Penn State defensive ends Chop Robinson, Amin Vanover leave game with injuries
Oct. 21—COLUMBUS, Ohio — Penn State sustained a couple of losses Saturday that might have an impact on the rest of the season.
Defensive end Chop Robinson, one of the Nittany Lions' best pass rushers, was injured in the second quarter of a 20-12 loss to Ohio State at Ohio Stadium and later carted off the field.
Buckeyes offensive lineman Matt Jones unintentionally hit Robinson in the helmet while blocking him on a first-down run by Miyan Williams.
Robinson, a potential first-round draft pick next year, laid on his stomach for several minutes while the Penn State medical staff attended to him. It appeared to be a head injury because he seemed dazed.
Then in the third quarter, Amin Vanover, another defensive end, suffered some type of leg injury and was helped off the field. He did not return.
Adisa Isaac, Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zuriah Fisher saw extended action in the absence of Robinson and Vanover.
Isaac had four tackles, including two in the backfield, and Dennis-Sutton had three stops.
TD nullified: Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs' 68-yard return of a fumble for a touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty on cornerback Kalen King in the second quarter.
Jacobs knocked the football from Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, scooped it up and sprinted down the sideline to the end zone.
King and fellow cornerback Johnny Dixon stood by the penalty flag and didn't celebrate before the call was announced.
"The quarterback stepped up, and I made a play on the ball," Jacobs said. "That's just how it works. You have to play the next play. You can't get too high. You can't get too low."
Five plays later, Williams scored on a 2-yard run for the only touchdown in the first 56 minutes of the game.
"We were excited," linebacker Kobe King said, "until we saw everybody holding back. We knew what it was."
Jacobs and fellow linebacker Abdul Carter each had nine tackles to lead the Lions.
Hardy's mishap: Penn State cornerback and punt returner Daequan Hardy did not field Jesse Mirco's punt near midfield in the third quarter and watched the ball roll to a stop at the Lions' 24.
It ended up being a 72-yard punt and flipped the field position in favor of the Buckeyes, who drove from their 35 to the Penn State 1 on their next series before the Lions stopped them.
"It took a bad turn at the end," Hardy said, "so I had to let it go. At the end the wind blew it a little bit to my right. It was just bad judgment by me."
