This was not a pretty sight for lovers of offense, like Ryan Day. But if you enjoy good, hard-hitting, fast-moving defense, Ohio State's 20-12 win over Penn State was a beauty.

The No. 3-ranked Buckeyes now have a good chance to get healthy with games against Wisconsin, Rutgers, Michigan State and Minnesota before the big one in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25.

Here are three things we learned from Saturday's win over the No. 7 Nittany Lions:

This Ohio State defense has a chance

Yes, nothing matters until they stop Michigan, but the defense the Buckeyes showed on Saturday was different from last year's. Quick adjustments, sure tackling and sticky pass defense, all without standout cornerback Denzel Burke, were complemented by a relentless pass rush from all angles.

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This is a more conservative approach than last year, and Penn State's offense is as vanilla as its uniforms. But all season, the Buckeyes have kept things in front of them to make teams work their way down the field.

Penn State was an astonishing 0 for 15 on third downs until finally succeeding on its third-to-last play of the game. Quarterback Drew Allar was sacked four times, and the Buckeyes had eight tackles for loss. The supposedly run-heavy Nittany Lions rushed for only 49 yards.

Just three of Penn State’s 14 drives ended on the Buckeyes’ side of the 50-yard line.

On a day for defense, this was Marvin Harrison Jr.'s best day

Without injured fellow receiver Emeka Egbuka on the field, Marvin Harrison Jr. had the full attention of the Penn State defense. He also had a quarterback in Kyle McCord who was often off-target.

Yet Harrison had a career-high 11 receptions for 162 yards and a game-clinching touchdown, and that was with a few drops. His 162 receiving yards accounted for nearly half of the 365 total yards of offense produced by the Buckeyes.

Day moved Harrison all around, lining him up from every spot conceivable, with the slant pattern especially effective against the Nittany Lions. On his touchdown, Harrison ran a perfectly designed crossing route, with tight end Cade Stover's defender running into Harrison's, setting him free. He then got a nice block from receiver Carnell Tate and cruised into the end zone.

With the two defenses duking it out, Harrison was the difference. Ohio State had him, and his home-state team didn't.

You can win with bad quarterback play. Against Penn State, at least

Both defenses were excellent on Saturday, and both quarterbacks struggled badly. Penn State's Drew Allar, an Ohio native, looked in over his head in completing 18 of 42 passes for 191 yards. And, we repeat, going 0 for 15 on third downs until his final try.

Ohio State's Kyle McCord, a Philadelphia high schooler, was wise to seek out his old St. Joseph's Preparatory School teammate in Harrison as often as he could, because he had no connection with anyone else. McCord completed 22 of 35 passes for 286 yards. At halftime, Day told FOX that plenty of Buckeyes were open and that "Kyle has to find our guys."

He didn't in the second half, either, and the game was so tight that a big mistake could have turned things.

The question going forward is whether Ohio State can survive Michigan without vast improvement from McCord.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football beat Penn State: 5 things we learned about OSU