Upon escaping Penn State and a bonkers scene in Happy Valley, Ohio State’s coaches and players poured onto the field where they hugged, howled and bounced with childlike jubilation.
They had just survived the unranked, but gritty, Nittany Lions in double overtime in a game that wasn’t supposed to be this close.
But in a place like State College, where the Buckeyes are loathed as a rival, a storm brewed. It started early when a rogue group of Penn State fans woke them up with air horns at the team's hotel early Saturday morning.
In the afternoon, dark clouds from the west rolled in as if to mimic the scene unfolding below.
By nightfall, Beaver Stadium swelled and shook as a sea of white that threatened to swallow Ohio State up.
Penn State’s White Out — one of college football’s grandest spectacles — nearly claimed the Buckeyes Saturday.
But when it mattered most, they buckled down against an ultimately overmatched adversary.
"I'll probably never forget that look when I saw our offense taking the field against that White Out in the student section," head coach Urban Meyer said.
And in survival, there is celebration for Ohio State, who says Saturday was a crossroads.
“That was a great character win. That was a great character win. You’re not supposed to win in that situation,” cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs said, waving his arms. You could feel the conviction in his voice.
"You are not supposed to win that game."– Kerry Coombs
“You get caught from behind in an environment like that and then go behind in overtime going into their student section,” he said. “You are not supposed to win that game.”
After roaring out to a 17-0 lead, Ohio State was shut out and limited to 119 yards in the second half. It posted its lowest output of the season with 293 total yards, turned the ball over twice, and committed eight penalties.
Despite a decided advantage over a pitiful Penn State offense, the Nittany Lions sparked to life late and embarked on a 19-play drive to tie the game with seconds left in regulation.
In overtime, they took their first lead of night while those in attendance roared and pressed closer to the field, ready to storm it in the case the improbable became reality.
Ohio State had crashed into a tidal wave of momentum and yet, when faced with a situation that would determine the fate of a campaign with championship aspirations, the Buckeyes — as an exhausted Meyer said after the contest Saturday night — “nutted up.”
“Is there words in the dictionary to really describe it? It’s an amazing really feeling. For me personally, it’s a feeling that I wish people can experience outside of the sport. It’s a very unique feeling knowing that you’re actually going through something that has a major impact on a common goal amongst young men and you’re sharing that moment with the young men you go to work with every single day,” running backs coach Stan Drayton said.
“It’s indescribable what that feeling is. But to see our young men, respond, execute, and find a way to win the ballgame are incredible. Those are the memories you never forget as a football coach.”
Added Coombs: “The only way you win that game is if the men on your team are men of incredible character and resiliency and they are. And that was a fantastic finish … You can look every guy in that locker room in the eye and say you have proved something to yourself and your teammates.”
But Ohio State still has much to prove to the rest of the country. Since a loss to Virginia Tech early in the season, the Buckeyes fit in the national picture but its struggles against a hobbled Penn State team raises doubt over when they’re really worthy of being in the conversation.
“You have to really press pause with our boys and help them reflect on those moments. They’re still young men and they can take some moments for granted,” Drayton said. “It’s up to us as coaches to press pause, reflect and really point out some key points that can be detrimental to their growth in the future.”
Because Ohio State could be in for another night of madness when it travels to fifth-ranked Michigan State in two weekends. Whether it's capable of outlasting Spartan Stadium the way it lived through a memorable night in Happy Valley?
"To be able to go through something like that and come out battle-tested and to still come out with a victory in that environment, I think we’re going in the right direction," Drayton said.
If this was a crossroads, East Lansing is perhaps somewhat of a destination for a team longing for a signature win.
