No. 3 Penn State (7-1, 4-1) struggled on offense and suffered its first loss of the season, falling 20-13 to No. 4 Ohio State (7-1, 4-1) on Saturday in front of a record crowd of 111,030 at Beaver Stadium.
It was the Nittany Lions’s eighth consecutive loss to the Buckeyes.
Penn State twice got to the Ohio State 3 and came away with no points with the Buckeyes intercepting an Allar pass in the end zone at the end of the first half and making a goal line stand late in the fourth when the Nittany Lions had an opportunity to tie the game.
The Nittany Lions’ only touchdown on the day was an interception return in the first quarter by Zion Tracy. Penn State’s other points came on a pair of Ryan Barker field goals.
Allar, whose status had been uncertain this week after being injured at Wisconsin, was 12-20 for 146 yards and was the team’s second-leading rusher with 10 carries for 31 yards. Tight end Tyler Warren led Penn State’s rushers with three carries for 47 yards and had four catches for another 47. Running back Nick Singleton was Penn State’s leading pass-catcher with six receptions for 54 yards.
Ohio State outgained Penn State 358 to 270.
The loss deals a major blow to the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten championship prospects, but they remain in position to earn a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Penn State returns to action on Nov. 9 with a White Out game against Washington. Kickoff will be either 3:30 or 7:30 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State’s offense opened with a long, steady drive that included two third-down conversions as the Nittany Lions moved to the Ohio State 12. From there, however, an ineligible receiver penalty was followed by two short runs and an incompletion. Penn State settled for a 29-yard Ryan Barker field goal to take a 3-0 lead with after a 14-play, eight-minute drive to open the game.
The Nittany Lion defense then came up big on Ohio State’s first possession. Cornerback Zion Tracy stepped in front of Buckeye quarterback Will Howard’s pass and returned the interception untouched into the end zone as Penn State moved in front 10-0.
Ohio State asserted itself on its next drive, and for much of the remainder of the half. Keyed by Quinshon Judkins runs of 11 and 22 yards, the Buckeyes moved into Penn State territory and Howard lofted a 25-yard pass to a wide-open Emeka Egbuka in the end zone. The seven-play, 74-yard drive narrowed Penn State’s lead to 10-7 with 1:59 remaining in the first quarter.
2nd Quarter
After a Penn State punt following a three-and-out and an 8-yard pass from Howard to Carnell Tate to end the first quarter, the Nittany Lions jumped offside on third and 2 to open the second and hand the Buckeyes a first down at their own 32. Penn State appeared to get a stop on third down in Buckeye territory, but a questionable taunting penalty gave Ohio State another first down, this time at the Nittany Lion 47.
Ohio State converted another third down on a 20-yard pass from Howard to Trayveon Henderson, and the Buckeye QB found an open Brandon Inniss for a 21-yard scoring throw. The visitors went in front 14-10 with 11:54 left in the half.
Following another Penn State three-and-out, Ohio State looked to be on its way to breaking the game open, converting a fourth-and-1 at midfield on a 19-yard Howard pass under pressure to Jelani Thurman and a third-and-4 from the Penn State 24 on an 11-yard Henderson carry.
On the next play Howard kept it and raced toward the end zone, but just before the goal line, safety Zakee Wheatley jarred the ball loose and it went through the end zone for a touchdback.
Penn State moved to the 50 on its ensuing drive, but once again stalled and punted.
The Nittany Lion defense shut down the Buckeyes on their next drive, with a third down sack by Abdul Carter forcing an Ohio State punt after the two minute warning.
Taking over at the Ohio State 49, Penn State converted a fourth down and a 15-yard Drew Allar run got the Nittany Lions to the 23 and a 21-yard pass from the QB to Trey Wallace had Penn State knocking on the door. With 14 seconds remaining, Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun came up with a miraculous interception on a pass to Wallace in the end zone to turn Penn State away.
Ohio State took a 14-10 lead into the locker room
3rd quarter
The Buckeyes opened the second half looking like they would steamroll the Penn State defense, moving to the Nittany Lion 29 in four plays. But Penn State stiffened, holding the Buckeyes to two short gains then getting a Kobe King sack on third down to force a 46-yard Jayden Fielding field goal. Ohio State extended its lead to 17-10 with 10:40 to go in the third.
Penn State picked up three first downs on its next drive, highlighted by a 24-yard pass from Allar to Wallace, but stalled out at the Buckeye 27. Barker came on and nailed a 44-yard field goal to narrow the Ohio State lead to 17-13 at the 5:03 mark of the third.
The Nittany Lion defense dominated the next drive, with DeLuca dropping Howard for a loss on first down and Carter sacking the Buckeye QB for a four-yard loss on third down to force a punt.
Penn State started with good field position at its own 38 and moved past midfield on a 13-yard pass from Allar to Singleton. But a short completion was followed by two Buckeye sacks of Allar and the Nittany Lions punted again, downing it at the OSU 15.
Ohio State closed out the third quarter with an 18-yard pass from Howard to Jeremiah Smith.
4th quarter
The Buckeyes moved into Penn State territory to open the final quarter, and on second and 9 from the 38 Judkins appeared to fumble a reception, with AJ Harris returning it for Penn State to midfield. The play was ruled an incompletion on review, and Ohio State immediately converted on a 14-yard pass from Howard to Smith. The Nittany Lions slowed the Buckeyes from there, and Ohio State came away with a 39-yard Fielding field goal for a 20-13 lead with 10:13 remaining.
Warren pulled in a 31-yard Allar pass at the Buckeye 40 and two plays later took a direct snap 33 yard to the 3. But three yards from a score and potentially tying the game, Penn State couldn’t get it done. Ohio State stopped three straight runs and forced an incompletion for the goal line stand with 5:13 left in the game
Starting from its own 1, the Buckeye offense pounded away on the ground and Penn State simply couldn’t stop it. Ohio State drove 59 yards on 10 consecutive run plays before Penn State ran out of timeouts.
