COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 20/17 Penn State football team fell to No. 5/5 Ohio State, 33-24, in a road contest at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
In a primetime slugfest, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes combined for 860 yards of total offense in the game.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford completed a career-high 35 passes on the night for 361 yards and a touchdown. The Nittany Lions had a pair of 100-yard receivers for the second time this season, as Jahan Dotson tallied a career-high 11 catches for 127 yards and Parker Washington tied a career-high with nine catches for 108 yards. This marks the first time since 2014 that two Penn State wide receivers posted concurrent 100-yard games twice in one season (DaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis). Dotson also recorded his first career rushing touchdown, scoring on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.
Penn State's defense showed their grit throughout the night, holding Ohio State to just one red zone touchdown on six opportunities. Linebacker Brandon Smith led the unit with seven tackles in the contest.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 22-of-34 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. The Buckeyes leaned on freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson to put the game away in the second half. He totaled 152 yards on 28 carries with a rushing touchdown. The Buckeyes also added a defensive score in the game, a 57-yard fumble return by Jerron Cage.
Penn State will be back on the road next weekend when the Nittany Lions take on Maryland on Nov. 6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded turnovers on consecutive plays on their opening drives. Penn State's defense stalled the Buckeyes' drive when Ji'Ayir Brown forced and recovered a fumble on a Jeremy Ruckert reception. Ohio State would get the ball back a play later on a fumble recovery of their own.
The Nittany Lions would get on the board first, going 89 yards on 13 plays en route to the game's first touchdown. Sean Clifford went 5-6 for 72 yards on the drive, capping it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brenton Strange. The drive was highlighted by a 32-yard catch and run from Clifford to Parker Washington.
Penn State's red zone defense would hold Ohio State to a field goal on the ensuing drive, as the Buckeyes got on the board with a 35-yard field goal by Noah Ruggles.
Ohio State would take its first lead in the closing minutes of the second when C.J. Stroud found Chris Olave deep for a 37-yard touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 10-7.
The Buckeye defense would force a turnover to extend the lead on the ensuing drive on a 53-yard scoop and score by Jerron Cage.
Penn State would cut the deficit back to one possession going into the half with a 47-yard field goal by Jordan Stout. Ohio State led 17-10 at halftime.
The Nittany Lions would even the score on their first drive of the second half, finishing off a 75-yard scoring drive with Jahan Dotson's first career touchdown rush.
Penn State's defense would record another trademark goal line stop, forcing Ohio State into a field goal inside the five-yard line. Ruggles 23-yard field goal gave Ohio State a 20-17 lead.
Ohio State would extend the lead to 27--17 their next drive. After TreVeyon Henderson set the Buckeyes up inside the five on a 68-yard run, the freshman would score on a 1-yard rush two plays later.
Clifford would once again drive the Nittany Lions down the field on the following drive, putting Penn State inside the red zone with five straight completions. The Nittany Lions would pull within 27-24 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Keyvone Lee.
The Buckeye defense would produce a key turnover midway through the fourth with a Cameron Brown interception.
Penn State would hold the Buckeyes to a red zone field goal once again, a 24-yarder from Ruggles to extend the lead to 30-24. They would repeat this later in the fourth with Ruggles tacking on three more with a 26-yarder.
Ohio State would hold on to win 33-24.
