Football Drops Thriller to No. 13 Ohio State in Double OT

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The packed Penn State White Out crowd of 107,895 watched senior linebackerMike Hull(Canonsburg, Pa.) and junior defensive endAnthony Zettel(West Branch, Mich.) pace a fantastic Penn State defensive effort as the Nittany Lions battled #13 Ohio State in a double overtime thriller. The Buckeyes used a four-yard run from J.T. Barrett in the second overtime to secure a 31-24 victory.

Hull made a career-high 19 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and nabbed his second career interception to lead the defensive effort. Hull's 19 tackles are the most by a Penn State player sinceGerald Hodgesmade 19 stops against Illinois in 2011.

Zettel grabbed his second interception of the season and returned it 40 yards for the first touchdown of his career. He also notched a three-yard sack and another tackle. In his first career start,Marcus Allen(Upper Marlboro, Md.) was solid with 11 tackles and two pass breakups, while sophomoreBrandon Bell(Mays Landing, N.J.) added 13 tackles, including a sack for a seven-yard loss.

Redshirt freshmanDaeSean Hamilton(Fredericksburg, Va.) broke the Penn State single-game record for receptions with 14 catches for 126 yards. He breaks the record of 13 catches held by Freddie Scott against Wisconsin in 1995. Sophomore quarterbackChristian Hackenberg(Palmyra, Va.) was 31-for-49 for 224 yards and a touchdown. Freshman receiverSaeed Blacknall(Manalapan, N.J.) pulled in his first career touchdown and finished with four catches for 34 yards.

The Buckeyes' first possession started in Penn State territory after an interception of Hackenberg by Vonn Bell at the PSU 39. Ohio State needed just seven plays to score capped off by a 10-yard run by Ezekiel Elliot for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead for the Buckeyes less than five minutes into the game.

After an exchange of three-and-outs, the Nittany Lions put together a seven-play, 37-yard drive, but were forced to punt. Ohio State took over at their own nine-yard line and drove down to the Penn State 17-yard line before the raucous crowd forced the Buckeyes into a pair of false start penalties, a timeout and a sack help hold OSU to a 49-yard field goal by Sean Nuernberger to extend the Ohio State lead to 10-0 with 11:07 left in the second quarter.

Ohio State again started in prime field position at the Penn State 39 after a Nittany Lion punt. The Buckeyes needed six plays to reach the end zone via a one-yard pass from J.T. Barrett to Jeff Heuerman to make it a 17-0 OSU lead with 3:58 remaining in the opening half.

The Buckeyes opened the second half with the ball and after modest gains on their first two plays, Zettel intercepted Barrett and returned it 40 yards for the touchdown to make it a 17-7 game with 13:37 remaining in the third quarter. It is the first interception returned for a touchdown for the Nittany Lions since Navarro Bowman had a pick six against Indiana in 2009. The interception was the second of the season for Zettel and third of his career.

After an exchange of possessions, the Buckeyes methodically marched down the field over 12 plays, but Nuernberger's 41-yard field goal attempt went wide right to keep the margin at 10 with 5:09 remaining in third.

Hull nabbed his first interception of the season and second of his career to jumpstart the Penn State offense and the sold out Beaver Stadium crowd. After a first down via a roughing the passer penalty,Akeel Lynch(Toronto, Ontario) clicked off runs of eight and four yards to push the Lions to the OSU 28. Hackenberg completed passes to Blacknall for three yards andChris Godwin(Middletown, Del.) for one yard to move to the 24-yard line. On the ensuing play, Hackenberg found Blacknall for a 24-yard over-the-shoulder catch for his first career touchdown to make it a 17-14 Ohio State lead with 11:08 left in the contest.

The Penn State defense held strong as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter and forced a punt with 2:58 remaining. Hackenberg came out strong and marched the Lions down the field in an 18-play drive, going 9-of-13 for 63 yards with two rushes for six yards to put Penn State in field goal position. Ficken connected on a 31-yard field goal to cap the drive with nine seconds remaining to tie the game at 17-17.

Ohio State won the toss in the first overtime and elected to start on defense. A 12-yard pitch-and-catch from Hackenberg to Hamilton highlighted the Penn State overtime drive that ended with a one-yard run byBill Belton(Sicklerville, N.J.) for the touchdown and a 24-17 lead for Penn State, the first of the game for the Lions.

The Buckeyes responded with a five-yard TD run by Barrett to force a second overtime period. During the extra point, Penn State was flagged for leaping, a penalty that was assessed on the Buckeyes' possession in the second overtime.

It took just three plays for the Buckeyes, who started from the 12-yard line, to score a touchdown on a four-yard run by Barrett and take a 31-24 lead. Penn State advanced the ball five yards on its possession, but a sack of Hackenberg on fourth down ended the game and sealed the win for the Buckeyes.

The Nittany Lions host Maryland on Saturday at noon on ESPN2, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.