Wins against Penn State rarely come easily, and that was true once again for Ohio State on Saturday night.
Ohio State trailed for most of the first half and scored just two offensive touchdowns in the game, but the Buckeyes ultimately grinded out their fifth straight win over the Nittany Lions, defeating Penn State 33-24 in front of a crowd of nearly 103,000 fans in Ohio Stadium.
Both teams fumbled on their opening possessions of the game. Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert had the ball stripped out of his hands by Penn State’s Ji’Ayir Brown while fighting for a first down on the Buckeyes’ opening series, but Penn State gave it back on the very next play when Marcus Williamson forced a Noah Cain fumble and Haskell Garrett recovered.