Sanders undeterred by Saturday night setback

Saturday night was not, by any stretch, the finest hour for Penn State junior running back Miles Sanders.

Carrying the ball 16 times, Sanders posted 43 yards on the ground and a touchdown to go along with two yards on two receptions. His lowest yards per carry by a significant margin, Sanders also put the ball on the ground in what would become one of the game’s defining turnovers late in the second quarter.

Handed prime field position at Penn State’s own 25-yard line from the fumble, the Buckeyes cashed in with a touchdown just two plays later to cut the halftime score to 13-7.

Already frustrated by an inability to cash in themselves, the Nittany Lions held to just six points on four-straight trips inside the Buckeyes’ 40-yard line to open the game, Sanders acknowledged after the game the role of offense’s shortcomings in the loss in the first half.

“Absolutely. We wish we turned those field goals into six points,” said Sanders. “At the end of the day, we beat ourselves up, honestly. We just have to continue to keep grinding and hopefully, we will grow from this.”

Penn State head coach James Franklin is confident that the setback will not derail Sanders’ outstanding effort to this point in the season.

Asked Tuesday about Sanders during the Big Ten coaches teleconference, Franklin extolled the qualities his feature back has brought to the team both on and off the field this year.

“We love Miles. We think he's playing at a really high level. Obviously a couple of weeks ago, he rushed for over 200 yards,” said Franklin. “He's growing and evolving and getting more comfortable in his leadership role. We're very pleased with him.

“We think Miles is one of the best running backs in the country. He's been a great teammate and is really evolving into a strong leader for us as well. I think as the year goes on, he'll continue to do great things for us.”

To do so, Sanders will need to join his offensive teammates in moving past the fourth-and-5 play that effectively ended the Nittany Lions’ chances at overcoming their 1-point deficit in the game’s final minutes Saturday night.

Gobbled up by Ohio State’s Chase Young immediately upon receiving an inside handoff from Trace McSorley, Sanders had no chance to even get back to the line of scrimmage, let alone reach the first down marker five yards ahead.

“We saw their front, how they came out with the odd front,” said Sanders. “We tried to split it right through the middle, but they did a good job switching what they were doing, Chase coming through the middle.”

Eager to dust themselves off, Sanders and the Nittany Lions spent part of the week back at practice before enjoying an off weekend, followed by a date with Michigan State back at Beaver Stadium Oct. 13.

Understanding that the loss to the Buckeyes creates new challenges to overcome in moving past it, Sanders said he’s determined to do exactly that.

“It stings,” he said. “This one is going to sting for a long time, but we are not going to let this kill us because we have a lot of ball left to play.”