A potential upset with College Football Playoff implications was brewing for the better part of three quarters on Saturday afternoon, but no such fairytale story would materialize, as Penn State narrowly escaped a Bowling Green upset bid 34-27 in Beaver Stadium.
Tom Allen's defense was torched in the first half, with Connor Bazelak and pass catchers Harold Fannin Jr. and Malcolm Johnson Jr. doing whatever they wanted through the first 30 minutes of play. The Penn State defense then came up big in the fourth quarter, getting a pair of interceptions to ice the game and secure a victory.
The talented running back tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both rushed for over 100 yards, with Singleton having a rushing and receiving touchdown. Despite having a quiet game against West Virginia, Tyler Warren had a career-best eight catches for 146 yards as Drew Allar's go-to pass catcher on the day.
The victory moves Penn State to 2-0 on the young season, where it will now head into a bye week before taking on another MAC opponent, Kent State on September 21st.
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Bowling Green came out of the gates blazing, with a massive upset on its mind, putting the Penn State defense on its heels from the opening play of the game. Connor Bazelak was carving up his former head coach's defense in Beaver Stadium, going 4-5 for 71 yards and a five yard touchdown pass to put an exclamation point on the opening drive of the day.
The pass catching tandem of Harold Fannin and Malcolm Johnson gave the Penn State secondary fits to put Bowling Green in a position to strike first on Saturday afternoon, taking a 7-0 lead.
Drew Allar and the Penn State offense would have a quick response up their sleeves, however. In less than two minutes and 30 seconds, the Nittany Lions marched down the field to even the score at 7-7.
Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton had back-to-back rushes of 26 and 17 yards to move the ball deep into Bowling Green territory before Tyler Warren's second reception of the drive got Penn State inside the ten yard line.
Allar then got Penn State on the board with a five yard scamper for his first rushing score of the season and the first Nittany Lion touchdown in Beaver Stadium in 2024.
Bowling Green struck back as it swung the momentum back on the side of the visitors, doing so in a big way. After a long methodical drive that resulted in a field goal, the Falcons took command in Beaver Stadium early.
Penn State responded to that score with a three-and-out, as a result of holding call on Drew Shelton and a dropped first down by Omari Evans to give the ball right back to the suddenly confident Bowling Green offense, who would take advantage of the opportunity.
It appeared that Penn State was on the verge of limiting Bowling Green to another field goal after a long drive, which included a 32-yard connection between Bazelak and Harold Fannin Jr.. Facing a 3rd-and-14 from the Nittany Lions 15-yard line, Bazelak dropped a perfect pass to Malcolm Johnson Jr. to put up another score for the Falcons and take a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter.
In just three drives, Bazelak had 167 yards and two scores against a typically sound Penn State secondary, and had all the momentum in Bowling Green's favor.
Penn State then began to find its footing and made up ground in electric fashion. It took just three plays and less than 60 seconds for the Nittany Lions to once again strike back. Omari Evans made up for his drop on third down earlier in the first half, being on the receiving end of Drew Allar's pass for a 29-yard score.
On the heels of the lightning quick scoring drive, Penn State secured its lone stop of the first half, as Bowling Green failed on the fourth down attempt near midfield thanks to Abdul Carter having a free rush as Connor Bazelak.
That stop and momentum stopper made way for another scoring drive by the Nittany Lions, which was capped off by Sander Sahaydak hitting his first of two first half field goals, tying the game at 17-17.
That scored did not hold up for long as Bowling Green turned in a blazing fast scoring drive of their one, after getting the football near midfield, Falcons running back Jamal Johnson slithered through the Penn State defense and broke free for a 41-yard touchdown run for one last scoring drive in the first half. The final score of the half for the Falcons gave them a 24-17 advantage, while Penn State allowed 24 points or more just three times a season ago, which was matched by the MAC favorites in less than 30 minutes of play.
Penn State was poised to even the score once again, methodically moving the ball down the field in response to the explosive Bowling Green drive. The march was halted in the red zone as Drew Allar was sacked on third down from inside Bowling Green's ten-yard line, as the Nittany Lions had to settle for a field goal once again.
Defense wasn't present very often in the first half, but Tom Allen's unit, as well as Bowling Green's defense to an extent, began showing up in the third quarter. After Penn State punted on its first possession, it got a stop on the defensive side of the ball for just the second time in the game.
Drew Allar and Tyler Warren then teamed up to drive the Nittany Lions down the field, connecting three times for 62 of the 85 yards on the drive. Allar capped off the drive by finding a streaking Nicholas Singleton in the end zone from 14 yards out, giving Penn State its first lead of the afternoon.
After another three-and-out by the Falcons offense, Penn State had an opportunity to go up two scores and finally take control of the game. Such a outcome did not happen despite an encouraging start for the Penn State offense. The Nittany Lions were chipping away and got the ball inside the Bowling Green 15-yard line with a fresh set of downs before Drew Allar under threw Harrison Wallace III and got picked off by Jacorey Benjamin in the end zone.
Both sides swapped punts once again before Tony Rojas and Zakee Wheatley came up with arguably the two biggest plays of the day. With Bowling Green starting its drive, Rojas undercut a receiver to stop any momentum of the Falcons. While Penn State was unable to capitalize on the turnover, it did not waste its next opportunity.
The next drive, Connor Bazelak overthrew his intended target, falling in the arms of Wheatley to give Penn State the ball right back on the Falcons' 41 yard line.
On the opening play of that drive, Nicholas Singleton exploded for a 41-yard score to give the Nittany Lions a 34-24 lead with just over four minutes to play and put the nail in the Bowling Green upset bid's coffin.
Penn State's defense looked like it was supposed to throughout the second half, allowing just 81 total yards and three points after halftime, as well as having a pair of key takeaways to help the Nittany Lions come away with a win.
What's next?
Penn State now gets a week off to iron out the issues that presented themselves against the upset-minded Falcons before taking on another MAC program, Kent State, on September 21st back in Beaver Stadium.
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