Every time the Penn State football team's offense seemed to put the team in peril Saturday, the defense seemed to be there to bail it out.

But the Nittany Lions' offense made one mistake its defense couldn't do anything about.

Ohio State scored its lone touchdown of the game early in the third quarter on a 40-yard interception return by cornerback/wide receiver Chris Gamble, one of three interceptions thrown by Lions quarterback Zack Mills. The score would prove to be the difference in a 13-7 victory for the Buckeyes, who won despite losing star tailback Maurice Clarett for the game when he injured his shoulder on the sixth play from scrimmage.

The rest of the offense didn't fare much better than Mills. The Lions were held to 179 yards of total offense and 81 rushing yards. They only made it into Buckeye territory four times, twice because they started there on Ohio State turnovers.

It could've been much worse. Six times the Buckeyes began a drive beyond their own 40-yard line, but while the Lions' defense was on the field, they didn't score a touchdown. The Lions yielded just 253 yards of offense to the Buckeyes, who average 426.1 per game, despite being on the field for a muscle-numbing 37 minutes and 29 seconds.

The Lions' defense even created great opportunities for their offense, with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, including a pick by free safety Shawn Mayer that allowed the Lions to start at the 50.

"Every loss is frustrating," linebacker Derek Wake said. "But definitely this loss is frustrating, because we came in here and we did our job. But it's a team game and we still lost the game."

They almost broke once when the Buckeyes methodically drove down the field on their first drive. However, on third and goal from the five, Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel ran out of the pocket on a broken pass play and stretched for the goal line. He fumbled the ball and Lions nickel back Anwar Phillips picked it up and ran 58 yards before being stopped at the Buckeyes' 41.

The Lions botched the opportunity two plays later, when Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk intercepted a pass from Mills at the Buckeyes' 43, but the Lions forced them to punt. Penn State scored their only touchdown of the game on the ensuing drive on a five-yard run by tailback Larry Johnson.

On the Lions' next possession, it started to get really ugly. Buckeyes defensive end Will Smith intercepted a pass at the Lions 33-yard line after it was batted off Lions wide receiver Tony Johnson's helmet by cornerback Dustin Fox. That play set up a 37-yard field goal by kicker Mike Nugent, who would hit another in the third quarter after Gamble's touchdown.

The Lions' offense continued to self-destruct. They got just four first downs the rest of the game and never got past the Ohio State 36-yard line. They managed just 58 yards of second-half offense and actually lost six yards on the ground in the final two quarters.

"I felt that we owed [the defense] more than what we were doing for them," Larry Johnson said. "In a game like this if you get that many turnovers and stops than you still should win the game. We didn't hold up our end of the deal."

What little hope the Lions had for a Big Ten title went by the wayside, especially with the Buckeyes and Iowa, who beat Michigan Saturday, both still unbeaten in the conference. However, the Lions still have a lot to play for with their first bowl appearance since 1999 just a win away.

"It's not like our life's over or our season's over," Mayer said. "If we win out we have some big games left and we get to go to a bowl game. All three losses we have were respectable losses ... We just have to handle what comes our way."