COLUMBUS – Fifty-eight good minutes and two forgettable minutes.

That pretty much sums up No. 1 Ohio State’s 38-14 win over Penn State on Saturday in what was predicted in August to be the football game of the year in the Big Ten but turned out to be something very different in November because of the Nittany Lions now having lost five games in a row in an unfathomable collapse.

There was no collapse in Ohio State (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) as Penn State (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) discovered when it was pulverized in the second half after hanging around and trailing by only three points, 17-14,at halftime.The only time OSU’s domination of the game was in question came in the final two minutes of the first half when Penn State recovered a fumble by C.J. Donaldson at the Buckeyes’ 13-yard line andturned it into a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Kaytron Allen three plays later for the 17-14 halftime score.

“We came in at halftime and were up by three and you would have thought we were down by 21,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “But I thought we responded well. When you come out in the second half you have to learn from the first half but you can’t dwell on it.”

All-American safety Caleb Downs didn’t like the vibe in OSU’s locker room at half time and spoke up about it when he told his teammates, “These guys aren’t going to come in here and lay down. We’ve gotto go take it.”

“We came out and did that at a high level in the second half,” Downs said.

Quarterback Julian Sayin was 20 of 23 passing for 316 yards and four touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith (6 catches, 123 yards, two touchdowns) and Carnell Tate (5 catches, 124 yards, one touchdown) were his top targets. Bo Jackson rushed for 105 yards on 13 carries, the third time the freshman has gained more than 100 yards in a game this season.

Ohio State took the lead on its first possession of the game on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to Smith and never was behind.

Jayden Fielding’s 22-yard field goal in the first minute of the second half put OSU in front 10-0 before Penn State got its first touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run by Nick Singleton to make it 10-7.

Ohio State responded with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to Tate for a 17-7 lead before the Buckeyes’ fumble allowed Penn State to make it a three-point game at halftime.

OSU dominated the second half, outscoring Penn State 21-0.The Buckeyes’ three second-half scores came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Donaldson, a 1-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to tight end Bennett Christian, and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to Smith that was tipped by a Penn State defender before Smith pulled it in.

Smith and Tate both had 57-yard catches and Brandon Inniss had five catches, including one that covered 29 yards.

“Best in the country. Nobody’s better than us. The whole receiver group, we all got talent and we just go out there each and every weekend and put it all on the field,” Smith said.

Penn State began its season thinking it could be the best team in the country. But it left Columbus with no more answers than it had before.

“We’re in the middle of the storm and we just can’t figure out how to get out of it,” said interim Penn State coach Terry Smith