Ohio State Buckeyes Defense Shuts Down Penn State Nittany Lions 20-12

The Ohio State Buckeyes defense showed up in a big way on Saturday, shutting down the Penn State Nittany Lions

Matt Galatzan | Oct 21, 2023

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Ohio State Buckeyes

Coming off of a win over Purdue last week, the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes were looking to get their biggest win of the season on Saturday against the No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions in Columbus.

After a 60-minute slugfest, it was the Buckeyes that came out on top, holding on to take down Penn State 20-12 and winning their seventh-straight game against the Nittany Lions.

And as most expected, the defense ruled the majority of the day.

Things started slow for both offenses early, with the two teams sitting tied at 3-3 midway through the second quarter.

However, that is when the momentum swung in Ohio State's favor after a Penn State defensive touchdown on a Kyle McCord fumble was overturned. A couple of plays later, the Buckeyes got into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, completing the 14-point swing.

After that, the Buckeyes were able to extend their lead to 13-6, knocking through a field goal with just under nine minutes to go in the game.

On the next Penn State possession, the Ohio State defense was able to keep the Nittany Lions in check with a turnover on downs near midfield.

Marvin Harrison Jr. would put the cherry on top for the Buckeyes, scoring a touchdown with less than five minutes to go to put the Nittany Lions away.

For the game, the Buckeyes defense was able to hold the Penn State defense to just 255 yards of total offense, including a mere 183 yards through the air from quarterback Drew Allar, who completed only 18 of his 43 passes.

The defense also allowed the Nittany Lions to just 1 of 16 on third downs.

And while the offense wasn't at its best all afternoon, it did enough, with Kyle McCord completing 22 of 35 for 286 yards and a touchdown. McCord was 11 of 14 for 161 yards in the second half.

Meanwhile, the real star of the game was Harrison Jr., who caught 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.

Following the slugfest with Penn State, the Buckeyes will now look ahead to another tough conference matchup, with they head to Madison to take on the 4-2 Wisconsin Badgers.

Published Oct 21, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com