63 No. 4 Ohio State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) |
VIDEO: O'Brien Postgame Interview Final Stats | Notes Columbus, Ohio • Ohio Stadium • Attendance: 105,889 | 14 Penn State (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) |
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Bill Belton ran for 98 yards on 22 carries, but Ohio State's dominant offense got the better of Penn State, 63-14, on Saturday night.
"We didn't get the job done - not even close," Lions outside linebacker Mike Hull said. "It's the worst game I've experienced."
Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller passed for three touchdowns and ran for two and running back Carlos Hyde rushed for 147 yards and two more scores to lead the fourth-ranked Buckeyes to victory.
"I take full responsibility for this loss," Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. "We didn't have them prepared good enough as a coaching staff, or me has a head coach. Therefore we didn't play good enough."
Miller, who completed 18 of 24 passes, threw for a career-best 252 yards before leaving in the third quarter.
Ohio State scored on six of seven possessions in the first two quarters.
Miller completed all four of his passes for 65 yards after the opening kickoff before Hyde bulled in for a 2-yard TD.
Penn State manufactured a nice drive in response by mixing Belton runs with Hackenberg passes until faced with a third and 5 at the Ohio State 12.
Then Hackenberg tried to thread a pass to tight end Adam Breneman at the goal line, with Buckeyes safety Corey Brown picking off the attempt to end the threat.
"That hurt," O'Brien said. "I don't know if it would have changed the outcome, but I think it would have helped a little bit. It was a 13-play drive. We got it in there pretty good and then threw the pick. It would have been nice to have a touchdown there."
After the teams traded punts, the Buckeyes scored on five straight possessions. Miller scrambled right and just tumbled into the end zone behind a block by Devin Smith on a 39-yard scoring run.
With Belton carrying the load, the Nittany Lions got on the board when Hackenberg avoided a collapsing pocket and short-armed a 12-yard pass to Brandon Felder over the middle.
Hackenberg finished 12 of 23 for 112 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions.
"They'll put it behind them," O'Brien said of his players. "We'll remember some things. Now we'll get ready to play Illinois."