COLUMBUS — Led by a defensive performance reminiscent of some of the best in program history, No. 3 Ohio State outlasted No. 7 Penn State in a battle of unbeaten teams inside Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

Kyle McCord’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. with 4:07 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Ohio State breathing room that had been impossible to find for either team throughout the game.

A late Penn State touchdown proved to be little more than window dressing as Carnell Tate recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the win and preserve Ohio State’s 7-0 record.

McCord finished with 286 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 63% of his passes. After catching 10 passes for 185 yards a year ago at Penn State, Harrison continued his torment of Nittany Lion secondaries on Saturday with an 11-catch, 162-yard performance to go with the touchdown.

While the Ohio State offense played well enough, and even dominated Penn State in stretches, it was the Ohio State defense who dictated the play on the field from start to finish in a throwback effort Ohio State fans have been waiting to see since defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was hired ahead of last season.

Penn State sophomore quarterback Drew Allar was never able to settle into the game, thanks in part to being under consistent pressure, and managed to complete just 43% of his passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked four times.

The inability of the Penn State offense to find any success in the run game did little to help Allar as Ohio State routinely forced him into uncomfortable positions where he had to make plays down the field. Nicholas Singleton led Penn State with 48 rushing yards and a 5.3 yards per carry average, but he only received nine carries in the game.

As a team, Penn State was held to just 49 rushing yards and a per-carry average of 1.9 yards in a dreadful performance.

“There are a lot of people who did a lot of great things on defense, but I have to give (defensive coordinator) Jim Knowles and his staff a lot of credit for the adjustments they’ve made,” head coach Ryan Day said following the game. “That’s two top-10 wins now where our defense played very well. I’m happy for our guys, happy for the success they’ve had. They came off of last season with a few scars, just like we all did, but you’re starting to see the confidence grow in a big way.”

After forcing a Penn State three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, Ohio State quickly marched into the red zone before settling for a 33-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding to take an early 3-0 lead.

Penn State (6-1) evened the score at 3-3 late in the first quarter with a 40-yard field goal from Alex Felkins.

The teams remained in a defensive battle into the second quarter before Ohio State finally found the end zone to break the tie. Miyan Williams’ 2-yard touchdown run capped a 13-play, 61-yard drive to push Ohio State ahead 10-3 with 7:31 left in the half.

The touchdown drive was aided by a crucial defensive holding penalty on Penn State that negated a 60-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Curtis Jacobs after McCord failed to put the ball away while being sacked.

Felkins’ second field goal of the half drew Penn State closer just before halftime, and Ohio State headed to the break clinging to a 10-6 lead in the defensive struggle.

Penn State and Ohio State combined for only 132 rushing yards in the first half, and neither team would find much more success on the ground in the second half.

Ohio State received the ball to begin the second half but quickly went three-and-out, and Penn State could muster just one first down on the ensuing possession before punting the ball away. The teams traded stops throughout the third quarter before Ohio State finally looked poised to take control of the game.

McCord found Cade Stover for a 30-yard completion to move the Ohio State offense to the Penn State 9-yard line, but as has been the case so often this season, Ohio State failed to capitalize in the red zone.

Chip Trayanum rushed for three yards to the Penn State 6-yard line on first down, and Devin Brown’s keeper pushed the ball inside the 1-yard line to set up a critical third down. Williams was stuffed in the backfield for a loss of a yard to bring up fourth down, but Day elected to keep his offense on the field rather than kick the field goal that would have given his team a 13-6 lead.

McCord’s pass to Tate was stopped at the line of scrimmage for no gain, and the Penn State sideline erupted as its defense sprinted off the field following the turnover on downs.

After the game, Day said of his decision to go for the touchdown rather than a field goal, “When you’re on the 2-yard line like that, I just feel like we have to punch it in. And the way our defense was playing, I felt like if we were gonna get stopped, that was 98 yards Penn State would have to go. But we have to get in there from the 2-yard line. That’s the bottom line. There’s no excuse for it.”

Still trailing 10-6 and having just dodged a major blow, the Penn State offense trotted back on the field with some momentum for the first time since the first half. However, that momentum was quickly stamped out as the Ohio State defense continued to suffocate Penn State at every level.

Three plays later, Penn State was once again unable to extend the drive, and the punt team came back onto the field for some more work.

Disaster struck for Ohio State on the punt when the ball bounced short of Ohio State return man Jayden Ballard and hit off Lorenzo Styles Jr. as he attempted to block. Penn State recovered the live ball at the Ohio State 49, sending the Ohio State defense back onto the field yet again, this time with Penn State already in plus territory.

As it did time and time again, though, the Ohio State defense rose to the occasion and thwarted a promising Penn State scoring opportunity in short order. Keandre Lambert-Smith was hit for negative yardage on the first play of the series, and Ohio State’s J.T. Tuimoloau sacked Allar on second down to put Penn State in a hole that ultimately led to another punt.

Ohio State was able to add to its lead on the ensuing drive with Fielding’s second field goal of the day, this time from 37 yards to give his team a 13-6 advantage with nine minutes remaining in the game.

Desperate for any sort of sustained drive, Allar and the Penn State offense proved incapable once again as Ohio State forced another three-and-out to set up the final blow from McCord and Harrison.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.