ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — No. 4 Ohio State scored three TDs in a four-minute span to finally go ahead to stay in a 40-28 win over No. 15 TCU.
The Buckeyes went 3-0 in their three games without suspended head coach Urban Meyer.
Defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones had a 28-yard interception return that put Ohio State ahead to stay.
“Getting through this game, the way it went down, we knew there were going be ebbs and flows in a game like this,” acting coach Ryan Day said. “We knew that were going to be times when we’d hit adversity and we’d have to stick together at times like that.”
Parris Campbell turned a short pass from Dwayne Haskins Jr. into a 63-yard touchdown to start the quick scoring spurt.
Ohio State still trailed 21-19 after a 2-point try failed, but TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson was under pressure on the ensuing third down when he tried to shovel a pass to his running back — but instead it went right to Jones, the 286-pound tackle who rumbled to the end zone.
The next drive for the Horned Frogs (2-1) ended with a blocked punt, and two plays later Haskins threw a 24-yard TD to K.J. Hill.
Standout Buckeye defensive end Nick Bosa left the game with an apparent left groin injury.
Bosa was sitting on the turf with his helmet off at the end of a play after rushing after TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson early in the third quarter. He could be seen pointing to his left groin area.
He went to the locker room and was in street clothes when he returned to the Ohio State bench before the end of the third quarter.
Haskins went 24 of 38 for 344 yards and two TDs while rushing for a third score.
OSU escaped the upset bug that bit the Big Ten.
BYU provided the season’s first shocker, one that could reset the College Football Playoff race and have long-term ramifications for the conference, knocking off No. 6 Wisconsin as a three-touchdown underdog.
The Badgers were a popular playoff pick, the overwhelming favorites in the Big Ten West and part of a group of five Big Ten teams that began the season ranked in the top-15. Three have already lost, with Wisconsin joining No. 19 Michigan and No. 25 Michigan State.
It was a lousy day overall for the Big Ten. Nebraska fell to 0-2 under Scott Frost, falling to Troy while playing a walk-on quarterback, one of five conference teams to lose on the season’s third Saturday.