It was billed as a big time game with a ton of things on the line. It was true, and now Ohio State gets the spoils of the victors.
With an unusual and quirky kind of 28-17 victory, the Buckeyes have clinched the Big Ten East, a spot in Indianapolis, and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Perhaps for the first time, Ohio State faced some adversity. It turned the ball over more than it would have liked, had far too many penalties, but still won while not playing its best game against a top ten opponent.
Ohio State had more issues moving the ball than it has in previous games, but still managed to lead going into halftime 14-0 thanks to the running of running back J.K. Dobbins and Justin Fields.
Penn State pushed back though after OSU went up 21-0 early in the third quarter. A lot of it had to do with some charitable contributions from the Buckeye offense that ended up fumbling the ball three times.
Behind a backup quarterback, the Nittany Lions got as close as 21-17 before the OSU defense clamped down and wouldn’t allow much else going forward.
At the end of the day, it took a bunch of mistakes and things going against Ohio State for a top ten Penn State team to even be in the game. If that’s not the hallmark of a team worthy of a No. 1 ranking, what is?
