STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania -- Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa was so exhausted by the end of the second overtime he didn't even realize he'd won Saturday night's game for the Buckeyes.

"I didn't even know I sacked him. I just hit the back and pretty much passed out on the field because I was so tired," the sophomore said after Ohio State escaped with a 31-24 win over Penn State in two OTs in Beaver Stadium. "Adolphus (Washington) came to hug me and I just fell down and everyone piled on top of me and, oh man, I was just so exhausted."

Bosa's play was helped by some kind of miscommunication by Penn State that allowed the Buckeyes' best defender to go unblocked through the line. So he was at full speed when he powered through running back Akeel Lynch, who is more than 50 pounds lighter than Bosa, and forced him Lynch into quarterback Christian Hackenberg's legs on fourth-and-5.

An exhausted Joey Bosa celebrates with coaches Kerry Coombs and Larry Johnson after his sack wrapped up the Buckeyes' double-overtime win over Penn State on Saturday.

Bosa was supposed to do something else on the play.

"It was actually a broken play," Bosa said. "But the guard blocked down and the tackle blocked out, and the hole just opened up, so I took it."

The play won the game in overtime only after the Ohio State defense allowed Penn State to march for the tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation. More football was the last thing Bosa wanted.

"First of all, that should have never happened," Bosa said. "We made some stupid penalties. I wasn't very excited to go to overtime, to be honest. I was dead tired going into it. But you can't let that get in your head."

So he put it out of his mind and did what had to be done. That was making one more play to finish with 2.5 sacks on the night.

"I was happy to win that game," linebacker Darron Lee said, "and then when I saw who was coming up to sack the quarterback, I was like, 'Not surprised.'"

Maybe Bosa was the only one who was surprised.

"I mean, I just needed something," Bosa said. "I was tired of trying to work my way around the back, so I just ran him over."