Buckeyes Ran The Damn Ball, Won The Damn Game

For the third game in a row, the Ohio State offensive line had to be shuffled, and this time they may have finally stacked the deck.

Starting senior left guard Donovan Jackson was moved to left tackle for Saturday’s game at No. 3 Penn State and redshirt sophomore backup center Carson Hinzman was installed at left guard.

Hinzman was the Buckeyes’ starting center last year, so playing next to Jackson was a bit of a homecoming, even if it had to come on the road in front of a record crowd of 111,030 in Beaver Stadium.

The No. 4 Buckeyes ran the ball for 176 yards in their 20-13 win at Penn State, but it was the 58 yards rushing at the end of the game that mattered most.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day sat down in the postgame media room following the win. He was wearing a mix of pride and happiness. Visibly happy with the win and incredibly proud of how his team did it.

It’s hard to blame him.

The Buckeyes were leading undefeated Penn State 20-13 with 5:13 remaining in the game. The Ohio State defense had just come through with an incredible goal-line stand, giving the ball back to the OSU offense with an opportunity to run the clock out and go home with a road win over the No. 3 team in the nation.

Backed up to their own one-yard line, the Buckeyes went with a quarterback sneak that picked up four very effective yards for Will Howard. Then running back Quinshon Judkins reset the sticks with a nine-yard run on second down.

The third play of OSU’s series was a six-yard run on first down for Judkins. Then he moved the chains again with a 15-yard run on the very next play. The fifth play was a five-yard rush for TreVeyon Henderson.

Then came the two-minute timeout.

The Buckeyes had run over three minutes off the clock on five plays.

Ohio State milked the clock like they were competing in the procrastinators’ national championship. They were taking their time — and Penn State’s time as well. The Nittany Lions still had all of their timeouts and the ball was already out to the Penn State 41-yard line.

Three minutes earlier, it looked like the Buckeyes had their backs against the wall. It turns out, however, that the wall was actually the Ohio State offensive line, and they had pushed a Penn State defense out to midfield in just five plays.

The Nittany Lions knew that the Buckeyes were going to run the ball, which was fine for the Ohio State offensive line because they weren’t interested in keeping secrets.

Following the two-minute timeout and facing a second-and-four, Judkins picked up two yards on a rush, leading to PSU’s first timeout. The Buckeyes then ran Will Howard for three yards and a first down. The chains were advanced once again.

On the eighth play of the drive, Henderson went right up the middle for seven yards on first down. Penn State called its second timeout with 1:15 left in the game. Henderson was stuffed on the ninth play for no gain. The Nittany Lions’ final timeout was called with 1:11 remaining.

The Buckeyes were staring at a third and three from the Penn State 47-yard line. A first down would win the game. A fourth down would leave a hell of a decision.

With the game on the line, Howard took the ball and ran behind the rebuilt left side of the OSU line, picking up the first down and sliding after a seven-yard gain. A kneel down a few seconds later ended the game.

Eleven plays. All on the ground. No secrets. No lies.

Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin’s football motto is “run the damn ball.” So much so that he sells hats with that very saying on them in order to help feed people.

Well, with a raucous Penn State student section in back of them and a desperate Nittany Lions defense in front of them, the Buckeyes ran the damn ball, and they most definitely ate.

“These guys won it,” Ryan Day said of his team after the game. “One of the things we talked about this week was that in life you’re going to have these opportunities, but you’ve got to go will yourself to win, you’ve got to go take something, you’ve got to go find a way to get that thing done, whether it’s for your family, for your career, or the game of football, and our guys did that today. They did. And I’m really happy for this team. I’m happy for the seniors, and I think this is going to springboard us as we move forward.”

You’ve got to will yourself to win.

Or is that Will yourself to win?

You’ve got to go take something.

The Ohio State offensive line took this game over down the stretch and they never gave it back.

You’ve got to find a way to get that thing done.

Over the final 5:13 of this game, everybody on the field had a hand in running the ball and burning the clock. They all found a way.

The Buckeyes may have also found the path moving forward — and exactly who the five offensive linemen are that will be paving it.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The biggest question mark going into the Penn State game for the Buckeyes was the offensive line, and the biggest exclamation point coming out of this game was the very same group.

Saturday was a big day for the Buckeyes.

They ran the damn ball.

They won the damn game.

And they look like they’re ready to go do it again.