Ohio State defense dominates Nittany Lions in 20-12 victory
Trending
Penn State's anticipated game of the year ended up being the same old refrain.
The Nittany Lions mustered nothing offensively, and they lost their seventh-straight game to the Buckeyes, 20-12, Saturday afternoon at 105,506 at Ohio Stadium.
No. 3 Ohio State improved to 7-0, and No. 7 Penn State fell to 6-1.
The Buckeye defense ruled the day.
Ohio State harassed quarterback Drew Allar into a very tough afternoon. The Ohio native completed just 18-of-42 for 191 yards - most of those yards coming late - and the Lions converted just 1-of-16 on third down.
Nittany Lion runners weren't effective, either, as they averaged just 1.9 yards on 26 carries.
Nick Singleton had consecutive rushes of 20 and 16 yards in the first quarters, but just 12 yards in seven remaining carries.
Penn State's defense played tough. The Lions gave up a second-quarter touchdown (and a 10-3 OSU lead) plus three field goals before the Bucks tacked on a late TD to star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught 11 passes for 162 yards.
Down 20-6, Penn State punched in an 8-yard TD pass from Allar to Kaden Saunders with 29 seconds remaining. The Nits went for a 2-point conversion and missed.
The Lions had a touchdown taken away in the first half via penalty that hurt them.
On third-and-11 from the PSU 26, with the game tied 3-3 midway through the second quarter, Curtis Jacobs sacked Buckeye quarterback Kyle McCord and forced a fumble that he returned 59 yards for a touchdown.
But Kalen King was called for holding in the secondary, which negated the TD and gave the Bucks a short field that they cashed in for a 10-3 lead.
The Lions' other decent opportunity came late in the third quarter came when, with the Buckeyes up 10-6, PSU recovered a muffed OSU punt at midfield but again couldn't take advantage.
The Lion return to action next week, hosting Indiana. Kickoff is noon, and the Big Ten Network will televise.
The Hoosiers fell to 2-5 after a 31-14 loss to Rutgers on Saturday in Bloomington.
For a complete recap of the game, check out Penn State Extra in Monday's print edition.