Ohio State Defeats Penn State, 20-13, For Eighth Straight Win over Nittany Lions

By Dan Hope on November 2, 2024 at 3:21 pm
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Ohio State continues to own James Franklin.

Led by a goal-line stand that preserved a 7-point fourth-quarter lead, Ohio State earned its eighth straight win over Penn State to earn its first signature win of the 2024 season, improving to 7-1 on the season and keeping itself in the driver’s seat for a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Ryan Day improved to 6-0 against Penn State with the win while James Franklin fell to 1-10 against the Buckeyes as Penn State’s head coach.

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4  
#4 Ohio State 7 7 3 3 20
#3 PENN STATE 10 0 3 0 13
NOV. 2, 2024 • BeaVER STADIUM • STATE COLLEGE, PA

Penn State scored three points on its opening drive as it converted a 29-yard field goal in the red zone after taking eight minutes off the clock with a 14-play, 61-yard drive. The Nittany Lions added another seven points before their offense returned to the field as Zion Tracy intercepted Will Howard’s first pass attempt of the game and turned it into a 31-yard pick-six, giving the home team an early 10-0 lead.

Ohio State responded the way it needed to on its second possession, driving 74 yards in seven plays as Howard and Emeka Egbuka connected for a 25-yard touchdown.

After forcing a 3-and-out on Penn State’s second possession, Ohio State put together a 10-play, 81-yard drive that Brandon Inniss capped off with a 21-yard touchdown catch-and-run to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game.

Ohio State should have had another touchdown on its next possession, which included a gutsy 4th-and-1 conversion from the 49-yard line on a 19-yard pass from Howard to Jelani Thurman, but the drive ended with a turnover when Howard had the ball knocked out of his hand by Zakee Wheatley and fumbled it into the end zone for a touchback.

Penn State had a chance to take the lead in the final minute of the first half with a drive to Ohio State’s 3-yard line, but Davison Igbinosun preserved the Buckeyes’ 14-10 lead with a spectacular interception on which he stole the ball away from Penn State receiver Harrison Wallace III in the right rear corner of the end zone.

Ohio State made it a seven-point game on the opening drive of the second half as Jayden Fielding kicked a 46-yard field goal through the middle of the uprights. Penn State responded with a 44-yard Ryan Barker field goal on its first possession of the half to cut the lead back down to four points.

Fielding extended the lead back to seven points on a 39-yard field goal with 10:13 to play.

Penn State came close to tying the game on its subsequent drive when it got to the 3-yard line on a 33-yard run by Tyler Warren – which followed a 31-yard catch by Warren earlier in the drive – but Ohio State’s defense preserved the lead with a massive goal-line stand, preventing Penn State from scoring on a goal-to-go series that started at the 3-yard line.

Ohio State was able to successfully run the clock out from there to secure a seven-point victory over the No. 3 team in the country.

The Buckeyes will look to improve to 8-1 next week when they host Purdue at Ohio Stadium. The game time and TV network for the game has not yet been announced.

Team Stats

OHIO STATE     PENN STATE
358 TOTAL YARDS 270
176 RUSHING YARDS 120
40 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 32
4.4 AVERAGE PER RUSH 3.8
0 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 0
182 PASSING YARDS 150
16-24 COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS 13-21
11.4 YARDS PER COMPLETION 11.5
2 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 0
21 1st DOWNS 15
64 TOTAL PLAYS 53
5.6 YARDS PER PLAY 5.1
6-12 3RD DOWNS 3-11
2-15 PENALTIES 5-45
31:29 POSSESSION 28:31
2 (7) TURNOVERS (PTS OFF) 1 (0)

Game Notes

  • Donovan Jackson moved to left tackle while Carson Hinzman made his first start of the season at left guard with Josh Simmons and Zen Michalski both sidelined by injuries.
  • Arvell Reese made his third start of the season as Ohio State started the game with three linebackers on the field.
  • Quinshon Judkins made his first start of the year at running back over TreVeyon Henderson.
  • 111,030 people attended the game, a Beaver Stadium record.
  • Jeremiah Smith broke Cris Carter’s record for the most receiving yards in a single season by an Ohio State freshman.
  • Tyleik Williams left the game with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter. Ryan Day said after the game that Williams is “fine.”
  • Ohio State’s eight-game winning streak over Penn State is the longest win streak in series history.
  • The win was Ohio State’s first victory of the season over a ranked opponent.

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