Games like Saturday night’s Ohio State-Penn State football matchup tend to inspire hyperbole. So here’s mine:

The final 8:00 in Happy Valley saved the entire season for the Buckeyes.

Nothing less.

Expectations for the Scarlet and Gray are ridiculous every season in Columbus and throughout Ohio. That comes with the territory.

So when Ohio State trailed Penn State 26-13 with 52 minutes gone in front of a deafening crowd at Beaver Stadium, it looked like everything was going to implode for the Buckeyes: College Football Playoff bid, Big Ten championship, Dwayne Haskins’ Heisman Trophy hopes. Everything.

Just one loss? Not with this program. Not in the age of social media and not considering the off-field problems Ohio State has caused for itself lately. Heck, even Ohio State coach Urban Meyer — the guy ultimately behind behind those off-field problems — thought the game was over with Penn State scored its last touchdown.

Fortunately for Buckeye Nation, his players did not.

Erasing that 12-point deficit was epic as Ohio State’s offense responded in its final two drives after being stifled for most of the night.

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But let’s go back for a second. This comeback started with a play that might have escaped wide notice.

Buckeyes cornerback Kendall Sheffield showed some terrific pursuit here to deny wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer on the 2-point conversion try, keeping the margin at 26-14 after Miles Sanders’ TD run. We didn’t know it then but this play would portend the controversial play-calling which Penn State showed on its fourth-down attempt on its final drive:

https://youtu.be/itSV5SJo_yQ?t=7477

It took Ohio State only a bit more than minute to score again, bringing the margin down to 26-21. Check out the blocking downfield and the way Binjimen Victor fearlessly goes up for the ball in traffic before eluding would-be tacklers on his 47-yard touchdown catch. Victor does not have huge stats on the season — seven catches, 126 yards and two scores — but the junior has shown he can make critical catches, and do something with the ball after he secures it:

After Ohio State turned away Penn State on the following drive, the Buckeyes came up with a drive which will go down in program lore. Eight plays, 96 yards in just 2:32.

Haskins, just 15-of-29 passing for 132 yards entering the fourth quarter, was 7-of-10 for 138 in the final 15 minutes. Sure, J.K. Dobbins did most of the work on the 39-yard pass which began the winning drive, but give Haskins credit for staying cool while passing out of his end zone.

OSU was 2-of-14 on third downs coming into this drive but Mike Weber bounced to the right side for 11 yards on third and 5 to give the Buckeyes a first down in Penn State territory.

Step back at look at this point of the game in context: Ohio State reached Penn State territory just five times in its first 15 drives. The first eight Buckeyes drives in the first half ended in seven punts and an interception, and included five three-and-out possessions. Even including the two late TD drives, OSU was held to 389 yards of total offense, its first game all season under 500.

That makes the two trademark plays on the final TD drive even more amazing.

First, Parris Campbell shook a couple of tackles and gave a stiff-arm near the sideline for a 14-yard catch:

https://youtu.be/itSV5SJo_yQ?t=8602

Then on the winning touchdown, K.J. Hill caught a simple swing pass. Once again the downfield blocking from his fellow receivers was superb as Hill raced in for the 24-yard score:

Meyer called the winning drive “One of the great drives in Ohio State history.”

See, the hyperbole is spreading. For this game, it might even be fitting.