Buckeyes Fumble, Stumble, But Still Beat Penn State
Ohio State faced real adversity for the first time this football season and overcame it to beat Penn State at the “Horseshoe” in Columbus 28-17 to win the Big Ten East title and secure a spot in the Big Ten Title game on December 7th.
After taking what looked to be a commanding lead at 21-0 in the 3rd quarter, the Buckeyes fumbled the ball twice, committed penalties and the defense was gashed for two touchdowns in that 3rd quarter as the Nittany Lions cut Ohio State’s lead to 21-17 going into the 4th quarter.
But quarterback Justin Fields, who injured his hand and ankle/leg in the contest, threw a game clinching 28 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Olave to make the final score 28-17 and keep the Buckeyes perfect at 11-0,
Fields finished the game 16 of 22 for 188 yards with 2 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions. Fields also ran for 68 yards, but fumbled twice.
J.K. Dobbins was the Buckeyes workhorse carrying the ball 36 times for 157 yards and 2 scores, but he too fumbled.
Receivers Chris Olave and K.J. Hill caught the 2 Fields TD passes.
Defensive end Chase Young, returning from a 2 game suspension, didn’t show any signs of rust as he once again was the best player on the field registering 9 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and forced 2 Penn State fumbles. With the 3 sacks, Young sets a new single season sack record at O.S.U. with 16.5 in just 9 games.
Next up for the Buckeyes, they are off to Ann Arbor for a showdown with arch rival Michigan.
Chase Young was asked after the Penn State win what everyone can expect from Ohio State in next week’s rivalry game against the Wolverines, “A bunch of hungry dudes and we’re still not where we want to be.”
Kick off next Saturday at “The Big House” is set 12pm on 1480 WHBC.
