No. 4 Ohio State takes down No. 3 Penn State on the road, 20-13
🏆 OSU runs out clock, wins 20-13
Penn State's red zone debacle lessened the Nittany Lions' chances of taking down the Buckeyes, but didn't end them. With five minutes left, they needed the defense to stop Ohio State's offense to get the ball back.
The defense couldn't keep up their end of the bargain, though, as Howard, a Pennsylvania native, rushed for seven yards on third down with less than a minute left to secure Ohio State's 20-13 win over Penn State. He finished with 182 yards on 16 of 24 passes with two touchdowns and an interception, while the running back room rushed for 146 yards.
WILL HOWARD FIRST DOWN 😤 THAT'LL DO IT ‼️
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
It was the first time the Buckeyes beat a top-5 team on the road since 2006 and the 12th win against Penn State in the last 13 meetings.
The Nittany Lions struggled to find much momentum on offense all game, scoring just three points after the first quarter. A lot of that had to do with Ohio State's defensive success in the red zone, intercepting Allar and forcing a turnover on downs in crunch time.
Although Penn State suffered its first loss of the season, the College Football Playoffs are still in reach, especially with zero AP Top 25 teams currently left on its schedule.
The Buckeyes improve to 7-1, bouncing back from their loss to Oregon on Oct. 12 and a 10-point deficit against PSU. The win helps OSU's resume for the CFP and keeps them in Big Ten Championship Game contention. The Buckeyes face No. 13 Indiana in a few weeks — the strongest challenger left on their regular season schedule.
🫨 OSU makes goal line stand
After 31-yard and 33-yard plays by tight end Tyler Warren, the Nittany Lions had the opportunity to tie it up at 20 with first down at OSU's three-yard line.
The Buckeyes defense rose to the occasion, though, stopping Penn State to force a turnover on downs and maintain their seven-point lead.
Running up the middle three straight plays and Allar's incompletion to wideout Khalil Dinkins, PSU couldn't make it over the hump and give Ohio State the ball back with nearly five minutes left in the contest.
DENIED ON 4TH & GOAL 🔒
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
The defense makes a MASSIVE stop in Happy Valley 🌰
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🌰 Buckeyes adds three more, goes 20-13
It's become a field goal duel in Happy Valley.
Fielding nailed his second field goal of the game from 39 yards to give Ohio State a 20-13 lead to complete a 12-play, 64-yard drive. The last three drives between Penn State and the Buckeyes have resulted in a field goal.
🔥 Beaver Stadium breaks record
Beaver Stadium has housed some of the biggest crowds in college football history, and Saturday was no different.
Well, technically, it was.
The early afternoon matchup brought in 111,030 fans, the largest crowd ever in Beaver Stadium history. The unprecedented count surpassed the previous record of 110,889 from Ohio State's 27-26 victory over Penn State in 2018.
🔵⚪️ PSU nails field goal, cuts it to 17-13
Penn State's Barker notched his second field goal of the contest, kicking a 44-yard field goal to make it 17-13.
Similar to Ohio State's last drive, the three-point conversion wrapped up a nine-play, 49-yard drive. OSU's defense has given up just six points the entire game so far.
🎯 OSU takes 17-10 lead with field goal
The Buckeyes start off the second half with a 46-yard field goal by kicker Jayden Fielding, upping Ohio State's lead to seven points.
The field goal capped off an eight-play, 46-yard drive for OSU, and was Fielding's first field goal of the game.
Ohio State adds a FG to extend the lead to 7 🙌 Big kick by Jayden Fielding
— Saturday Cadence Podcast (@SaturdayCadence)
🏈 Ohio State leads 14-10 at half
Catching a break with Igbinosun's interception to end the half, the Buckeyes lead 14-10 at the break.
The first 30 minutes of play have been flooded with highlight reel-like plays on both sides of the ball. Besides Howard's two turnovers, Ohio State's offense has found consistent success through the air with 118 yards and on the ground with 73 yards.
The Nittany Lions' offense struggled to show signs of life until their final possession of the half. After taking a 3-0 lead, Penn State's back-to-back three-and-outs and three total punts were all they had to show for.
To make matters worse, Allar didn't complete a pass to a wide receiver for nearly the entire half.
It took 29 minutes but Penn State just completed its first pass to a wide receiver.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger)
🤯 Buckeyes' UNREAL INTERCEPTION
What. A. Play.
With Penn State knocking on the door for the first time all game, Ohio State defensive back Davison Igbinosun took matters into his own hands and intercepted Allar in the end zone.
