Ohio State Downs Penn State 20-12

No. 3 Ohio State (7-0) handed No. 7 Penn State (6-1) its first loss of the season as the Buckeyes won a defensive battle 20-12 on Saturday in Columbus.

The Nittany Lions trailed 10-6 at halftime, and though the Penn State defense came up big time and again, Ohio State got the difference makers in the fourth quarter with a field goal and a late touchdown pass from Kyle McCord to Marvin Harrison.

Drew Allar led a touchdown drive in the final two minutes to pull Penn State within eight, but it was too little too late after an ineffective afternoon by the Nittany Lion offense. Penn State’s only third down conversion in 16 attempts came on that final touchdown drive and the Nittany Lions could only muster 240 offensive yards on the day (73 of them on that last drive).

Allar was 18-42 for 191 yards and a score. Nicholas Singleton led the Nittany Lion run game with 48 yards on nine carries.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State got the ball first and did nothing with its opening possession. Following a Riley Thompson punt, Ohio State took over on its 28 and quickly moved down field. Three completions from Kyle McCord to Marvin Harrison Jr. and a 19-yard Chip Trayanum run got the Buckeyes to the 15. Three consecutive McCord incompletions, however, forced Ohio State to settle for a 33-yard Jayden Fielding field goal and a 3-0 lead just over four minutes into the game.

The teams traded punts before Penn State evened it up. Nicholas Singleton ran through big holes for consecutive gains of 20 and 16 yards to get the Nittany Lions to the Ohio State 26. A Sonny Styles sack and a Drew Allar incompletion got Penn State off schedule, and a six-yard Singleton gain left the Nittany Lions short of a first down. Penn State turned to kicker Alex Felkins, who connected on a 40-yard field goal to knot the game at 3-3 with 5:15 left in the first.

It remained that way until midway through the second and a disastrous sequence of events for the Penn State defense. The Buckeyes drove to the Penn State 25, and on a first-down play star Nittany Lion defensive end Chop Robinson went down with an injury. After several minutes down on the field, Robinson went to the injury tent then the locker room and did not return.

After linebacker Abdul Carter broke up a McCord pass, the Nittany Lions had what appeared to be a game-turning play. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs stripped the ball from McCord, scooped it up and ran it back 60 yards to the end zone. But a defensive holding penalty on Kalen King gave the Buckeyes a fresh set of downs at the Penn State 16.

Facing third and 10, McCord threaded the ball to Harrison for an 11-yard gain to the 5. A stop for no gain was then negated by a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty on Kobe King, and Miyan Williams finished off the drive with a two-yard stretch for the touchdown. Ohio State took a 10-3 lead with 7:31 left in the half.

Penn State looked to answer as Allar connected with tight end Tyler Warren for an 11-yard gain, then found his other tight end, Theo Johnson, wide open for a 34-yard pickup. The Nittany Lions couldn’t get much more from there, and a 41-yard Felkins field goal narrowed the deficit to 10-6 with 4:16 remaining in the second quarter.

Ohio State opened its ensuing drive with a 35-yard pass from McCord to Harrison, but the Nittany Lion defense stiffened and forced a Jesse Mirco punt that pinned Penn State at its own 6. The Nittany Lions picked up a pair of first downs but stalled after three straight incompletions and punted. Ohio State took a knee with 42 seconds left in the half and carried a 10-6 lead into the locker room.

The defenses continued to dominate the game through much of the third quarter, but a few big plays eventually had Ohio State on the doorstep. McCord hit Harrison for 18 yards then went over the top to Cade Stover for a 30-yard gain to the Penn State 9. A pair of runs got the Buckeyes to the 2, but the Nittany Lion defense stepped up, throwing Williams for a 1-yard loss on third down and stopping Carnell Tate after a catch for no gain on fourth down.

Deep in their own territory, the Nittany Lions were forced to punt on their next possession, but Riley Thompson’s punt bounced off of Julian Fleming’s leg and Tyler Elsdon recovered the ball for Penn State at the Ohio State 49.

Once again, however, the Penn State offense couldn’t do anything and punted. Ohio State responded with a nine-play 71-yard drive that stalled at the Penn State 19. A Fielding field goal extended the Buckeye lead to 13-7.

Penn State’s offense continued to sputter on the next possession. On fourth and 4 from the Nittany Lion 43, JT Tuimoloau pressured Allar into an incompletion and the Buckeyes took over. A face mask penalty gave Ohio State 15 free yards after what would have been a run for a loss. The Nittany Lions had two more tackles for loss on the drive, but a Harrison catch for 11 yards set up a first down run, and the star Buckeye receiver took another pass in the flat and ran 18 yards for the backbreaker.

Down 20-6 with four minutes left, the Nittany Lion offense benefited from a face mask penalty and a roughing the passer call, but the passing game continued to be totally out of sorts. Allar through six incompletions, got called for intentional grounding and was sacked to kill the drive.

The Nittany Lions got the ball back one more time with under two minutes remaining after a missed Ohio State field goal attempt. Starting at his own 27, Allar completed seven passes — including Penn State’s first third-down conversion and a fourth-down conversion — to get Penn State inside the Buckeye 10. Allar then hit Kaden Saunders in the back of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown completion that narrowed the Ohio State lead to 20-12.

Penn State’s two-point conversion attempt failed, and Ohio State recovered the ensuing onside kick to put away the 20-12 Buckeye victory.

Prior to the final touchdown drive, Penn State had just six yards of offense in the second half.

The Nittany Lions will look to regroup next week when they host Indiana for a noon kick on CBS.