Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Uses Huge Fourth Quarter to Upset Ohio State

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Nittany Lions scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to shock the Buckeyes.

It was an unbelievable night in Happy Valley with Penn State pulling off a huge victory over No. 2 Ohio State, 24-21.  The White Out atmosphere was amazing all night and the crowd definitely played a big part in the win.

After being down 21-7 at the start of the fourth quarter, things looked bleak for Penn State.  However the Nittany Lions had a quick, five play 90 yard drive that cut the score to 21-14.

The Nittany Lions would later block a punt and be set up in great field position.  They would have to settle for a field goal though, cutting the deficit to four points.

The play of the night  came after Ohio State drove into Penn State territory, but had to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt.  Marcus Allen jumped high to block the kick, Grant Haley scooped up the ball, and ran it 60 yards for the go ahead score.  Beaver Stadium erupted in pure joy.

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With under five minutes left, Penn State would still have to hold one more time.  Luckily, there would be no J.T. Barrett late magic on this night, as he was sacked on consecutive plays and the Nittany Lions sealed the win.

Despite giving up over 400 yards of total offense, the Penn State defense was aggressive all night and got the stops when they needed them.  The return of linebackers.Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell was a huge boon to the defense. the duo combined for 31 tackles.  Garrett Sickels, who sat out the first half due to a team violation, had a huge second half with nine tackles and two and half sacks.

The Penn State offense struggled for most of the first half and it appeared they would go into the break with a zero on the scoreboard.  That’s when Trace McSorley led the Lions down the field in a little over a minute that ended with a 20 yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin.

McSorley would finish with with only eight completions on 23 throws for 154 yards and the touchdown throw to Godwin.  He also added a score on the ground.

Saquon Barkley did not get a ton of touches, but he did still have a couple good runs when he got loose.  He finished just a yard short of 100 on 12 carries.

This is far and away the best win of the James Franklin era.  An emotional win like this is a game changer for this program and the Nittany Lions should be favored in their remaining five games.

Penn State is now 5-2 and 3-1 in the Big Ten.  They will most likely be ranked for the first time since 2011.  Next week they travel to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers.

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