In top-5 showdown, Penn State falls to Ohio State for 8th straight season

UNIVERSITY PARK — James Franklin and No. 3 Penn State had to be feeling good early against Ohio State, as a first-quarter field goal and pick-6 of the Buckeyes’ Will Howard produced a quick 10-point lead.

However, that was the lone touchdown of the day for Penn State, with its offense failing to find the end zone in a 20-13 loss to the fourth-ranked Buckeyes on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

A record crowd of 111,030 fans packed in to watch the Nittany Lions suffer their first loss of the season and eighth straight to the Buckeyes.

“The pick-6 was a huge play in the game, but we only scored six points on offense,” Franklin said after the game. “We scored seven points on defense against a really, really good team. Are they good on defense? Yes. But we’ve got to find ways to manufacture points and yards — there’s no doubt about it. We didn’t get it done. Give (Ohio State) a ton of credit.”

Penn State came within a yard of scoring the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but Ohio State’s defense denied four straight attempts from within the 3-yard line on the Nittany Lions’ final offensive possession.

Howard survived his first-quarter pick-6 to Zion Tracy as well as a costly fumble at the 1-yard line that negated a Buckeyes touchdown, recovering to throw a pair of touchdown passes in the win and going 16 of 24 for 182 yards.

Drew Allar, starting the top-five showdown for Penn State after suffering an injury last weekend at Wisconsin, was held to 146 yards on 12-of-20 passing.

As an offense, Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) was limited to a season-low 270 yards by their heated rival.

“We can’t let one (loss) turn into two, turn into three,” Allar said. “We have to right the wrongs that we made today. Offensively, we’re not going to point any fingers. It wasn’t one person that blew the game for us. Personally, I’m going to reflect on my performance, watch the film, be hard on myself, see the things I could have done better (and) see the things I did well.”

Penn State’s opening offensive drive went 61 yards over 14 plays, resulting in a Ryan Barker field goal that made it 3-0 with six minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Lions struggled to put much together afterward, managing another field goal in the third quarter but falling short in two critical goal-line sequences.

With only seconds left in the first half and Ohio State up 14-10, Penn State advanced to the Buckeyes’ 3-yard line.

Allar, who’d connected with Harrison Wallace for a spectacular grab earlier on the drive, sent the ball his way again to the corner of the end zone.

It was a perfectly placed pass, but in single coverage, Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun wrestled the ball away from Wallace.

The play was reviewed after initially being ruled incomplete, with the new on-field call awarding Igbinosun an interception and touchback, quelling Penn State’s end-of-half scoring threat.

“Can’t have the ball inside the 5-yard line twice and come out with no points,” Franklin said.

Penn State’s second trip to the goal line ended in even more frustration.

The score was 20-13 Ohio State with less than six minutes remaining in the game.

Tyler Warren, with an impressive 31-yard catch down the sideline and 33-yard rush off the left tackle, willed Penn State into scoring position.

But three straight handoffs to Kaytron Allen failed to punch it in, and Allar’s fourth-down pass went incomplete.

“Should we probably have given the ball to Tyler Warren after the plays that he’d made? I get the question,” Franklin said of the turnover on downs. “I get it.”

The game was far from over at that point.

Ohio State began a new drive at its 1-yard line, and Penn State looked for a defensive stop with all three timeouts remaining.

The necessary defensive stand did not materialize, and Penn State never got the ball back as the Buckeyes ate away the remaining 5 minutes, 13 seconds, producing three first downs.

“(Ohio State) had a championship drive right there at the end, and we did not play well in an obvious running situation,” Franklin said. “Did not handle, I think, the fact that the offense did not score in that situation well.”

Though it scored more points than Penn State’s offense, the defense let up back-to-back touchdown drives to Ohio State in the first and second quarters on 25- and 21-yard scoring receptions.

Crucially, on the Buckeyes’ second touchdown drive, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Elliot Washington negated a third-down stop at the Ohio State 36.

“That’s on me,” Franklin said of the Nittany Lions’ five penalties for 45 yards. “We’ve got to be a disciplined football team. We were not disciplined at times today.”

Five plays later, the Buckeyes found the end zone.

After Barker’s first field goal, the Nittany Lions went three-and-out on three straight possessions leading into Allar’s interception to close out the first half.

Penn State only had three second-half possessions, which resulted in a punt, Barker’s second field goal and the goal-line turnover on downs.