Will Howard popped up, victory in hand and the homecoming the Ohio State quarterback longed for complete.
The Pennsylvania native who has long felt Penn State didn’t think he was good enough to play there signaled first down with his hand.
Once. Twice. Three times.
Howard might as well have kept going all the way to eight, the number of consecutive wins the fourth-ranked Buckeyes have over the third-ranked Nittany Lions after a 20-13 victory on Saturday that ended with a late goal-line defensive stand followed by Howard and Ohio State’s offense draining the clock with a drive that made up for in physicality what it lacked in precision.
“We willed ourselves to win that game,” said Howard, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs waiting for a scholarship offer from Penn State that never came.
Revenge was sweet, if a little sloppy. Howard threw a pick-6 on his first pass to put Ohio State in an early 10-point hole and later fumbled before crossing the goal line to cost the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) another score.
The Kansas State transfer atoned by throwing for 182 yards and touchdowns to Emeka Egbuka and Brandon Inniss. Howard added another 24 on the ground, the last seven of consequence coming on an option that sealed the game and led a not insignificant portion of the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history (111,030) to send Penn State coach James Franklin into the tunnel under a chorus of boos, though not before a tense exchange with one fan.
“I own it all,” Franklin said after falling to 1-10 against a program that has treated Penn State more as a little brother than a rival.
The Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1) saw their hopes of reaching the Big Ten Championship take a serious hit. And while it remains on relatively solid ground for the 12-team College Football Playoff, Penn State missed a chance to give its CFP resume some needed polish.
“We did some things that were good enough to win, other things we did not,” Franklin said. “You can’t have the ball inside the 5-yard line twice and come out with no points.”
No, you can’t.
Penn State had the ball deep in Ohio State territory late in the first half when Buckeyes defensive back Davison Igbinosun outwrestled Nittany Lions wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for a pass from Drew Allar to end one scoring drive.
The Nittany Lions — led by tight end Tyler Warren — drove to the Ohio State 3 midway through the fourth quarter. Three runs up the middle by Kaytron Allen gained all of 2 yards. On fourth down Allar, who fought gamely while playing with a balky left knee, threw incomplete to tight end Khalil Dinkins.
Penn State never got the ball back. Ohio State ran it 11 straight times, an offensive line smarting after a dismal performance in a lethargic win over Nebraska last week responding by shoving the Nittany Lions backward with every snap.
“That was fun,” Ohio State tackle Donovan Jackson said. “As an offensive lineman, those are the drives you dream of, just running the ball and just winning the game for your team.”
The end looked an awful lot like so many of the meetings between the Big Ten superpowers over the last three decades. The players on the sideline for the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions change. The coordinators, too.
The stakes when the Big Ten superpowers meet do not.
Neither do the results.
Divisions or no divisions. Columbus or Happy Valley. Ohio State figures it out in the end while Penn State walks away with more questions than answers.
Allar threw for 146 yards and ran for 31 more, but Penn State’s new-look offense under first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki consistently saw drives bog down in Ohio State territory. Warren combined for 94 yards (47 rushing and 47 receiving) but also inexplicably didn’t get a touch during those four failed shots from in close in the final moments.
Allar wanted to go to Warren on fourth down, but the Buckeyes took Warren out of the play, symbolic of one program that always seems to be one step ahead of the other.
While Penn State players believe their CFP chances remain high, another chance to change the narrative during Franklin’s successful if not spectacular tenure disappeared in the early November sunshine.
Howard, who believes he played his worst game of the season, and the Buckeyes are hardly getting ahead of themselves. Still, three weeks removed from a tough one-point loss at Oregon in which Howard slid too late for the Buckeyes to attempt a last-gasp field goal, the vibe walking off the field this time was far different.
“Winning a game like that in my home state,” Howard said, “it’s unbelievable.”
