COLUMBUS, Ohio — Relishing the role of being a prohibitive underdog, Penn State gave fifth-ranked Ohio State all it could handle before falling 33-24 Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.
The 20th-ranked Nittany Lions (2-3 Big Ten, 5-3) played inspired football against the Buckeyes (5-0, 7-1), but they dropped their third straight game and fifth in a row to Ohio State, an 18½-point favorite.
Penn State’s defense battled the Buckeyes, who entered the game as the national leaders in scoring (49.3) and total yards (559.7). Several explosive plays were the difference for Ohio State, which gained 277 yards in the second half.
Redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud completed 22-of-35 passes for 305 yards and one touchdown for the Buckeyes. TreVeyon Henderson, another freshman, ran 28 times for 152 yards and one touchdown.
Noah Ruggles kicked a 26-yard field goal with 2:41 to seal it.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, whose health had been in question, completed 35-of-52 passes for 361 yards and one touchdown and looked much more mobile than he did last week in a nine-overtime loss to Illinois.
Clifford lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and threw an interception. Running back Noah Cain lost a fumble early in the first quarter.
Jahan Dotson caught 11 passes for 127 yards and Parker Washington had nine receptions for 108 yards. The Lions, however, netted just 33 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
Oregon, which upset the Buckeyes 35-28 last month at The Horseshoe, is the only other team to hold them to less than 41 points
Penn State opened the second half with a 12-play, 75 yard drive to tie it. Clifford went 7-for-9 for 47 yards, including a spectacular catch by Washington to the Ohio State 4.
Two plays later, Dotson lined up behind center, took the snap, received a seal block from Theo Johnson and scored to tie it at 17-17.
The Buckeyes followed, using a 58-yard pass from Stroud to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Joey Porter Jr. chased him down at the Penn State 17, which saved a touchdown. The Lions kept Ohio State out of the end zone after a first-and-goal from the 6. Ruggles kicked a 23-yard field goal to make it 20-17.
The Buckeyes regained a 10-point lead when Henderson burst through a hole up the middle, cut left and sprinted 68 yards to the Penn State 3. He scored from the 2 to give Ohio State a 27-17 lead.
Penn State answered like it did all night behind Clifford, who went 5-for-8 for 68 yards on an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Keyvone Lee finished it with a 1-yard run off the left side to cut it to 27-24 at the end of the third quarter.
Ohio State quickly drove down the field to open the fourth quarter. Stroud found Garrett Wilson for 13 yards and then Jeremy Ruckert for 24 yards. Porter was flagged for pass interference, giving the Buckeyes a first down at the 20.
Penn State made a huge stop. Daequan Hardy tackled Smith-Njigba after a 4-yard gain on third-and-7 and then Stroud threw a poor fourth-down pass to Chris Olave that was incomplete.
Four plays later, though, Clifford threw as he was hit by Tyreke Smith and was intercepted by Cam Brown, who returned it 25 yards to the Lions’ 28. Penn State’s defense made another red zone stop behind tackles for 1-yard losses by Jesse Luketa and then Arnold Ebiketie and Nick Tarburton.
That forced the Buckeyes to settle for Ruggles’ 25-yard field goal with 7:12 to go.
Penn State’s offense looked nothing like it did last week in its loss to Illinois at Beaver Stadium.
After Ji’Ayir Brown recovered a Buckeyes fumble and Cain lost a fumble on back-to-back plays, the Lions used a crisp 13-play, 89-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead.
Clifford completed 5-of-6 passes for 72 yards, including a well-designed 5-yard touchdown to tight end Brenton Strange.
Ohio State answered quickly when Stroud connected with Wilson twice for gains of 10 and 19 yards to set up a 35-yard field goal by Ruggles late in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Penn State drove from its 11 to the Ohio State 43 behind Clifford, who went 4-for-7 for 46 yards. Franklin decided to go for it on fourth-and-4, but Clifford was sacked by J.T. Tuimoloau.
The Lions defense got another stop before the Buckeyes drove 69 yards for the go-ahead score with the help of a pass interference penalty on cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields.
Stroud faked a handoff, escaped pressure from linebacker Curtis Jacobs and found a wide-open Olave for a 38-yard touchdown that gave Ohio State a 10-7 lead.
Less than 90 seconds later, Smith sacked Clifford and forced him to fumble. Jerron Cage, a 6-2, 305-pound defensive tackle, picked up the ball and lumbered 57 yards to the end zone to put the Buckeyes up 17-7 with 2:24 left in the half.
The fumbles by Cain and Clifford were the first two lost by the Lions this season.
Penn State’s offense was not done, though. Clifford completed 5-of-7 passes for 34 yards, setting up Jordan Stout’s 47-yard field goal that made it 17-10 at the break.
Clifford went 17-for-24 for 190 yards in the first half, helping the Lions outgain Ohio State 209-189. It was a vast improvement over their performance last week, when they gained just 227 yards in a nine-overtime loss to Illinois.
Source: Berkshire mont
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