Penn State Avoids Gutter Ball, Gets Past Bowling Green 34-27 BSD

Under blue skies at Beaver Stadium, Penn State overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Bowling Green 34-27 in their home opener.

The Falcons had the ball first after the Nittany Lions won the toss and deferred. Connor Bazelak completed his first pass to Harold Fannin Jr. down to the Nittany Lion 47, and converted a third down and six to the 35. Bazelek threw a nice back-shoulder throw down the right sideline, and on the next play, Bazelek rolled to the left, hitting Fannin Jr, who ran in for the six-yard touchdown. Just two minutes and 21 seconds into the game, Bowling Green led Penn State 7-0.

It was time for Drew Allar and company to have their shot, starting from their own 25. Allar started the drive with a 12-yard dump-off to Tyler Warren, and Kaytron Allen took the handoff around the right side for 26 yards to the Falcon 37. Nicholas Singleton ripped off a 17-yard run, and Warren nabbed another reception to the five. Two plays later, Allar kept it himself and dashed around the left side of the line for the score, tying the game at 7 with 10:14 left in the first quarter.

Bowling Green’s next drive started nicely, as they picked up a first down on a short pass, and two plays later, they were back in Nittany Lion territory. Cam Miller committed pass interference on third and short to extend the Falcons’ drive, and on third and six from the 20, Penn State jumped offsides. However, Bazelek was unable to find his man on a short pass, setting up a 33-yard field goal to make the score 10-7 Falcons with 4:50 left in the opening stanza.

After a short run by Singleton and an overthrow by Allar (the first target for newcomer Julian Fleming), the sophomore found Trey Wallace on the right sideline for a gain of 16. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, holding on Drew Shelton wiped out the conversion. Allar’s throw on the ensuing play was dropped by an open Omari Evans, forcing a punt. The Falcons continued to move the ball, earning two first downs and ending the first quarter back in Penn State territory. On the first play of the second quarter, Bazelek again hit Fannin Jr, who scampered to the 11, and on third down, Bazelek hit Malcom Johnson Jr. in the end zone to extend the Bowling Green lead to 17-7.

Allar began the next Nittany Lion drive by hitting Warren down the seam for a gain of 22 to the 47, and Singleton powered his way down to the 29. On the next play, Omari Evans beat his man and caught the easy deep ball in the end zone to make it 17-14 with 11:48 left in the half.

The Falcons picked up another first down on their next possession, but Jaison Patterson was stopped one yard short of the marker on the next third down. On fourth down, Abdul Carter stormed into the backfield to smack away Bazelek’s throw, giving the ball back to the Nittany Lions. Allar and the offense took over at the Bowling Green 45, with Allen and Singleton bringing the ball inside the 30. However, the offense stalled at the 26, resulting in a Sander Sahaydak 43-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 with 5:28 left in the half.

The Falcons continued to move the ball, getting it back on the Penn State side of the field in just two plays, and two plays later, Jamal Johnson took the carry 41 yards for another score, making it 24-17. On Penn State’s next drive, Allar hit Warren on third down, and the fifth-year tight end took the pass down the left sideline for a 30-yard gain. Singleton picked up 15 on the next play, and after the two-minute warning, Allar kept it himself, picking up 14 to the Falcon 12. After two runs by Singleton for a total of three yards, Allar was brought down in the backfield, setting up another Sahaydak field goal. The 28-yarder made the halftime score 24-20 Bowling Green.

Penn State opened the second half with a Beau Pribula keeper for eight and an Allen run for 13, moving the ball out to the 46. Two plays later, Allar avoided a sack, and appeared to hit Allen in the middle of the field, with the running back making a sliding grab to the Bowling Green 36. However, the call was reversed on replay, and Allar was sacked for a 23-yard loss on the next play, forcing a punt. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, the defense finally stopped the Falcons, and Penn State got the ball back after a punt, narrowly avoiding a turnover when returner Kaden Saunder fumbled the ball and it was knocked out of bounds.

