Ohio State got on the board first after defender Tim Patillo recovered a blocked punt, and ran it in four yards for a touchdown, putting Ohio State up 7-0. BYU quarterback John Walsh threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to running back Jamal Willis tying the game at 7. Ohio State running back senior Raymont Harris scored on a 2 yard touchdown run to cap the first quarter scoring, and give Ohio State a 14-7 lead. He would finish with a Holiday Bowl record 235 yards rushing on 39 carries.
In the second quarter, Raymont Harris scored on another two yard touchdown run giving Ohio State a 21-7 lead. BYU's John Walsh threw an 8 yard touchdown pass to tight end Chad Lewispulling BYU to 21-14. John Walsh later threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to Bryce Doman before halftime, tying the game at 21.
In the third quarter, Raymont Harris scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, a 1 yarder, to give Ohio State a 28-21 lead. In the fourth quarter, John Walsh threw a 52 yard pass to Eric Drage, giving BYU the ball at the Ohio State 6 yard line with 32 seconds left. On 1st and 2nd down, Walsh threw incompletions, making it 3rd down. Walsh then found a wide open Tim Nowatzke, but he dropped it. He was wide open again on 4th down, but Walsh underthrew him, giving Ohio State the win.