COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hammer met nail. Again.
No. 1 Ohio State broke open a tight game in the second half and beat Penn State for the ninth straight year, pulling away for a 38-14 victory Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes (5-0 Big Ten, 8-0) sent the Nittany Lions (0-5, 3-5) to their fifth consecutive loss in the final game between the teams until 2028.
With terrific protection, Julian Sayin completed 20-of-23 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns for Ohio State, which led 17-14 at halftime.
Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate made their case as the best pair of wide receivers in the country, combining for 11 catches for 247 yards and three TDs.
The Buckeyes spoiled the homecoming of Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who grew up just north of Columbus. Making his second college start, Grunkemeyer was 19-of-28 passing for 145 yards and an end-zone interception in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State also ruined the return of Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who left the Buckeyes after helping them win the national championship in January. Knowles was mocked on the video board in the fourth quarter and booed by most of the sellout crowd of 105.517.
The Lions dropped its seventh straight game in Columbus since 2011 and failed to beat a top-ranked team for the first time since 1990.
Ohio State took a 10-0 lead on its first two series on a 14-yard touchdown catch by Smith and a short field goal before Penn State mounted a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ran more than eight minutes off the clock.
Grunkemeyer completed third-down passes to Devonte Ross and Liam Clifford. Nick Singleton accounted for 42 yards on two catches and three rushes, including a 3-yard touchdown on a sweep around left end.
The Lions had a chance to stop the Buckeyes on their next drive, but Dani Dennis-Sutton and Keon Wylie missed tackles on third down and allowed Sayin to scramble for a first down. Three plays later, Sayin found Tate behind Zion Tracy for a 45-yard score and a 17-7 lead with 3:41 left in the second quarter.
Ohio State forced a Penn State punt, but Dennis-Sutton stripped the football from C.J. Donaldson on the next play. Chaz Coleman recovered the fumble and returned it to the Buckeyes’ 13.
After he caught a 5-yard shovel pass on third down, Kaytron Allen scored from the 1 to make it 17-14 at the break.
The Buckeyes, though, ended all doubt in the second half.
