No. 2 Penn State could not hold onto its 15-point fourth quarter lead on Saturday, as No. 6 Ohio State stunned their home crowd with three late touchdowns to complete a 39-38 comeback.
With less than five minutes left in the fourth, Ohio State (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) was able to erase an 11 point deficit with two efficient drives down the field led by quarterback J.T. Barrett that resulted in touchdowns.
Barrett led the game in both passing and rushing yards, throwing 328 yards on 33-39 attempts, while adding 95 yards on 17 carries.
With 1:48 remaining, Barrett faked a handoff to his running back and fired a bullet over two Penn State defenders to Marcus Baugh for the 16-yard game winning touchdown. It was the fourth passing touchdown of the game for Barrett.
Although it was Ohio State that came out on top, Penn State overwhelmingly led for over 50 minutes of the game, opening the game with a 97-yard kickoff return from Heisman Trophy candidate Saquon Barkley.
Barkley added another 36-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Nittany Lions’ quarterback Trace McSorley was the team’s top rusher with 49 yards and added a rushing touchdown of his own that put Penn State up 28-10 with 8:06 remaining in the first half.
Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) will have to rethink their defensive strategy for their next game against Michigan State after allowing 529 total yards and 27 first downs against the Buckeyes.
Georgia dominates to remain undefeated
You expect rivalry games to be close, but that wasn’t the case in Athens as Georgia controlled the entire game against Florida, leading to a 42-7 victory.
Bulldog Sony Michel rushed for two touchdowns, one a 74-yard run in the first quarter and the other a 45-yard run in the second. Georgia’s Jake Fromm only completed four-of-seven passes for 101 yards, as it was the running game that put Florida away with four of the Bulldog’s six touchdowns coming from the ground.
Georgia stays unblemished and has scored over 20 points in each of its wins this season.
Defensively, Georgia was outstanding and held rival Florida scoreless for three quarters.
Georgia will look to keep its AP ranking as the country’s second-best team as they face off against South Carolina next Saturday.
Northwestern Prevails in Third Overtime
It took three overtimes for unranked Northwestern to pull off an upset over No. 16 Michigan State, winning 39-31 in Evanston.
Trailing 17-10 with 25 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter, Spartan Brian Lewerke dropped back and lobbed a 13-yard pass into the corner of the end zone for wide receiver Felton Davis III.
Davis twisted to adjust mid-air before his outstretched hands caught the ball over his defender, all while keeping his feet in bounds before he fell to the ground, sending the game into overtime.
Lewerke and Davis had yet another game tying connection for six yards in the first overtime.
After trading touchdowns in the first two overtimes, Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson found Flynn Nagel for a 22-yard touchdown that provided the game winning score.
Lewerke completed 39-of-57 pass attempts, throwing for 445 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the loss.
Thorson had a career game himself, completing 33-48 passes with 356 yards in the Wildcats’ second straight overtime win.
Northwestern’s upset snapped Michigan State’s four game winning streak.
The Spartan’s schedule presents a challenge for the next two games, against Big Ten powerhouses Penn State and Ohio State.
Justin Ekstrom can be reached at [email protected].
