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Ohio State pulls off all-timer, leaves no doubt about championship mettle

Austin-Wardby:Austin Ward•09/29/18•

AWardSports

Ohio State Penn State USA TODAY JAMES LANG1

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — That was the mulligan for Ohio State.

The national-title hopes are now somehow sitting pretty in the middle of the fairway.

As the dropped passes piled up alongside the missed blocks for an offense that was completely out of sync, the defense continued making the exact wrong kind of history and the Buckeyes delivered one of the sloppiest half of the Urban Meyer Era, it was starting to look like they’d be out of the College Football Playoff discussion before the end of September.

There probably wasn’t a realistic path back to a championship if Penn State had capitalized during the first half and taken control of the Big Ten in the process. Instead, Ohio State reached down deep in the bag and summoned the kind of rally on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium that will be talked about for years to come.

Ohio State 27, Penn State 26.

Incredible. Magical. Impossible to believe.

Ohio State-Ohio State Buckeyes-Robert Landers-Ohio State football-Penn State

Ohio State defensive tackle Robert Landers celebrated a magical comeback win over Penn State. (Birm/Lettermen Row)

The Buckeyes were dead, and suddenly they never looked healthier. The Silver Bullets got all the key stops. Dwayne Haskins started dialing up the accuracy and letting his receivers create masterpieces down the field. And even after seemingly shooting itself in the foot with costly penalties time after time, Ohio State looked flawless when it mattered most.

There can be no question about the championship mettle of these Buckeyes now. What they did in the face of a double-digit deficit, on the road, in the middle of a Whiteout against a top-10 opponent is the stuff of legend.

Binjimen Victor’s catch and run. The 96-yard go-ahead drive and K.J. Hill’s video-game moves. Chase Young throwing himself a coming out party on a massive stage.

None of it could have been predicted after that sloppy start, and it seemed out of the question midway through the fourth quarter. But there is something special happening for Ohio State, and it didn’t waste the second chance Penn State gave them down the stretch.

The Buckeyes flipped a switch when they had to, and the White noise went completely silent. The journey to the College Football Playoff is alive and well.

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