STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Will Howard threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns and No. 4 Ohio State‘s defense made a late defensive stand to lift the Buckeyes over No. 3 Penn State 20-13 on Saturday.

Ohio State (7-1, 4-1) kept its hopes alive for a spot in the Big Ten championship game by beating the Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1) for the eighth straight time. Howard, who believes Penn State thought he “wasn’t good enough” when it declined to offer the Philadelphia-area native a scholarship, exacted a measure of revenge in front of the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history (111,030).

While Howard wasn’t perfect by any stretch — he threw a pick-six on his first pass and later fumbled as he was crossing the goal line for what would have been a touchdown — he connected on first-half scoring passes to Emeka Egbuka and Brandon Inniss and Ohio State’s defense did the rest.

The Buckeyes held Penn State’s offense out of the end zone, twice turning the Nittany Lions away from deep in Ohio State territory. Buckeyes defensive back Davison Igbinosun out-wrestled Penn State wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for the ball in the end zone to end a Nittany Lions drive late in the first half.

Penn State had a first-and-goal from the Ohio State 3 midway through the fourth quarter, but three runs up the middle went nowhere and Drew Allar threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 5:13 to go.

Ohio State drained the rest of the clock, mashing its way out to midfield. Howard ended it by running for the Buckeyes’ 21st and final first down. He popped up and made the “first down” sign with his arms as the Buckeyes’ sideline celebrated and Ohio State gave its College Football Playoff résumé a needed boost three weeks after a one-point loss at No. 1 Oregon.

Allar, playing on a balky left leg, threw for 146 yards and ran for 31 more, but Penn State’s new-look offense under first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki consistently saw drives bog down in Ohio State territory. Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren combined for 94 yards (47 rushing and 47 receiving) but received little help from Penn State’s other skill position players.

Takeaway

Ohio State: This version of the Buckeyes might not be an offensive juggernaut like its predecessors, but Ohio State still has Penn State’s number and its physical brand of football could translate well as the postseason nears.

Penn State: James Franklin is now 1-10 against Ohio State, and the latest loss looked an awful lot like the eight that came before it. The Nittany Lions lacked explosive plays and, perhaps more troubling, were bullied up front on their home field.

Poll implications

Expect Ohio State to move up to No. 3 at worst on Sunday. Penn State will likely remain on the fringe of the top 10.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Jaxson Dart set Ole Miss records for yards passing and touchdown throws in a single game, leapfrogging Matt Corral and Eli Manning, in the 19th-ranked Rebels’ dominating 63-31 win over Arkansas on Saturday.

Dart threw four scores and 321 yards in just the first half. He found Jordan Watkins on five of the TDs, including one for 62 yards and another for 66 on back-to-back drives. They were just three offensive plays apart. Dart ultimately finished 25 of 31 passing for 515 yards with six touchdowns.

Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) led 35-10 at halftime after scoring on three straight drives over the first and second quarters. The Rebels opened and closed the first-half scoring when Princely Umanmielen pounced on a Taylen Green fumble in the end zone midway through the first quarter and Dart capped things with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Watkins with five seconds left in the half, his fourth passing score in the game’s first half hour.

Arkansas (5-4, 3-3 SEC) had stuffed the Rebels at the goal line on the Rebels’ first drive for about the only meaningful stop the Razorbacks had all game. Ole Miss racked up 694 yards of total offense. In all, Ole Miss scored on seven of its nine possessions with its starters in the game, only punting once in that span.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman went largely with reserves starting about halfway through the third quarter. Backup quarterback Malachi Singleton was 11-of-14 passing for 207 yards with a touchdown pass, and he ran for another 39 yards with a touchdown. The Razorbacks also scored rushing touchdowns from Rashod Dubinion and Rodney Hill.

Watkins set school records with five touchdown catches and 254 yards receiving. Watkins’ five receiving touchdowns tied the single-game SEC record last done by Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt against Alabama in 2022, according to ESPN Research.

Additionally, Watkins is the seventh FBS receiver since 1996 with 250 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in a game. Dae’Quan Wright caught the other Dart touchdown pass and added another from Austin Simmons in the fourth quarter.

Big picture

Ole Miss not only can play spoiler against No. 2 Georgia next week, but also should find itself in conversation for the College Football Playoff by doing so.

Arkansas has already eclipsed its win total from last season, though the Razorbacks remain one win short of bowl eligibility, solidly in the middle of the SEC.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army star quarterback Bryson Daily missed Saturday’s 20-3 win over Air Force with an undisclosed injury/illness, Army officials told ESPN.

With Daily sidelined, junior Dewayne Coleman filled in at quarterback. He finished with 48 yards through the air and 42 yards on the ground in his first career start.

There is no timetable at this point on how long Daily might be out of the lineup, but Army officials don’t think it’s a season-ending setback.

Daily, one of four team captains, has been Army’s starting quarterback over the past two seasons and the main cog in a Black Knights offense that has eclipsed 400 yards of total offense in all seven games this season.

He leads the nation with 19 rushing touchdowns and leads all FBS quarterbacks with 909 rushing yards. He was unable to practice this week.

The No. 21 Black Knights had a bye last weekend after beating East Carolina 45-28 on Oct. 19 to win their seventh straight game this season.

In the win over East Carolina, Daily carried the ball 31 times for a career-high 171 yards and accounted for six touchdowns (five rushing, one passing). The 6-foot, 221-pound senior has already set Army single-season records for touchdowns responsible for (26) and rushing touchdowns in seven games.

Army, off to its best start in nearly 30 years, will be one of the top contenders for the Group of 5’s spot in the College Football Playoff if the Black Knights can win the American Athletic Conference championship. Army (8-0, 5-0) travels to North Texas next week for an AAC contest. The Black Knights get a bye week on Nov. 16 and then face Notre Dame on Nov. 23 at Yankee Stadium.