COLUMBUS, Ohio _ In their 11th game of the season, Ohio State finally got a real challenge.
Then again, the Buckeyes had to overcome themselves as well as Penn State on Saturday.
No. 2 Ohio State survived losing three fumbles and nearly squandered a three-touchdown lead before prevailing, 28-17, on Senior Day in front of 104,355 at Ohio Stadium.
The victory clinches the Big Ten East title for Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) and a spot in the conference championship game. It did not come easily.
The Buckeyes led 21-0 after going 75 yards for a touchdown to open the second half. At that point, Ohio State had outgained No. 8 Penn State (9-2, 6-2) 330-64. But after a Nittany Lions touchdown drive, fumbles by running back J.K. Dobbins and quarterback Justin Fields set up Penn State scores to make it 21-17.
It was the closest any opponent had been to Ohio State since Wisconsin trailed 10-7 early in the third quarter a month ago before the Buckeyes scored the game's final 28 points.
This would be more of a nail-biter. The Buckeyes allowed their fans to exhale when Chris Olave caught a 28-yard touchdown pass in traffic to push the lead to 11. Linebacker Justin Hilliard then ended a Penn State drive with an interception at the Ohio State 20-yard line with 10 minutes left in the game.
Penn State didn't seriously threaten again. Shaun Wade broke up a fourth-down pass from the Nittany Lions' 32 with 3 minutes left.
Ohio State led 14-0 at halftime, but the Buckeyes should have had a bigger lead after dominating in yardage.
The Buckeyes went 91 yards for a touchdown on their opening drive, all on the ground against a Penn State defense that had yielded only 2.19 yards per carry this season, best in the country.
Dobbins, who finished with 150 yards on 35 carries, did the heavy lifting, running for 22 yards on his first carry and scoring on a 4-yarder. Fields had runs of 14 and 16 yards, the latter on third-and-11.
The Buckeyes looked to have made it 14-0 late in the first quarter when Fields dived into the end zone on a snap from the Penn State 5, but the touchdown was correctly overturned when Fields was ruled to have fumbled before reaching the goal line and the Nittany Lions recovered.
Penn State then drove to the Ohio State 36. Facing fourth-and-7, Penn State coach James Franklin elected to punt. Franklin made the same call on the Nittany Lions' first drive to the OSU 42 on fourth-and-4.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day faced a similar decision late in the second quarter when the Buckeyes had fourth-and-5 from the Penn State 26. He started to send out the field-goal unit but changed his mind. Fields then ran 22 yards on a draw. PSU forced another fourth down at the 1, but Dobbins ran behind Wyatt Davis, Branden Bowen and Luke Farrell for the touchdown to make it 14-0 with 2 minutes left.
When the Buckeyes scored to open the second half on a 24-yard pass from Fields to K.J. Hill, it looked like they would coast to another lopsided victory. Instead, they began to self-destruct with turnovers.
Penn State's offense finally cashed in on its ensuing drive, despite losing quarterback Sean Clifford in the middle of the drive. He was hit as he completed a pass for a first down to the Buckeyes' 43 after fumbling the snap. Will Levis replaced Clifford and gave the Nittany Lions a spark with his running. Penn State scored when Journey Brown then broke several tackles on an 18-yard touchdown.
It got worse for the Buckeyes. Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons stripped the ball from Dobbins on the next snap and the Nittany Lions recovered at the OSU 12. An 11-yard completion and 1-yard keeper by Levis made it 21-14 with 7:54 left.
Fields then fumbled again _ his knee was close to touching but replay review upheld the call _ and Penn State recovered. The Nittany Lions moved to the Ohio State 13 before Chase Young and Jashon Cornell combined on a sack that forced Penn State to settle for a field goal.
The Buckeyes' defense forced a three-and-out on Penn State's next possession and Ohio State took over at the PSU 45. Five plays later, Fields connected with Olave, who leaped over cornerback John Reid for the 28-yard touchdown. Fields was 15 of 21 for 183 yards.
Hilliard's interception to end the Nittany Lions' ensuing drive all but ended Penn State's hopes.
The Buckeyes had one final scare when Fields was slow to get up after a fourth-down sack, but he jogged off the field to the relief of the crowd.
There was a lot of relief Saturday.
