Ohio State-Penn State: Buckeyes rally to stun Nittany Lions again

»PHOTOS: Ohio State vs. Penn State

Penn State moved the ball past midfield on the ensuing possession, but Miles Sanders was stopped for a loss by Chase Young on a fourth-and-5 to give the ball back to the Buckeyes.

It was the second consecutive year the Buckeyes came back from near-dead against the Nittany Lions.

They erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter in 2017 in Columbus.

HALFTIME: 

Ohio State trails Penn State 13-7 at halftime in Happy Valley, a game not nearly as close as the score.

No. 9 Penn State dominated the first quarter but had only a 3-0 lead to show for it.

The Nittany Lions drove 40 yards to the Ohio State 39 on their first drive before punting then went 63 yards for a field goal on their second drive.

They picked up 52 yards on their third drive but missed a field goal.

Meanwhile, Ohio State did next to nothing on offense, gaining just 27 total yards in the first 15 minutes.

PSU quarterback Trace McSorley was 6 for 7 for 89 yards passing and ran five times for 67 yards (including a sack that lost two) in the first quarter, but Ohio State kept him and the rest of the Nittany Lions bottled up for most of the second quarter.

One slip-up proved costly, though, as McSorley hit KJ Hambler over the middle and watched him outrun the Buckeye defense for a 93-yard touchdown that electrified a “White Out” crowd.

The second scoring play of that length Ohio State has yielded this season put the fourth-ranked Buckeyes in a 13-0 hole that looked even larger given their struggles on offense to that point.

However, Ohio State was able to salvage something out of the half when Dwayne Haskins hit J.K. Dobbins on a screen pass and the sophomore running back rumbled 26 yards for a touchdown with :42 left in the second quarter.

That was set up by a Penn State fumble at the 25-yard line two plays earlier.

Penn State outgained Ohio State 293-93 in total yards in the first half and averaged 7.0 yards per play compared to 3.1 by the Buckeyes.

The star of the first half for Ohio State was punter Drue Chrisman, who averaged 47.7 yards on his seven punt and had three of them downed inside the 20.

Haskins was just 7 for 16 passing for 62 yards with a touchdown and an interception that went off the hands of his intended receiver and set up Penn State’s second field goal of the game.

PREGAME: 

Ohio State and Penn State are set to play what is expected the be the game of the weekend Saturday night in University Park.

The fourth-ranked Buckeyes are looking for revenge for an upset loss the last time they were here two years ago.

>>Series has featured big contributions from Miami Valley natives

The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions hope a "White Out" crowd will help them score another upset and move into the driver's seat in the Big Ten East race.

PREGAME COVERAGE: 

Meyer puts onus on OSU offensive line to step up 

2 OSU starters back for Penn State, but not Nick Bosa