Penn State enters its contest with Ohio State in Beaver Stadium as the higher-ranked team for the 10th time in the intense border state rivalry. And the Nittany Lions hold a stellar 7-2 mark in those games.
The 2024 Nittany Lions are 7-0 and ranked No. 3 in the latest Associated Press poll. Ohio State, coming off a tight 21-17 victory over unranked Nebraska, is 6-1 and ranked No. 4.
Under James Franklin, in his 11th season since arriving at Penn State in 2014, the Nittany Lions have entered their annual contest against the Buckeyes as the higher-ranked team just once — in 2017. Entering the game, Penn State was 7-1 and ranked No. 2, while 7-1 Ohio State was No. 6. At the Oct. 28 game played in The Horseshoe, Penn State led 35-20 and then 38-27 in the fourth quarter, only to lose 39-38 after the Buckeyes scored two touchdowns in the final 260 seconds.
Penn State is 1-9 against Ohio State under Franklin, with the only win coming on Oct. 22, 2016, in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions won, 24-21, after Grant Haley converted a 60-yard scoop-and-score TD following a blocked Ohio State field goal attempt by Penn State’s Marcus Allen.
The last time Penn State beat Ohio State as a higher-ranked team came in 2011, with interim head coaches on both sides, as Penn State’s Joe Paterno was fired in November 2011 and Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel resigned in May 2011 following an NCAA investigation.
The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 21, won that 2011 game vs. the unranked Buckeyes in Columbus, 20-14. Tom Bradley was the interim head coach and Curtis Drake and Bill Belton played Wildcat QB for Penn State. Luke Fickell — the Wisconsin head coach whose team lost 28-13 to Penn State on Saturday night in Madison — was the interim head coach for Ohio State. (Incidentally, Bradley had a hand in all seven of PSU’s wins and just one of the losses, as a player, captain, grad assistant, position coach, defensive coordinator and interim head coach.)
WHEN HIGHER-RANKED PENN STATE PLAYS OHIO STATE
Here is the chronology of those nine games, with just three of the seven wins coming in Beaver Stadium:
WINS (7)
| Year | Location | Score |
| 1978 | Ohio Stadium | No. 5 Penn State 19, No. 6 Ohio State 0 |
| 1980 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 10 Penn State 31, No. 11 Ohio State 19 |
| 1994 | Beaver Stadium | No. 1 Penn State 63, No. 21 Ohio State 14 |
| 1997 | Beaver Stadium | No. 2 Penn State 31, No. 7 Ohio State 27 |
| 1999 | Beaver Stadium | No. 2 Penn State 23, No. 18 Ohio State 10 |
| 2008 | Ohio Stadium | No. 3 Penn State 13, No. 10 Ohio State 6 |
| 2011 | Ohio Stadium | No. 21 Penn State 20, NR Ohio State 14 |
LOSSES (2)
| Year | Location | Score |
| 2009 | Beaver Stadium | No. 15 Ohio State 24, No. 11 Penn State 7 |
| 2017 | Ohio Stadium | No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38 |
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Ohio State 25, Penn State 14
Penn State at Beaver Stadium: 6-10
Penn State at Ohio Stadium: 7-15
Penn State at neutral site (Fiesta Bowl): 1-0
Last 12 games: Ohio State, 11-1
Last 7 games: Ohio State, 7-0
