Will Howard celebrated his victory as the Ohio State quarterback, fulfilling a long-awaited homecoming.
The Pennsylvania native, who has always felt that Penn State didn’t believe he was good enough to play there, signaled for a first down with his hand. Once. Twice. Three times.
Howard could have kept going all the way to eight, which is the number of straight wins the fourth-ranked Buckeyes have over the third-ranked Nittany Lions after a 20-13 victory on Saturday.
The game ended with a strong goal-line defensive stand followed by Howard and the Ohio State offense running down the clock with a drive that emphasized power over precision.
“We willed ourselves to win that game,” said Howard, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs hoping for a scholarship from Penn State that never came.
The revenge was satisfying, even if a bit messy. Howard threw an interception returned for a touchdown on his first pass, putting Ohio State in an early 10-point deficit. He also fumbled before crossing the goal line, which cost the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) another scoring chance.
The Kansas State transfer made up for it by passing for 182 yards and throwing touchdowns to Emeka Egbuka and Brandon Inniss. Howard also gained 24 yards on the ground, including the final seven yards on an option play that clinched the game.
This led a large part of the record crowd at Beaver Stadium (111,030) to boo Penn State coach James Franklin as he headed into the tunnel, though not before having a tense moment with a fan.
“I own it all,” Franklin said after dropping to 1-10 against a program that has often treated Penn State more like a little brother than a true rival.
The Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1) took a big hit to their chances of reaching the Big Ten Championship. While they still have a decent shot at making the 12-team College Football Playoff, Penn State missed an opportunity to improve its CFP resume.
“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.” And that’s true.
Penn State had a chance to score deep in Ohio State territory late in the first half when Buckeyes defensive back Davison Igbinosun outmuscled Nittany Lions wide receiver Harrison Wallace III to intercept a pass from Drew Allar, ending one scoring drive.
The Nittany Lions, led by tight end Tyler Warren, reached the Ohio State 3-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Three runs by Kaytron Allen gained only 2 yards. On fourth down, Allar, who was playing with a painful left knee, threw an incomplete pass to tight end Khalil Dinkins.
After that, Penn State never got the ball back. Ohio State ran the ball 11 straight times, with their offensive line bouncing back after a poor performance in a sluggish win against Nebraska last week, pushing the Nittany Lions back with each play.
“That was fun,” said Ohio State tackle Donovan Jackson. “As an offensive lineman, those are the drives you dream of, just running the ball and just winning the game for your team.”
The ending looked very much like many of the past meetings between these Big Ten powerhouses over the last thirty years. While the players and coordinators change, the stakes in these matchups do not. And neither do the outcomes.
