No. 8 Penn State (2-0) overcame a disastrous first-half defensive performance to squeak out a shockingly close 34-27 win over Bowling Green (1-1) on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions trailed 24-20 at halftime and didn’t have a lead more than halfway through the third quarter as the Falcons spent the first half seemingly moving the ball at will against a reeling Penn State defense.
Penn State settled down in the second half, forcing two turnovers and keeping Bowling Green off the scoreboard until a late field goal. The Nittany Lion offense, despite Drew Allar’s first interception of the year coming on a pass into the end zone, did enough to put the game away, with Nick Singleton scoring Penn State’s two second-half touchdowns on a reception and a 41-yard run.
Singleton ran 13 times for 119 yards and Kaytron Allen broke the century mark as well, with 14 carries for 101 yards.
Allar was 13-20 for 204 yards, two touchdowns and one INT. Tight end Tyler Warren led all receivers with eight catches for 146 yards.
Linebacker Tony Rojas and safety Zakee Wheatley had Penn State’s two interceptions on consecutive Falcon drives. Safety Jaylen Reed had 10 tackles for a Nittany Lion defense that allowed 375 yards, 286 of which came in the first half.
Penn State has a bye next weekend and returns to action on Sept. 21 against Kent State at Beaver Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bowling Green punched Penn State’s defense in the mouth immediately. Veteran QB Connor Bazelak hit Harold Fannin for a 30-yard gain on the game’s opening play to get the Falcons into Nittany Lion territory in a hurry. A Bazelak pass to Malcolm Johnson Jr. converted a third-and-6 and the pair hooked up again for a 29-yard gain. Bazelak then found Harold Fannin for a 6-yard touchdown throw and Bowling Green had a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.
Penn State’s offense responded in kind. A pair of passes from Drew Allar to tight end Tyler Warren and runs of 26 yards by Kaytron Allen and 17 yards by Nick Singleton got the Nittany Lions to the 5. Allar ran it in from there, and Sander Sahaydak’s extra point tied the game 7-7 with 10:14 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons showed their first drive was no fluke on the next possession, once again driving into the red zone after starting from their own 25 — aided along the way by offsides and pass interference penalties against Penn State. On fourth and 1 from the Penn State 15, they opted for a 33-yard Jackson Kleather field goal, and Bowling Green was back in front 10-7 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions had one first down pass called back for a holding call against Drew Shelton, then Omari Evans dropped another pass that would have moved the chains on third and 17 and Penn State was forced to punt.
As the first quarter wound down, Bowling Green again moved efficiently on offense, keyed by passes from Bazelak to Malcolm Johnson and Rahkeem Smith to get into Penn State territory.
Second Quarter
The Falcons opened the second with a 32-yard pass from Bazelak to Fannin. Three players later Bazelak connected with Johnson on a 15-yard touchdown pass as Bowling Green opened up a 17-7 lead.
Penn State answered with a lightning fast scoring drive. Allar connected with Warren for a 22-yard gain, Singleton broke off a 24-yard run and Allar hit an open Evans across the middle for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The three-play, 75-yard drive narrowed Bowling Green’s lead to 17-14 with 11:48 left in the half.
The Nittany Lion defense finally got a stop on the Falcons’ next drive. After picking up one first down, Bowling Green went for it on fourth and inches from its own 45. As Bazelak dropped back, defensive end Abdul Carter burst through unblocked and batted down a pass attempt.
Despite starting in Falcon territory, the Penn State drive stalled at the 26 and the Nittany Lions settled for a 43-yard Sahaydak field goal — his first make of the season — to tie it 17-17 with 5:28 remaining in the first half.
Bowling Green’s offense, though, once again carved up the reeling Penn State defense. A 13-yard Jaison Patterson carry seemed to catch the Nittany Lions completely off guard, and Bazelak followed with an 18-yard pass into Penn State territory. After a short Patterson run, Bazelak found an open Malcolm Johnson down the middle for a 41-yard touchdown to retake the lead 24-17.
A 30-yard pass from Allar to Warren, a 15-yard Singleton run and a 14-yard Allar carry helped Penn State get deep into Bowling Green territory with less than a minute remaining in the half. But three runs that went nowhere left the Nittany Lions with fourth and goal from the 9. Penn State settled for a Sahaydak 28-yard field goal to cut the Falcons’ lead to 24-20 heading into the locker room.
Bowling Green outgained Penn State 286 to 236 in the half, led by Bazelak’s 16-21 passing for 192 yards.
Third Quarter
The second half was a different defensive story.
Both sides traded punts to open the second half before Penn State took its first lead of the day. A 29-yard pass from Allar to Warren got Penn State into Bowling Green territory. After a 23-yard Allar-to-Warren hookup, Allar threw a dart to Singleton, who split the seam in the end zone, for a 14-yard score. Penn State moved in front 27-24 after the eight-play 85-yard drive.
The Nittany Lion defense forced another three-and-out and Penn State went back to work on offense. An offensive pass interference call on what would have been a well-thrown 44-yard touchdown to Evans set the Nittany Lions back, but after two Allar runs, the offense stayed on the field and converted a fourth and 5 on a short pass to Evans. Allen then broke out for a 26-yard run into the red zone. On the final play of the quarter, though, Allar was picked off in the end zone for his first interception of the year.
Fourth Quarter
Bowling Green went three and out and Penn State didn’t fair much better, punting on its next possession.
With under 10 minutes left, the Falcons converted two third downs before Penn State linebacker Tony Rojas picked off a Bazelak pass at the Nittany Lion 38.
Penn State was stagnant on offense but got the ball back again when safety Zakee Wheatley intercepted Bazelak at the Bowling Green 41 on a third-and-long pass.
Singleton then sealed the game in one play, bouncing outside a running 41 yards into the end zone as Penn State took a 34-24 lead with 4:09 remaining.
Gabe Nwosu’s kickoff went out of bounds to set Bowling Green up at 35 and the Falcons didn’t quit, moving to the Penn State 24 in seven plays. After a third-down incompletion, Kleather’s 42-yard field goal made it a one-score game with 47 seconds left.
The ensuing onside kick bounced high before Penn State’s Kobe King hauled it in. Bowling Green had no timeouts remaining and Penn State took two knees to finish off the too-close-for-comfort 34-27 win.
