Will Howard throws for 2 touchdowns and No. 4 Ohio State fends off No. 3 Penn State 20-13

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Will Howard popped up, victory in hand and the homecoming the Ohio State quarterback longed for complete.

The Pennsylvania native who has long felt Penn State didn't think he was good enough to play there signaled first down with his hand.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Howard might as well have kept going all the way to eight, the number of consecutive wins the fourth-ranked Buckeyes have over the third-ranked Nittany Lions after a 20-13 victory on Saturday that ended with a late goal-line defensive stand followed by Howard and Ohio State's offense draining the clock with a drive that made up for in physicality what it lacked in precision.

“We willed ourselves to win that game," said Howard, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs waiting for a scholarship offer from Penn State that never came.

Revenge was sweet, if a little sloppy. Howard threw a pick-6 on his first pass to put Ohio State in an early 10-point hole and later fumbled before crossing the goal line to cost the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) another score.

The Kansas State transfer atoned by throwing for 182 yards and touchdowns to Emeka Egbuka and Brandon Inniss. Howard added another 24 on the ground, the last seven of consequence coming on an option that sealed the game and led a not insignificant portion of the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history (111,030) to send Penn State coach James Franklin into the tunnel under a chorus of boos, though not before a tense exchange with one fan.

“I own it all,” Franklin said after falling to 1-10 against a program that has treated Penn State more as a little brother than a rival.

The Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1) saw their hopes of reaching the Big Ten Championship take a serious hit. And while it remains on relatively solid ground for the 12-team College Football Playoff, Penn State missed a chance to give its CFP resume some needed polish.

“We did some things that were good enough to win, other things we did not,” Franklin said. "You can’t have the ball inside the 5-yard line twice and come out with no points.”

No, you can't.

Penn State had the ball deep in Ohio State territory late in the first half when Buckeyes defensive back Davison Igbinosun outwrestled Nittany Lions wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for a pass from Drew Allar to end one scoring drive.

The Nittany Lions — led by tight end Tyler Warren — drove to the Ohio State 3 midway through the fourth quarter. Three runs up the middle by Kaytron Allen gained all of 2 yards. On fourth down Allar, who fought gamely while playing with a balky left knee, threw incomplete to tight end Khalil Dinkins.

Penn State never got the ball back. Ohio State ran it 11 straight times, an offensive line smarting after a dismal performance in a lethargic win over Nebraska last week responding by shoving the Nittany Lions backward with every snap.

“That was fun,” Ohio State tackle Donovan Jackson said. “As an offensive lineman, those are the drives you dream of, just running the ball and just winning the game for your team.”

The end looked an awful lot like so many of the meetings between the Big Ten superpowers over the last three decades. The players on the sideline for the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions change. The coordinators, too.

The stakes when the Big Ten superpowers meet do not.

Neither do the results.

Divisions or no divisions. Columbus or Happy Valley. Ohio State figures it out in the end while Penn State walks away with more questions than answers.

Allar 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. Warren combined for 94 yards (47 rushing and 47 receiving) but also inexplicably didn't get a touch during those four failed shots from in close in the final moments.

Allar wanted to go to Warren on fourth down, but the Buckeyes took Warren out of the play, symbolic of one program that always seems to be one step ahead of the other.

While Penn State players believe their CFP chances remain high, another chance to change the narrative during Franklin's successful if not spectacular tenure disappeared in the early November sunshine.

Howard, who believes he played his worst game of the season, and the Buckeyes are hardly getting ahead of themselves. Still, three weeks removed from a tough one-point loss at Oregon in which Howard slid too late for the Buckeyes to attempt a last-gasp field goal, the vibe walking off the field this time was far different.

“Winning a game like that in my home state,” Howard said, "it’s unbelievable.”

Ohio State: This version of the Buckeyes might not be an offensive juggernaut like some of 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: Warren needs some help from the Nittany Lions' other skill position players. Penn State's wide receivers caught three passes for 49 yards.

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.

Ohio State: welcomes Purdue to Ohio Stadium next Saturday.

Penn State: hosts Washington next Saturday.

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Ohio State quarterback Will Howard (18) celebrates with fans after defeating Penn State 20-13 in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) celebrates a touchdown reception against Penn State during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s National Guard fatally shot two Colombians and wounded four others in what the Defense Department claimed was a confrontation near the U.S. border.

The shootings happened Saturday on a dirt road near Tecate, east of Otay Mesa on the California border, that is frequently used by Mexican migrant smugglers, the department said.

It wasn't clear whether the Colombians were migrants, but one Colombian who was not injured in the shootings was turned over to immigration officials, suggesting they were.

Mexico’s Defense Department, which controls the National Guard, did not respond to requests for comment on that point.

If they were migrants, it would mark the second time in just over a month that military forces have opened fire on and killed migrants.

On Oct. 1, the day President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, soldiers opened fire on a truck, killing six migrants in the southern state of Chiapas. An 11-year-old girl from Egypt, her 18-year-old sister and a 17-year-old boy from El Salvador died in that shooting, along with people from Peru and Honduras.

Describing the events near Tecate on Saturday, the Defense Department said in a statement late Sunday that a militarized National Guard patrol came under fire after spotting two trucks in the area.

One truck sped off and escaped. The National Guard opened fire on the other truck, killing two Colombians and wounding four others. There was no immediate information on their conditions, and there were no reported casualties among the guardsmen involved.

One Colombian and one Mexican man were found and detained unharmed at the scene, and the departments said officers found a pistol and magazines commonly used for assault rifles at the scene.

Colombians have sometimes been recruited as gunmen for Mexican drug cartels, which are also heavily involved in migrant smuggling. But the fact the survivor was turned over to immigration officials and that the Foreign Relations Department contacted the Colombian consulate suggests they were migrants.

Cartel gunmen sometimes escort or kidnap migrants as they travel to the U.S. border.

The three National Guard officers who opened fire have been taken off duty.

Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who left office Sept. 30, gave the military an unprecedentedly wide role in public life and law enforcement; he created the militarized Guard and used the combined military forces as the country’s main law enforcement agencies, supplanting police. The Guard has since been placed under the control of the army.

But critics say the military is not trained to do civilian law enforcement work. Moreover, lopsided death tolls in such confrontations — in which all the deaths and injuries occur on one side — raise suspicions among activists whether there really was a confrontation.

For example, the soldiers who opened fire in Chiapas — who have been detained pending charges — claimed they heard “detonations” prior to opening fire. There was no indication any weapons were found at the scene.

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, center, reviews the troops with Defense Minister Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, left, and Navy Secretary Alt. Raymundo Pedro Morales, at Campo Marte in Mexico City, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)