No. 3 Penn State football (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) lost 20-13 to No. 4 Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State jumped ahead with a field goal and a pick-six early in the first quarter. However, Ohio State scored two touchdowns to end the first half up 14-10. Penn State battled in the second half, but it was once again outdone by Ohio State for the eighth straight time.

How It Happened

Nick Singleton returned the opening kickoff to his own 27-yard line. Runs by Singleton and Tyler Warren brought up 3rd-and-1, and the former barely picked up the first down with another run. Drew Allar tossed it to Singleton for an eight-yard gain, and Kaytron Allen rushed for a yard.

On 3rd-and-1, Allar kept it and scrambled for another Nittany Lion first down. He kept it for a second time and rushed to Ohio State’s 45-yard line, then again for 11 yards. Two plays later, Singleton caught it and advanced to the 12-yard line. Two runs and a penalty against the Nittany Lions brought up 3rd-and-10, and Allar’s pass was incomplete. Ryan Barker kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Penn State a 3-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter.

Quinshon Judkins rushed for a yard, and then four to open Ohio State’s drive. Then, on his first attempt, Will Howard’s pass was picked off by Zion Tracy at the 31-yard line, who returned it to the house to give the Nittany Lions a 10-0 lead with 5:37 left in the opening quarter.

Howard completed his next pass, although it was for no gain. He then fired a nine-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith, and the Buckeyes tush-pushed for a first down. Judkins ripped an 11-yard run, and then advanced to Penn State’s 30-yard line on a screen. Two plays later, Emeka Egbuka hauled in a 25-yard touchdown reception to make it 10-7 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

Ohio State regained possession at the 19-yard line after a Penn State three-and-out. Carnell Tate caught a nine-yard pass on 2nd-and-10 to bring up third down, and an offsides call against Abdul Carter moved the sticks. An incompletion and no-gain run brought up 3rd-and-10, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Penn State gave the Buckeyes another first down. On 3rd-and-5 three plays later, TreVeyon Henderson caught a 20-yard pass to reach the 22-yard line. Then, Howard found Brandon Inniss for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Buckeyes a 14-10 lead with 11:54 left in the second quarter.

Penn State had a second consecutive three-and-out. From the 42-yard line, Egbuka rushed for five yards. Howard threw an incompletion, and his pass to Egbuka brought up 4th-and-1. Under pressure, Howard tossed it to Jelani Thurman, who barely caught it to extend the drive. Judkins rushed for seven yards, but Howard was stuffed for a one-yard loss to bring up 3rd-and-4. Henderson ripped an 11-yard run to the 13-yard line to extend the drive again. Howard fumbled before reaching the end zone, and a touchback gave Penn State the ball.

Warren rushed for seven yards to begin the drive. Allen picked up a first down, and Singleton ripped a seven-yard run. An offsides call moved Penn State to the 46-yard line. Beau Pribula completed a four-yard pass to Singleton to make it 3rd-and-6, and Allar threw another incompletion to once again leave Penn State scoreless.

Two Judkins runs and a Howard sack forced a three-and-out for the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions regained possession at Ohio State’s 49-yard line. Singleton’s run and a Fleming reception brought up 3rd-and-5. Allar made it to the 40-yard line, and the offense stayed on the field. Singleton picked up a first down with 26 seconds left. Allar rushed 14 yards to the 24-yard line, then completed a 21-yard pass to Wallace. However, Allar threw an interception in the end zone for a touchback to end the half.

Howard took off for 11 yards to open the second half. He fired a 14-yard pass to Smith for another first down, then Henderson rushed five yards to make it across midfield. Henderson’s action continued with a 16-yard run to Penn State’s 29-yard line. Henderson and Egbuka combined for four yards to bring up 3rd-and-6, and Howard was down before reaching the line to gain. Ohio State kicked a field goal to make it 17-10 with 10:40 left in the third quarter.

Allar completed an 11-yard pass to Warren to open the drive. Two plays later, he found Wallace for a 23-yard pickup. Singleton gained four yards, then Allen ran six for a first down. On 3rd-and-9 three plays later, Warren made a three-yard catch. Barker’s field goal made it 17-13 with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

Howard lost two yards, and Gee Scott Jr. was tackled by Jaylen Reed to make it 3rd-and-8. Then, Carter sacked Howard to force Ohio State to punt.

Singleton gained 13 yards to open the ensuing drive. Warren gained two yards, but Allar was sacked to bring up 3rd-and-17. He was sacked again to end the drive.

From his own 15-yard line, Howard completed an 18-yard pass to Smith. Two plays later, Judkins ripped a 14-yard run. The Buckeyes continued to move down the field with a 12-yard pass to Inniss on 2nd-and-10. On 3rd-and-10, they converted again with Smith making a 14-yard catch. The drive stalled, though, and Ohio State kicked a field goal to take a 20-13 lead with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter.

Allar completed a 31-yard pass to Warren to reach Ohio State’s 40-yard line. Allar and Allen combined for five yards to bring up 3rd-and-5, and Warren dashed 33 yards to the three-yard line. Despite this, Penn State failed to score on all tries, which gave Ohio State the ball with 5:13 left in regulation.

Judkins gained a first down on 2nd-and-6. He did the same two plays later to put Ohio State at the 35-yard line. The Buckeyes continued to run the ball and drain the clock

Takeaways

• New year, same ordeal. Penn State entered ranked above Ohio State with home-field advantage in front of the biggest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, but guess what? It lost to Ohio State again.
• Allar didn’t show up. He went 12-for-16 with 146 passing yards and one interception, which was in the end zone. That’s not good enough.
• Offensive incompetence doomed Penn State. The Nittany Lions couldn’t score from the three-yard line in the second half down a touchdown. That’s sheer incompetence.
• An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was perhaps the difference-maker. Ohio State would’ve been stopped on third down trailing 10-7 in the first half, but that penalty gave it a first down. The Buckeyes scored a touchdown on that same drive and never looked back.

What’s Next

Penn State hosts Washington in the White Out at either 3:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, at Beaver Stadium. A channel hasn’t been determined yet.