Buckeyes hold off Hoosiers
After climbing to its highest AP Top 25 poll ranking in more than a half century, No. 9 Indiana got a chance to find out how it measured up with Big Ten behemoth Ohio State, a team the Hoosiers hadn’t beaten in 32 years.
They came up short but sure made it interesting — and a lot closer than the No. 3 Buckeyes would have liked.
Behind quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Indiana ( 4- 1) rallied from a four- touchdown deficit in the second half only to be outlasted by the host Buckeyes 42- 35 on a rainy Saturday.
“You know, people didn’t think we belonged on the field with Ohio State, but I think we showed that today,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “We’re a good football team, a really good football team.”
The Buckeyes ( 4- 0) were happy to get out of Ohio Stadium with a victory after leading 35- 7 in the second half and allowing Indiana to climb back to within one score. Two weeks ago, Ohio State led 35- 3 at halftime and were outscored 24- 14 in the second half by Rutgers.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to close out games,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “This is kind of the second week now we let a team hang around a little bit, and we’ve got to get that fixed. But [ there were] so many great things in this game. Indiana is a good team. They’re a top10 team, so this was not easy.”
The Buckeyes’ defense in the second half struggled to slow down Penix, who had the best statistical day of his career — 27- for- 51 for a career- high 491 yards and five touchdowns.
Penix passed for four touchdowns in the second half but also made a critical error, tossing an interception that Ohio State’s Shaun Wade returned for a touchdown at the end of the third quarter. The game might have been different if it weren’t for that.
The running game helped Ohio State maintain control when things were dicey. The Buckeyes had two late drives after the Hoosiers got within a touchdown that didn’t result in points but burned clock and Indiana’s timeouts.
Iowa 41, Penn State 21
Spencer Petras completed 18 of 28 passes for 186 yards and ran for a late touchdown to lead the visiting Hawkeyes ( 3- 2) to their third consecutive victory.
They got a combined 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Mekhi Sargent and Tyler Goodson, who ran through wide- open lanes and cut around missed tackles to snap Iowa’s six- game losing streak against the Nittany Lions ( 0- 5).
“A really good team win for us tonight,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I almost forgot how good it feels to come out of here with a victory.”
Michigan 48, Rutgers 42 ( 3 OTs)
The Wolverines ( 2- 3) broke a three- game losing streak with a wild overtime victory over the host Scarlet Knights ( 1- 4). A one- yard run by Hassan Haskins was the game- winner in the third overtime for Michigan after Cade McNamara had knotted it at 42 with a two- yard run in the second extra period.