Penn State Falls to Ohio State, 20-13

UNIVERSITY PARK – No. 3/3 Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, falling 20-13 to No. 4/4 Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) in front of a Beaver Stadium record 111,030 fans.

The Nittany Lions struck early with a field goal and a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown by Zion Tracy to go up 10-0 with 5:37 left to play in the opening quarter. Penn State scored just three points the rest of the way, dropping its first game of the season.

Penn State’s defense tallied three sacks in addition to the interception. Abdul Carter recorded two, while the third came from Kobe King. Safety Zakee Wheatley led the team with nine tackles. King tallied seven tackles himself, while Jaylen Reed picked up six, including a half-tackle for loss.

Offensively, Tyler Warren paced the Nittany Lions with 47 rushing yards on three attempts and also hauled in four passes for 47 receiving yards. Nicholas Singleton recorded 135 all-purpose yards, including a team-leading 54 receiving yards, 15 rushing yards, and 66 kick return yards. Quarterback Drew Allar completed 12-of-20 passes for 146 yards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State got off to a great start in the first quarter. The Nittany Lions received the opening kick and put up an eight-minute drive that resulted in a field goal from Ryan Barker. On Ohio State’s ensuing possession, Tracy intercepted Will Howard’s first pass attempt of the game and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown to put Penn State up 10-0 at the 5:37 mark of the first quarter.

Ohio State answered with a touchdown drive of its own, going 74 yards on seven plays to cut the Nittany Lion lead to 10-7 with just under two minutes on the clock in the opening quarter.

The Buckeyes added to their lead with another touchdown. A 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive put Ohio State up 14-10 with 11:54 to play in the second quarter.

Penn State recorded its second turnover of the day when Zakee Wheatley forced a fumble that went out of bounds through the end zone, resulting in a touchback.

Neither team was able to push anything across for the remainder of the half and the Nittany Lions entered the locker room at halftime down 14-10.

Ohio State opened up the second half with a field goal on its first offensive possession, increasing its lead to 17-10 at the 10:40 mark of the third quarter.

Barker connected on a 44-yard field goal with 5:03 to play in the third quarter to trim the Buckeye lead to 17-13. Penn State traveled 49 yards on nine plays for the score.

An Ohio State field goal with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter put the Buckeyes up 20-13. Both defenses prevented any further scores in the game and the Nittany Lions fell 20-13.

The 2024 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.