VICTORY
Ohio State beats Penn State, 20-13, in a thrilling top-five matchup at Beaver Stadium.
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.
That didn't take long
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
Will Howard finds Emeka Egbuka for the instant response by @OhioStatefb pic.twitter.com/RQTytXdcrF
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.
BUCKEYES STRIKE AGAIN @OhioStateFB takes the lead in the Happy Valley pic.twitter.com/g9Cuj5bQCX
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
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.
A touchback is ruled after review of the Will Howard fumble
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
Do you agree with the decision? pic.twitter.com/bz4T875jap
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.
WHAT AN UNREAL INTERCEPTION
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
How did Davison Igbinosun even catch this for @OhioStateFB?! pic.twitter.com/YlvorsDzSE
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.
The 46-yard field goal is good and @ohiostatefb makes it a 7-point game pic.twitter.com/5UZNHX7JAh
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
Fielding extended the lead back to seven points on a 39-yard field goal with 10:13 to play.
Ohio State hits another field goal and once again takes a 7-point lead over Penn State pic.twitter.com/NXIPDc3Fts
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
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.
DENIED ON 4TH & GOAL
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 2, 2024
The @ohiostatefb defense makes a MASSIVE stop in Happy Valley
(Brought to you by @ATTBusiness #ATTBusiness #NextLevelNetwork) pic.twitter.com/XnSqLWCCcr
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 injury in the fourth quarter.
- 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.