Allar and crew set up shop 85 yards from the lead, and again, Tyler Warren came up large, picking up gains of 10 and 29 on consecutive throws. After Allar was sacked back to midfield, he hit Warren again down the middle for 23 yards to the Bowling Green 27. Singleton gained five up the middle, and Pribula kept it around the right side for another first down to the 17. Following a short gain on a pass to Fleming, Allar hit Singleton over the middle to take their first lead with 6:13 left in the third.

The Falcons’ first drive of the second half started at their 32 after a Tyler Eldson hands-to-the-face call on the kickoff. Bazelak’s first down pass was emphatically batted down by Elliot Washington, and a false start penalty set the visitors back. Bazelak scrambled for two yards on second down, and fired short of his receiver on third down, resulting in another punt. Saunders took the ball to the turf at the 36, giving Penn State decent field position.

Allen began the drive by picking up eight on a rush, and on third down, Allar hit Khalil Dinkins for the first down to the Falcon 48. Two plays later, he hit Evans in the end zone, but he was called for offensive pass interference, wiping away the score. The penalty pushed the Nittany Lions back to their side of the ball, and Allar was only able to scramble back to a fourth down and five from the visitor 43. The Medina, OH native hit Evans on a drag route, and the speedy wideout evaded the Falcons defender for the first down. Allen rumbled for 26 on the next play, but Allar threw into double coverage in the end zone, and Bowling Green took over after the turnover to end the third quarter at 27-24 Nittany Lions.

The two teams started the fourth quarter by trading punts. The Falcons began 97 yards from the end zone after Jacorey Benjamin’s questionable decision to bring out Allar’s interception. After gaining five yards on their first two plays, Bazelak hit Fannin on a swing, picking up nine and a new set of downs. A holding call set Bowling Green back, and Bazelak’s third down throw sailed out of bounds to force another punt. The Nittany Lions began their ensuing possession at their own 40, and after a two-yard run by Singleton, a holding call negated another Allar-Warren connection, and Trey Wallace couldn’t haul in the Allar deep ball.

Bazelak began the next possession by throwing an incompletion and Patterson gained one yard, setting up a critical third and nine from the 20. However, Amin Vanover jumped offsides, and Bazelak hit Malcom Johnson, Jr. to move the chains at the 33.

Just when it seemed like the Falcons were driving for a tying or go-ahead score, linebacker Tony Rojas dove in front of Bazelak’s pass and snared the ball before hitting the turf to snuff out the drive. Penn State took over at their own 38, and gained just four yards, forcing Riley Thompson to punt the ball back to Bowling Green. The turnover did result in a big swing of field position, with the visitors starting their next drive at their own 15.

After a Bazelak incompletion and a Patterson rush for negative yardage, Zakee Wheatley dove to grab Bazelak’s wounded duck of a throw, giving the Nittany Lions the ball at the Bowling Green 41. Nicholas Singleton said, “That’s enough.” 41 yards later, Penn State had a 34-24 lead with 4:09 left (Yeah, yeah…). The Falcons drove the ball deep into Penn State territory, but Bazelak’s third down pass from the 24 was too high, setting up a 42-yard field goal attempt to make it 34-27 with 47 seconds left. Penn State recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.

Drew Allar completed 65% of his passes, going 13 of 20 for 204 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Nicholas Singleton had 13 carries for 119 yards rushing and one touchdown, while Kaytron Allen had 14 carries for 101 yards. Tyler Warren led all receivers with eight catches for 146 yards, and both Singleton and Omari Evans each had a receiving touchdown. Defensively, Jaylen Reed led the Nittany Lions with nine tackles, and both Tony Rojas and Zakee Wheatley collected critical interceptions.

It wasn’t pretty by a long shot, but Penn State improves to 2-0 and will enjoy a bye week before returning to Beaver Stadium to face Kent State on September 21st.