Buckeyes junior cornerback Davison Igbinoson wrestles for the football with Nittany Lions redshirt junior safety Zakee Wheatley in the second quarter of No. 4 Ohio State’s 20-13 win against No.3 Penn State. Igbinuson came down with the interception just before the half, preventing a near-Nittany Lions score. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
In a roller coaster of a first half at Beaver Stadium, seemingly everything that could have gone wrong for the Buckeyes went wrong.
But with its back against the wall, Ohio State delivered a much-needed gutsy performance.
The now-No. 3 Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) bounced back from early struggles, scoring 17 straight points on their way to a 20-13 victory over now-No. 6 Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) Saturday.
Ohio State held Penn State to a field goal on the game’s opening drive, before Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard attempted a pass to wideout Jeremiah Smith that was jumped by Nittany Lions cornerback Zion Tracy, who took it back 31 yards for the score.
The 10-point Nittany Lions lead, the Buckeyes’ largest deficit of the season, seemingly felt insurmountable as “We Are Penn State” chants rained down throughout Beaver Stadium.
However, Ohio State showed its resilience, immediately driving down the field on a seven-play, 74-yard drive capped off by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Howard to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
It looked as if Ohio State fumbled away another touchdown opportunity, as Howard missed a wide-open Carnell Tate deep. But the Buckeyes managed to continue their 10-play, 81-yard drive, inevitably silencing the home crowd on a 21-yard touchdown pass to wideout Brandon Inniss.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he was proud of his team’s ability to respond to adversity and “will” itself a win in a hostile environment.
“One of the things we talked about this week was that in life, you’re going to have these opportunities where you got to will yourself to win, you got to go take something, you got to go find a way to get that thing done, whether it’s for your family, your career or the game of football,” Day said. “Our guys did that today, and I’m really happy for this team.”
Despite 14 unanswered points, the struggles continued for Ohio State, as Nittany Lions safety Zakee Wheatley punched the ball out on a potential Howard touchdown for a fumble out the back of the end zone.
A dominant defensive performance by the Buckeyes proved to be the difference in holding off the Nittany Lions after retaking the lead.
An interception by Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun in the end zone saved Ohio State from falling behind just before the half.
On the Nittany Lions’ three-second half drives, the Buckeyes held Penn State to just three points, forcing a crucial fourth-down stop on the goal line with just under five minutes to play.
The Buckeye offense then chewed the clock down to zero with 11 straight rushes for 58 yards, as Howard slid after crossing the first down marker to win the game.
Howard said he was thankful for his defense to “bail him out” in a performance in which he struggled at times, also noting how huge it was for the offense to run all over Penn State on its final drive.
“I can’t give enough credit to my teammates — they bailed me out. It’s just winning a game like that man in my home state, it’s unbelievable,” Howard said. “That was huge. We willed ourselves to win that game; we put the ball on [Quinshon] and [TreyVeyon Henderson] and the line to let them win the game for us.”
Day said he believes the game could’ve looked very different if a few plays went the other way, but at the end of the day, was happy the Buckeyes earned a win.
“We’re going to go back and watch this, and see a lot of things, and break it down and realize that the game probably could have been a different spot,” Day said. “But at the end of the day, you know, the way that [I’ve] been talking about it is, ‘Go win the game.’”