After giving up a 21-yard, one-handed grab to Harrison Wallace III that put the Nittany Lions in the red zone, Igbinosun made up for it on the next play. Picking on Igbinosun on the next play, Allar tried to fade up Wallace.
Instead of the wideout coming down with another incredible catch, though, the ball bounced off Wallace's helmet and ended up in Igbinosun's right hand for an interception entering the break.
WHAT AN UNREAL INTERCEPTION 🤯
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
How did Davison Igbinosun even catch this for ?!
🫨 From touchdown to touchback: Howard fumbles out of the end zone
Closing in on his third touchdown of the first half, Howard fumbled out of the end zone for a touchback, squandering OSU's offensive momentum and giving Penn State the ball back.
It's Howard's second turnover of the game and snaps the Buckeyes' nine-drive streak of scoring a touchdown after converting on fourth down this season.
A closer look at the Will Howard fumble just before the goal line 👀🎥
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
Where do you think it went out?
🔥 OSU, Howard convert CRAZY 4th and 1
Howard continues to make plays for Ohio State. On fourth and one, the graduate student rolled out to his left, made a man miss, and lofted a pass to wide receiver Jelani Thurman for a first down.
The Buckeyes have scored a touchdown on all NINE drives that they've converted a fourth down on this season.
On 4th & 1 the Buckeyes pick up a WILD first down 🤯
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
🌰 OSU scores again, takes 14-10 lead
After going down 10-0 early, Howard has given the Buckeyes a 14-10 lead with his second passing touchdown of the day.
Connecting with Egbuka on the first time around, the quarterback found wide receiver Brandon Inniss for a 21-yard receiving touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 81-yard drive. Penn State bailed out OSU's offense on multiple third downs due to penalties — one for five yards and another for 15.
Since his interception, Howard has been in the zone, completing 8 of 12 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
BUCKEYES STRIKE AGAIN 😤 takes the lead in the Happy Valley 🌰
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
🥊 Buckeyes punch back with Rec TD
Ohio State's offense and Howard did the exact opposite of laying down, orchestrating a seven-play, 74-yard drive to cut Penn State's lead down to three points in less than four minutes.
Leaning on the run game for most of the drive, the Buckeyes went to the air to find the end zone with Howard's 25-yard passing touchdown to Egbuka. It was Egbuka's 21st career receiving touchdown — the fourth-most in active Big Ten players.
That didn't take long ⚡️
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
Will Howard finds Emeka Egbuka for the instant response by 💪
🫨 PENN STATE PICK SIX
Beaver Stadium has officially reached Cloud 9 level.
On the third play of Ohio State's first offensive drive, defensive back Zion Tracy intercepted quarterback Will Howard for a pick-six, giving Penn State an early 10-0 lead.
Lined up across from wideout Emeka Egbuka, Tracy read Howard like a book and took it to the house for his first interception of the season. It's Penn State's first lead versus the Buckeyes since 2022.
PENN STATE PICK SIX 😱🤯
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
🔵⚪️ Penn State scores first, takes 3-0 lead
The Nittany Lions capped off a 14-play, 61-yard drive with a 29-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Barker to give Penn State a 3-0 lead.
PSU's offense was clicking on all cylinders early with quarterback Drew Allar under center. With 30 passing yards and 36 rushing yards, Allar scrambled on three straight plays to open up the offense, showing no signs of limitations coming off a left knee injury.
The drive stalled out when the Nittany Lions entered the red zone, though, after getting flagged for an ineligible receiver down the field on first down.
🦁FIELD GOAL IS GOOD!🦁 kicker nails the 29yd field goal to give a 3-0 lead.
— Penn State Nittany Lions | Happy Valley Insider (@PennStateRivals)
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🍿 Penn State-Ohio State nearing kickoff
One of college football's biggest rivalries is just minutes away.
Big Ten heavyweights Penn State and Ohio State meet for the 32nd straight year for a matchup that could decide each team's postseason fate. Additionally, it raises the question of which coach can lead their program to victory even when history hasn't been kind to them.
PSU coach James Franklin is 1-9 against OSU as Nittany Lions head coach, while Buckeyes coach Ryan Day is 0-5 versus teams that are 7-0 or better.
According to ESPN's College Football Playoffs predictor, Penn State has a 97 percent chance to make the CFP with a win — it would be the program's first-ever CFP appearance. Ohio State has an 88 percent chance with a victory and would increase its odds of making the conference championship game.