the team’s star quarterback is standing behind it.
Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley, who had a monster game, said that he agreed with the playcall and that he saw the same thing offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne saw. The difference in succeeding and not succeeding, in McSorley’s eyes, was the execution. Ohio State just beat the offensive line with their twist up front. Had the twist been picked up, they think the play would have worked.
Here's Trace McSorley's perspective on the final fourth-and-5 play, called by Ricky Rahne: pic.twitter.com/pmQaiYMkeP
— Derek Levarse (@TLdlevarse) September 30, 2018
Maybe the call would have worked in theory, but they obviously miscalculated the line’s ability to block the Buckeyes. And it sure seemed like Ohio State knew what was coming, which makes it a bad call.
Few will forgive Penn State for not putting the ball in the hands of McSorley for the most important play in the game after he continually delivered for them throughout the night. Even head coach James Franklin acknowledged it was a bad call.
