COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Ohio State survived again, but just barely.
Will Allen stopped T.A. McLendon just short of the goal line on the final play of the game as the third-ranked Buckeyes escaped with a 44-38 triple-overtime victory over No. 22 North Carolina State that extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games.
The Buckeyes (3-0) have made a habit of living dangerously, winning seven times by seven points or less last season en route to their first national title since 1968. Ohio State edged San Diego State by just three points last week and the Buckeyes were sweating again when the Wolfpack rallied from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit to send the game into overtime.
"I think playing in a lot of close games last year really helped us today," Ohio State cornerback Dustin Fox said. "We have faced adversity before and we know when we are in tough situations we don't tense up."
The Buckeyes had the ball first in the third overtime and went ahead on seven-yard touchdown pass from Craig Krenzel to Michael Jenkins. As mandated by NCAA rules when the game reaches three overtimes, Ohio State went for two points and failed.
The Wolfpack soon had 1st-and-goal at the Buckeye 4, but surprisingly abandoned the passing game under Philip Rivers that had been responsible for the comeback. Rivers went for two yards on a sneak, threw an incomplete pass and gained just one yard on another sneak.
On fourth down, McLendon, who was playing despite a painful knee injury, took a pitch from Rivers and cut back to the inside. But Allen, the Buckeyes' star safety, came up with the big hit just short of the goal line. McLendon try to extend the ball over the line, but the officials ruled correctly that his body had hit the ground beforehand.
"I saw the opening and I remember someone hitting me. I remember throwing my hands in the air," McLendon said. "Then, I was just waiting on the call and the game was over."
Rivers insisted that a running play was the proper call.
"I can't complain about it. It was the right play and it was so close," Rivers said. "It was a great game and it came down to a few inches."
As a result, the Wolfpack fell just short of engineering the biggest win in the tenure of fourth-year coach Chuck Amato. The Wolfpack may have been caught looking ahead in last week's loss to Wake Forest, but they were ready on Saturday and put another scare into the Buckeyes.
"It hurts us more to come out on the short end in such a close game and of this magnitude," Amato said. "Nobody gave us a shot, but we came here to win and went up against the longest winning streak in the nation, in one of the biggest houses of the nation, in front of one of the biggest crowds in the nation, and I am proud of our kids. We grew up a lot today."
Rivers had a big day, completing 36-of-52 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns.
The Buckeyes won yet another overtime nailbiter after their epic win over Miami in January's Fiesta Bowl. They also capped a turbulent week that included the suspension of star running back Maurice Clarett for the rest of the season for violating NCAA rules.
Without Clarett, the running game again struggled. Krenzel was the Buckeyes' leading rusher with just 37 yards on 13 carries.
"One thing we did not do a good job of today is running the football," Krenzel admitted. "When you don't run the football well, it's hard to keep a drive going. It's something we need to work on."
Ohio State also overcame 14 penalties for 129 yards.
"No one's going to walk out of Ohio Stadium today saying everthing's perfect and everything's wonderful," coach Jim Tressel. "But I feel good about how hard they played and we're going to go back to work on Monday."
The Buckeyes built their 24-7 lead on a six-yard touchdown run by Krenzel early in the fourth quarter. But Ohio State fumbled the ensuing kickoff before Rivers threw a nine-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery.
Krenzel, who had the worst performance of his career last week against San Diego State, completed 26-of-36 for 273 yards and four scores.
Adam Kiker kicked a 24-yard field to make it a seven-point game before Rivers completed all six passes on a 91-yard drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The overtime began with Krenzel throwing a 10-yard TD pass to Ben Hartsock before Rivers answered with a 17-yard TD pass to Tramain Hall, who had nine catches for 67 yards.
McClendon scored on a two-yard run to open the second overtime before Krenzel answered with a two-yard TD pass to Ryan Hamby to make it 38-38.
Despite the inflated numbers caused by the overtime, the Buckeyes still made a series of big defensive plays. Linebacker A.J. Hawk and safety Brandon Mitchell each had second-half interceptions to set up scores.
North Carolina State was trailing, 14-7, and driving from a score when Hawk stepped in front of a pass by Rivers and returned the interception 55 yards to the Wolfpack 7. Mike Nugent later followed with a 22-yard field goal that made it 17-7 after three quarters.
Minutes later, Mitchell dove for a tipped pass at the NC State 42 and was credited with an interception even though the ball hit the ground. Krenzel later scored on his six-yard TD run to increase the lead to 17 points. Ohio State scored two touchdowns in an 86-second span late in the frist quarter to take a 14-0 lead.
Krenzel found Jenkins, who had seven catches for 124 yards, over the middle for a 44-yard touchdown pass. The Wolfpack botched the ensuing fumble and Allen recovered at the North Carolina State 3. Lydell Ross scored on a two-yard run two plays later to make it 14-0.
Rivers finally found his rhythm later in the quarter, completing an 11-yard TD pass to Cotchery, who had four catches for 44 yards.
