by 1st Half
On the first play of the game, a jet sweep to Garrett Wilson set the tone with a massive gain of 62 yards. Master Teague then took back to back handoffs, with the latter resulting in a 4-yard TD run. The three plays and 75 yards only took one minute of game time. (7-0)
James Franklin made the call to go for it on 4th and 2 in his own territory, but the Buckeye defense was ready and held strong. The gutsy call gave Justin Fields and company great field position from the opposing 45.
The second drive for the OSU offense finished the same way as the first with seven points. Chris Olave climbed the ladder and hauled in a 26-yard TD reception to put the Buckeyes up 14-0. Not only did Olave make a great catch despite tight coverage, Fields put the ball right on the money.
The silver bullets looked amazing again on their second time out on the field. The only issue is that on a Sean Clifford incompletion on 3rd and long, the officials called roughing the passer on linebacker Baron Browning. Browning arrived as soon as the ball was released and there was nothing malicious with the hit. The extremely poor call continued the drive and Penn State was able to snatch three points off a Jake Pinegar 31-yard field goal. (14-3)
The Buckeyes drove down the field and looked to tack on more points. Blake Haubeil missed an easy chip shot field goal from 20 and was then pulled for the rest of the game.
After several punts, Ohio State struck towards the end of the second quarter with a long 15 play drive, covering 89 yards. The Nittany Lions defense was subbing in and some defensive back confusion led to an easy touchdown up the middle from Fields to tight end Jeremy Ruckert. The 10-yard TD but the Buckeyes comfortably up 21-3.
At the end of the half, with two seconds on the clock, Ohio State had a 4th and 6. Fields took the snap, stepped back and waited to put his knee down until the clock on the field hit zeros. It appeared like the half was over and the Buckeyes went to the locker room.
While Penn State was approaching the locker room, officials called them back to the field. The booth and officials on the field were discussing the fact that their clock was at one when Fields took a knee, completely disregarding that their clock started late, and it took longer than two seconds for Fields to take a knee.
The new official ruling turned into a turnover on downs and Penn State ball with one second on the clock. Jordan Stout then nailed a 50-yard field goal going into half. (21-6)
