Then Ohio State surged into the lead in a bizarre sequence of plays.
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It started with a 63-yard catch-and-run by Parris Campbell, who grabbed a screen pass from Dwayne Haskins, got a couple of blocks then outran the rest of the TCU defense for the score.
Barely a minute of game time later, Ohio State retook the lead when defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones intercepted a shovel pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
The big man showed great awareness to snatch the ball then some nimble moves, avoiding a pair of tackles and staying in bounds on the return.
Ohio State forced a punt on the next drive and ended up with great field position after the Horned Frogs botched the operation.
Two plays later, Haskins found K.J. Hill with a rainbow toss into the end zone to make it 33-21 with 2:57 left in the third.
The Horned Frogs struck back with a 75-yard touchdown drive, but Ohio State slammed the door with a 5-yard Haskins touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
There was some bad news for the Buckeyes, though.
They played most of the second half without star defensive end Nick Bosa, who suffered a lower abdomen injury early in the third quarter.
Ohio State-TCU: One Hall of Fame coach left mark on Buckeyes, Horned Frogs https://t.co/JdkPfqK4vn
— daytonsports (@daytonsports) September 15, 2018
HALFTIME STORY
Ohio State trails TCU 14-13 at halftime in Arlington, Texas.
The fourth-ranked Buckeyes had an early 10-0 lead but numerous mistakes hurt them as the first half wore on.
No. 15 TCU took the lead on a 93-yard run by Darius Anderson, the longest play Ohio State has ever allowed from scrimmage.
Both teams failed to maximize scoring opportunities on their first possession.
Ohio State drove quickly down the field — thanks mostly to a 48-yard pass from Dwayne Haskins to Austin Mack — but two mistakes forced them to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Sean Nuernberger.
Ohio State had first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but J.K. Dobbins was hit by an unblocked middle linebacker on first down and Mack dropped a pass in the end zone on third down. In between, Innis Gaines broke up a sure touchdown pass from Haskins to tight end Rashod Berry, who was open in the flat.
TCU raced down the field on its first possession with Shawn Robinson completing 6 of 7 passes for 58 yards.
His incompletion was a fade route on third down that was broken up by OSU freshman Shaun Wade in the end zone.
TCU’s Cole Bunce pulled a 21-yard field goal wide right on the next play.
Ohio State had to punt on its ensuing possession, but Dru Chrisman’s 41-yard punt ended up setting up another Scarlet and Gray score.
On second down of the ensuing possession, Nick Bosa blew by the TCU left tackle and knocked the ball out of Robinson’s hand.
It flew into the end zone where Ohio State’s Davon Hamilton recovered it for a touchdown.
TCU answered with an seven-play, 84-yard touchdown drive capped when Sewo Olonilua scamped into the end zone from six yards out while the OSU defense was looking for a pass on third and goal.
After falling behind on Anderson’s run, Ohio State got a 30-yard field goal from Nuernberger, who had a chance to put the Buckeyes on top but missed a 38-yarder with two seconds left in the second quarter.
TCU gained 289 total yards in the first half, two more than Ohio State.
The Horned Frogs averaged 7.6 yards per play while Ohio State gained 6.1.
Ohio State was flagged for four penalties that cost it 34 yards, including a pass interference call that keep TCU’s first touchdown drive alive.
Dropped passes were also an issue for the Buckeyes, including three by Mack.
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