Instacap: In Front of Second-Largest Home Crowd In History, Ohio State Downs Penn State, 38-10

In front of a crowd of 108,423 — the second-largest ever inside Ohio Stadium — Ohio State remained unbeaten Saturday night, defeating Penn State, 38-10.

J.T. Barrett replaced Cardale Jones at quarterback in the second half and attempted just four passes — completing all of them — but did carry the ball 11 times in the game for 102 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Barrett also connected with Braxton Miller in the fourth quarter for a 5-yard touchdown pass and with Michael Thomas for a 6-yard score.

Ezekiel Elliott topped the 100-yard mark for the 12th-straight game, gaining 153 yards on 27 carries with one touchdown as the Buckeyes ran for 315 yards against the Penn State defense. Ohio State gained just 114 yards through the air for the game, but outgained the Nittany Lions, 429-315.

After falling behind 3-0 early, Ohio State responded with 21 unanswered points to close out the first half.

Elliott gained 78 yards on the ground on 15 carries in the first half and scored on a 10-yard touchdown run. Barrett gained 30 yards on three carries and had a pair of first-half touchdown runs.

The Buckeyes outgained Penn State 199-148 in the game’s first half and limited Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg to just 56 passing yards and only four completions. Penn State running back Saquon Barkley gained 86 yards on 13 carries in the first half and finished the game with 194 yards on the ground.

Ohio State travels to Rutgers next Saturday for an 8 p.m. matchup with the Scarlet Knights.

Game Notes

• The attendance of 108,423 marked the second-highest attended game in Ohio Stadium history. The largest attendance is 108,610 against Michigan Nov. 29, 2014.
• Ohio State has now won a nation’s-best 20-consecutive games. 
• Ohio State has now won 27 Big Ten regular season games in a row, extending its own Big Ten record.
• Ohio State is 73-12-1 all-time as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team and 56-4 as a No. 1 team vs. unranked opponents.
• Urban Meyer improves to 149-26 in his career, and maintains the highest winning percentage (.851) among active coaches.
• Ohio State tallied five sacks as a team against the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes have recorded at least four sacks in five of seven games this season.
• J.T. Barrett rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns and now has five rushing touchdowns this season and 16 for his career.
• Barrett ran for 102 yards to tally his third-career 100-yard game.
• Ezekiel Elliott extended his streak to 12-consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He finished with 153 yards and one touchdown, giving him 11 rushing touchdowns on the year.
• Elliott went over the 3,000-yard rushing mark in the second quarter and now has 3,028 for his career. He is the ninth Buckeye to top the 3,000-yard mark.
• The last time Ohio State had two players rush for at least 100 yards in the same game was against Michigan State Dec. 7, 2013. Braxton Miller ran for 142 yards while Carlos Hyde carried the ball for 118.
• Elliott’s 10-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter gave him 11 for the season and 31 for his career.
• Barrett was 4-of-4 passing for 30 yards and two touchdowns. He now has four touchdown passes on the year.
• Jack Willoughby’s 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter marked a season long.
• With his five-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, Braxton Miller extended his Ohio State record to 88 touchdowns responsible for. 
• Defensive end Joey Bosa recorded a season-high seven tackles which included a season-high three tackles for loss. He now has 43.5 tackles for loss in his career and is tied for seventh in OSU history with linebacker Matt Wilhelm (1999-02).
• Senior Adolphus Washington notched a career-high two sacks in the game and also forced the third fumble of his career.
•  Over the last two games, the Buckeyes are 12-of-12 in their last 12 redzone trips with 11 touchdowns and one field goal.