Ohio State Defeats Penn State, 20-12, for Seventh Straight Victory Against Nittany Lions

By Dan Hope on October 21, 2023 at 3:48 pm
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Seven in a row.

Led by a dominant defensive performance, Ohio State earned its seventh straight win over Penn State on Saturday, defeating the Nittany Lions 20-12 at Ohio Stadium.

Penn State would not reach the end zone until the final minute of the game as Ohio State prevented the Nittany Lions from converting their first 15 third-down attempts of the game.

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4  
#3 Ohio State 3 7 0 10 20
#7 PENN STATE 3 3 0 6 12
OCT. 21, 2023 • Ohio STADIUM • Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State started the scoring with a 33-yard Jayden Fielding field goal on its opening drive. Kyle McCord completed his first five passes of the game to drive the Buckeyes into the red zone, but threw three straight incompletions from the 15-yard line, forcing OSU to settle for three points.

Penn State was held scoreless on its first two drives of the game but tied the game on its third possession with a 40-yard field goal by Alex Felkins after a pair of long runs by Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton that went for 36 combined yards.

The Nittany Lions nearly scored the first touchdown of the game on a 60-yard scoop-and-score by Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs, but the takeaway was nullified by a defensive holding penalty against the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes took advantage of the break in their favor and scored the first touchdown of the game themselves on a 2-yard run by Miyan Williams with 7:31 left to play in the second quarter.

Penn State got back inside Ohio State’s 25-yard line on its next possession but settled for another field goal, which Felkins made from 41 yards away. Neither team would score for the remainder of the first half, so Ohio State took a 10-6 lead into halftime.

The Buckeyes missed out on a prime scoring opportunity late in the third quarter when it drove to Penn State’s 1-yard line but Williams was unable to punch the ball into the end zone on 3rd-and-goal. Following a 1-yard loss, Ohio State opted to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line and was unsuccessful as a pass from McCord to Carnell Tate went for no gain.

Ohio State was poised to get the ball back at midfield after forcing a 3-and-out, but Riley Thompson’s punt went off the foot of Lorenzo Styles Jr. and was recovered by Penn State’s Tyler Eldson, giving the Nittany Lions the ball back at their 48-yard line.

The Buckeyes were able to force a punt thanks to a sack by JT Tuimoloau, then put together a 71-yard drive to Penn State’s 19-yard line before settling for a 37-yard Fielding field goal. The first points by either team in the second half extended Ohio State’s lead to seven points with 8:59 left to play.

Penn State opted to go for it on fourth down from its own 43-yard line on its subsequent possession, and Tuimoloau made another huge play, hitting Drew Allar to force an incompletion.

Marvin Harrison Jr. gave Buckeyes a 14-point advantage by scoring an 18-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-11 with just 4:07 to play.

OHIO STATE   METRIC   PENN STATE
365 TOTAL YARDS 240
79 RUSHING YARDS 49
41 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 26
1.9 AVERAGE per RUSH 1.9
1 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 0
286 PASSING YARDS 191
22-35 COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS 18-42
13.0 AVERAGE per COMPLETION 10.6
1 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1
22 1st DOWNS 15
76 TOTAL PLAYS 68
4.8 YARDS PER PLAY 3.5
6-16 third down conv 1-16
6-54 PENALTIES 5-32
34:24 POSSESSION 25:36

Fielding had a chance to make it a three-score game with 2:41 left, but missed a 45-yard attempt for his first unsuccessful field goal try of the season.

Penn State scored its only touchdown of the game with 29 seconds left to play as the Nittany Lions drove 73 yards in 12 plays, capping it off with a 8-yard touchdown pass from Allar to Kaden Saunders. But after an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt by the Nittany Lions, Carnell Tate iced the game by cleanly recovering Penn State’s onside kick attempt.

Harrison finished the game with 11 catches for 162 yards and one touchdown. The Nittany Lions offense went 1-for-16 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth down with their only conversions coming on their final series of the game.

Ohio State’s seventh straight win over Penn State – the most consecutive wins the Buckeyes have ever had against the Nittany Lions – brings Ohio State to 7-0 on the season. The Buckeyes will look to make it 8-0 when they go back on the road next week to play at Wisconsin, where kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. with NBC televising.

Game Notes

  • Denzel Burke was one of nine Ohio State players listed as out for Saturday’s game while Emeka Egbuka and TreVeyon Henderson were both listed as questionable.
  • Chip Trayanum started at running back in place of Henderson, Xavier Johnson started at wide receiver in place of Egbuka and Jordan Hancock started at cornerback in place of Burke.
  • Ohio State’s 1968 national championship team was honored during a TV timeout in the first quarter.
  • Backup safety Ja’Had Carter was injured during a first-quarter kickoff return and did not return to the game.
  • Retiring Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith was honored on the field between the first and second quarters.
  • 105,506 people attended the game.
  • Backup quarterback Devin Brown was helped off the field with an injury after a 5-yard run in the red zone in the third quarter. Fox’s Jenny Taft reported that Brown’s injury was a right ankle sprain.
  • The third quarter was the first time this season that Penn State did not score points in a quarter.
  • Marvin Harrison Jr. topped 100 yards for the fifth time in six games. He now has the second-most 100-yard games of any receiver in Ohio State history (12) behind only David Boston.

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