As the only game between ranked opponents in week 13 of the college football regular season, the battle between No. 2 and No. 8 would have stood out no matter who was playing. The fact that it featured Ohio State and Penn State, two teams with conference and FSB championship aspirations made it must-see football and it did not disappoint.
Having played a relatively light schedule through the season, the No. 2 Buckeyes were finally given the opportunity to quiet their critics. Featuring the top-ranked scoring offense, averaging 49.4 points per game, and the top-ranked scoring defense, holding opponents to 10.4 points per game, Ohio State would finally get the chance to test themselves against a top-10 team.
On the other side of the field, the Nittany Lions showcased a balanced offense that put up an average of 36.8 points on 410 yards and an aggressive defense that allowed a meager average of 13.5 points over the course of the season.
From their opening drive of 91 yards on 13 plays, Ohio State dominated the game on both sides of the line of scrimmage racking up 417 yards of total offense while limiting Penn State to a combined 227 yards passing and rushing.
Ohio State once again demonstrated that they are the most complete team in college football as Justin Fields threw for two touchdowns, completing 16 of 22 attempts for 188 yards, while J.K. Dobbins carried the ball a whopping 36 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Despite the overwhelming nature of the Ohio State attack, the Nittany Lions kept the game close by forcing four Buckeye fumbles, three in the second half. Unfortunately, an ill-timed interception and a run-stuffing defense prevented Penn State from capitalizing on the mistakes and the game ended in a 28-17 win for the No. 2 team.
The loss will push Penn State out of the top-10 and remove them from the playoff picture completely. For Ohio State, the win locked them into the Big 10 title game against either Minnesota or Wisconsin and bolstered their argument for the top slot in this week’s college football playoff rankings.
LSU took care of business in a big way and Clemson sat out the weekend on their second bye so there should be no change in the top-3 but Georgia, once again, had to fight off a late comeback attempt to hold onto the win, leaving the fourth and final spot up for grabs as the teams move onto rivalry week to wrap up the regular season.
Scoreboard: (Teams on Bye: No. 3 Clemson, No. 11 Florida)
No. 1
LSU
56
No. 12
Wisconsin
45
No. 20
Boise State
56
Arkansas
20
Purdue
24
Utah State
21
No. 2
Ohio State
28
No. 13
Michigan
39
No. 21
Oklahoma St
20
No. 8
Penn State
17
Indiana
14
W. Virginia
13
No. 4
Georgia
19
No. 14
Baylor
24
No. 22
Iowa State
41
Texas A&M
13
Texas
10
Kansas
31
No. 5
Alabama
66
No. 15
Auburn
52
No. 23
USC
52
W. Carolina
3
Samford
0
UCLA
35
No. 6
Oregon
28
No. 16
Notre Dame
40
No. 24
Appalachian St
35
Arizona St
31
Boston College
7
Texas State
13
No. 7
Utah
35
No. 17
Iowa
19
No. 25
SMU
28
Arizona
7
Illinois
10
Navy
35Buc
No. 9
Oklahoma
28
No. 18
Memphis
49
TCU
24
USF
10
No. 10
Minnesota
38
No. 19
Cincinnati
15
Northwestern
22
Temple
13
