Ohio State has long carried the Big Ten banner on the national scene, almost exclusively for the past 20 years. On Saturday it fell to the fourth-ranked Buckeyes again to salvage a bit of conference pride in an otherwise disastrous day.
BYU shocked Wisconsin, Troy dumped Nebraska, Northwestern coughed up a huge lead and fell to Akron, Kansas walloped Rutgers and lowly Temple drummed Maryland.
Fortunately, Ohio State forced three turnovers, got two defensive touchdowns, a blocked punt and rode the wave of a 20-point spree in a 4:01 span of the third quarter to avert total meltdown and earn a 40-28 comeback win over 15th-ranked TCU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“We talked about it, there was going to be ups and downs in this game and when things are going well with the momentum you’ve got to get all you can get,” Ohio State interim coach Ryan Day said. “When things don’t go well you’ve just got to hang on. I thought we hung on in some tough spots.
“Then when momentum turned our way we got all we could get.”
Defensive lineman Dremont Jones made the play of the game, picking off a shovel pass and racing 28 yards for a critical pick-six to give Ohio State the lead for good, 26-21 with 5:54 showing in the third quarter. Moments later a blocked punt set up a short field and led to another score. TCU never recovered.
“I told them before the ballgame its the big ones that you can find a way to lose more than find a way to win,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We gave them 21 points. We didn’t allow a touchdown in the first half defensively. You have to give them credit for getting the points, but you can’t give a good team 21 points.”
The Horned Frogs cut it go 33-28 when TreVontae Hights snagged a 51-yard TD catch despite double-coverage, but that was their last gasp.
“We really turned the momentum in the third quarter, that was the difference in the game,” Day said. “This is a great team, a great culture, the kids we have in the program and coaches we have in the program are A1A.”
It was not easy. Ohio State’s offense was ugly in the first half, managing just two field goals. In fact, it was outscored by its defense when All-American Nick Bosa’s strip sack led to a fumble recovery in the end zone by teammate Davon Hamilton. That helped OSU take an early 10-0 lead.
But TCU was on top 14-13 at the half thanks to a school-record 93-yard TD dash by Darius Anderson. When Bosa also exited with what appeared to be a groin injury, trouble loomed. Bosa returned to the field in street clothes and sporting a heavy limp — his health status very much in question going forward.
When Anderson scored on a 16-yard TD run early in the third period, the Horned Frogs had a 21-13 lead and the Buckeyes on the ropes. But the defense and special teams sparked that dizzying 20-point burst to restore order.
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins and running back J.K. Dobbins took it from there. Haskins finished 24 of 38 for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dobbins ran for 121 yards on 18 carries and picked up a number of big first downs when the Buckeyes were bleeding the clock in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Urban Meyer returns from his three-game suspension for next week’s laugher with Tulane, then the Big Ten Game of the Year follows on Sept. 29 at 11th-ranked Penn State.
To win that annual White Out in Happy Valley, the Buckeyes will have to be better than their dismal 4 of 12 showing on third downs and find a cure for the big play that has bitten their defense repeatedly already this season.
Getting back Bosa, if that’s possible, would be a huge help for a defense that has looked to him as its playmaker, a role he’s filled admirably.
