Barrett, Elliott lead Ohio State past Penn State with strong rushing attack

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is still No. 1 in the AP poll after a convincing 38-10 win over Penn State on Saturday.

The Buckeyes wore black uniforms and looked like bullies after a sluggish first quarter.

Ohio State sacked Christian Hackenberg five times and ran for 315 yards in the contest.

It also blew the game open with a 21-point second quarter, courtesy of the J.T. Barrett and Ezekiel Elliot spread option attack.

“The option and quarterback run are equalizers,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said.

“Especially when (Penn State) started moving. When you can read a defender and the (quarterback) pulls it, he goes, and (there were) some big plays.”

The Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) were down 3-0 at the start of the second quarter when Barrett came on for Cardale Jones for the first time.

Ohio State ran four straight spread option runs between Barrett and Elliott to chew up 31 yards and take the lead on a 5-yard Barrett run in just 1:17 of game time.

The next two Ohio State drives ended in rushing touchdowns — one by a shifty Elliott, who made a few defenders miss on his way to scoring from 10 yards out, and one by Barrett, who pulled the ball on the option and had a clear lane to the end zone from 13 yards.

Barrett finished with 102 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground to go with 30 pass yards and two more scores through the air.

“I thought I found it early,” Barrett said.

“Running the ball helps me get into a rhythm.”

Penn State had chances early in the game despite battling dismal field position.

A 45-yard completion from Hackenberg to Chris Goodwin set the Nittany Lions up for a field goal on their first drive of the game, and freshman running back Saquon Barkley nearly made it 9-0 with a 44-yard run on their third drive, but a holding call nullified the touchdown.

“We had some real opportunities early in the game,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.

“The touchdown called back by penalty was significant, especially at that point. Our defense was playing well and our offense was moving the ball, but we weren’t able to capitalize.”

Going the distance of the field proved difficult for Penn State against a stout Buckeyes defense as the game progressed though.

The Nittany Lions’ average starting field position for the game was their own 16.

“That was significant,” Franklin said.

“Their punter was able to be aggressive and get the ball off, sky the punt and pin us deep a number of times.”

Even without the long touchdown, Barkley had 194 yards on 26 carries.

He was the only thing working for Penn State, though.

Ohio State’s defensive pressure got to Hackenberg consistently, especially in key moments, and the highly-touted pro prospect managed 120 yards on 7-of-13 passing.

Elliott ran for 153 yards to extend his streak of consecutive 100-yard games to 12.

The Buckeyes remain atop a crowded Big Ten East division with a perfect mark through three league games.

No. 7 Michigan State (7-0, 3-0) separated from No. 15 Michigan (5-2, 2-1) after returning a fumble for a touchdown on the final play of a game to top the Wolverines at the Big House on Saturday.

Penn State (5-2, 2-1) is also in the division.

“I heard about (the Michigan State-Michigan game). I heard there was a fumbled punt or something like that as time ran out,” Meyer said when asked if he was aware of that game’s finish after securing his own victory.

“This league is tough. The East division, Big Ten. Lot of respect for those teams.”

Ohio State plays at Rutgers on Saturday.

By AVERY JENNINGS
Staff Writer