COLUMBUS, Ohio - Now through the Maryland/Rutgers portion of the Season Rewind, we come to Ohio State's toughest stretch of the season that began against Penn State.
RELATED: What We Learned: Penn State
The main story surrounding this contest was the return of Chase Young. Coming back from his two-game suspension, the junior would be looking for vengeance as he got back onto the field.
This game also saw the beginning of Justin Fields' injury problems that persisted through the final stretch of the season, and Ohio State faced its first bit of long-awaited adversity against the Nittany Lions at home.
2019 Season: FAU | CIN | IND | MIA | NEB | MSU | NU | WIS | MD | RUT
J.K. All Day
Justin Fields had a fine day, 16-of-22 for 188 yards and two touchdowns, but it was J.K. Dobbins that had his hands on the ball on seemingly every play.
He finished with 36 carries, the second-most in his career behind his 37 carries against Maryland in 2018, for 157 yards and one touchdown. While he averaged just 4.4 yards per carry, his second-lowest of the season behind his 4.3 yards per carry against Florida Atlantic, it was the most yards given up by Penn State all last season.
It may not have been his most dominant performance, especially with one of the fumbles that let the Nittany Lions back into the game, but he was one of the stabilizing forces that eventually helped Ohio State back on top.
Chase Young returns
Chase Young hit the field for the first time in nearly a month, and with it brought a monstrous stat line for the junior.
Three sacks, two forced fumbles and nine tackles add up to one of the best game of Young's career, and it happened at the perfect time for Ohio State when they needed him most as Penn State fought its way back into the game.
While there was a normal hunger in Young that was obvious when he played, there was something extra against the Nittany Lions as he burned off some energy after three weeks on the bench.
Unknown at the time, however, is that Young would finish the season without another sack. In fact, he would pick up just eight tackles in Ohio State's final three games before heading off to the NFL where he will almost certainly be one of the top picks this year.
