In front of a record Beaver Stadium crowd of 111,030, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Penn State Nittany Lions, 20-13, in a physical game filled with stellar defensive play and two quirky touchdowns that turned into turnovers, one for each squad.

The last two series of the game illustrated what head coach Ryan Day wants his team to be. On the fifth play of a drive that began at their own 25-yard line, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren ran for 33 yards down to the Ohio State 3-yard line. Three straight running plays netted just two yards. On fourth down, an incomplete pass in a crowded end zone turned the ball back to the Buckeyes.

Ohio State then put together a hard-fought drive of 11 running plays that got into Penn State territory and ran out the clock. “In life, you’re going to have these opportunities where you got to go will yourself to win and you got to go take something,” said Day after the game. “And our guys did that today.”

The first two series of the game were a different story for Ohio State. The Nittany Lions took the opening kickoff and moved down the field, stalling at the OSU 12-yard line before kicking a 29-yard field goal. On the first Ohio State drive, Penn State’s Zion Tracy intercepted a Will Howard pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

The Buckeyes responded on their next possession with a seven-play, 74-yard drive, capped off with a Howard to Emeka Egbuka pass from 25 yards out. On the first possession of the second quarter, Ohio State took the lead with another sustained drive. Howard threw his second touchdown pass, this one a 21-yarder to Brandon Inniss.

Later in the second quarter, both teams had plays that were called touchdowns, then changed to turnovers. For Ohio State, Howard ran for the left pylon from 12 yards out and it looked initially as though he had crossed the goal line before losing the ball. Replay showed that he fumbled short of the stripe and the loose ball went through the end zone, which allowed Penn State to take over.

Just before halftime, Penn State was at the Ohio State 3-yard line, first and goal. A pass from Drew Allar to Trey Wallace looked as though Wallace had caught it in the right side of the end zone, battling with Buckeye corner Davison Igbinosun, before both fell over the side line. What happened, however, was that the ball bounced off Wallace and Igbinosun had taken possession as they fell.

In the second half, Ohio State put two field goals on the board, while Penn State added one for a final score of 20-13.

The Buckeye running attack came back to life in Happy Valley with 179 yards in 38 attempts. Quinshon Judkins led the way with 95 yards on 14 carries (6.8), while TreVeyon Henderson added 54 yards in 10 attempts (5.4).

Howard finished the game throwing 16-24 for 182 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Jeremiah Smith had four receptions for 55 yards, with Egbuka catching three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.

The Buckeyes return home for a game with Purdue next Saturday at noon. The Boilermakers have lost seven straight after winning their opener against Indiana State.