SEC & Big Ten Week 13 Roundup: Buckeyes hang on, clinch Big Ten East again
Ohio State jumped out to an early lead against Penn State on Saturday, and the Buckeyes defense held off Nittany Lions down the stretch to secure a 28-17 win in front of a sellout crowd of 104,355 in Columbus. With the win on Saturday, Ohio State locked up the Big Ten East title for the third straight year.
J.K. Dobbins put the Buckeyes up early, as the tailback rushed for two touchdowns in the first half, giving Ohio State a 14-0 lead at the break. Dobbins finished the game with 157 yards on 36 carries, and K.J. Hill added another score early in the second half, as he hauled in a 24-yard pass from Justin Fields to put the Buckeyes up 21-0. Fields was 16-for-22 for 188 passing yards on the day.
The game looked out of hand until the Nittany Lions came alive in the third quarter, taking advantage of two turnovers to score 17 straight points.
Ohio State ended the Nittany Lions’ momentum two minutes into the fourth, however, as Fields connected with Chris Olave from 28-yards out for his second passing touchdown of the game. The Buckeyes defense was led by Chase Young, who was returning from suspension, and shut down two late Penn State offensive drives to help Ohio State secure the win.
Now let’s take a quick look at a few more results from Week 12 in the SEC and Big Ten:
No. 17 Iowa 19, Illinois 10: Nate Stanley racked up 308 passing yards and kicker Keith Duncan connected on four field goals, as the Hawkeyes defense forced three turnovers to help Iowa hold off the red-hot Illini.
Michigan State 27, Rutgers 0: The Spartans held the Scarlet Knights to just 140 total yards of offense and wideout Cody White hauled in a career-high 11 receptions and three touchdowns to help Michigan State secure the win.
No. 10 Minnesota 38, Northwestern 22: Tanner Morgan and the Golden Gophers offense scored on their first three possessions of the game to help Minnesota bounce back from their first loss of the season with a win over Northwestern on Saturday.
No. 13 Michigan 39, Indiana 14: Shea Patterson threw for 366 yards and five touchdowns and Nico Collins scored a career-high three times to help Michigan win its fourth straight game.
No. 12 Wisconsin 45, Purdue 24: Jonathan Taylor rushed for 222 yards on 28 carries, setting a record with his 12th career 200-yard performance, and Jack Coan completed 15 of 19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns as the Badgers cruised past the Boilermakers.
No. 4 Georgia 19, Texas A&M 13: The Aggies outgained the Bulldogs on offense, but the ‘Dawgs were able to escape Saturday with a win behind Rodrigo Blankenship’s four field goals, which made Blankenship the Bulldog’s all-time leading scorer.
Tennessee 24, Missouri 20: Jarrett Guarantano threw for 415 yards and two touchdown passes to lead the Vols to their fourth straight win and clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016.