No. 4 Ohio State football worked hard to secure a 20-13 road win against No. 3 Penn State football. Despite losing the turnover battle and quickly falling behind 10-0, the Buckeyes took a 14-10 lead in the second quarter and held on. After the game, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard shared his relief and gratitude for the Buckeyes' ability to push themselves to the win via Cleveland.com's Stefan Krajisnik.
“There's no feeling like it, man. It wasn't pretty. I probably played my worst game of the year, just right now feeling, walking off the field. We willed that game. We talked about it early in the week. ‘We're going to have to will ourselves to win this game. There's no way we're going to be able to lose.' That was the way we played. Defense stepped up. Two huge stops right on the goal line. That changed the game. The O-line. For all the stuff they took during the week, all the flak they were getting, the way they stepped up. For us to run the ball and keep the ball in our hands, win the game with the ball in our hands. That's unbelievable.”
With 6:43 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions had the ball at the Ohio State 3-yard line, 1st and goal. Penn State ran the ball on first, second and third down but failed to score. On fourth down, Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar failed to convert a pass, and Penn State turned the ball over on downs.
Ohio State football got the ball with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter at their own 1-yard line. Howard and the Buckeyes' offense finished the game and ran out the clock on an 11-play, 58-yard drive.
Ohio State football is not going quietly vs. Big Ten
Howard, who has been noted as one of the team's hardest workers, continued to express his pride in his teammates' win against Penn State.
“Just being able to scrape out a win like that, it's not pretty. They're a good football team. I do believe that. They did some good things, I did some bad things. If you take away the pick and the turnover in the end zone, it's 28-3 at half. It's a different game. We willed ourselves to win that game. I can't give enough credit to my teammates. They bailed me out. Winning a game like that in my home state, it's unbelievable.”
The Nittany Lions were ranked third in the AP Top 25 and will likely fall out of the top five. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes will likely climb to the No. 2 spot behind No. 1 Oregon.
Follow Us
Subscribe
