Sep 74 min read

Amid Early Falcon Fury, No. 8 Penn State Avoids Upset

In the home opener for No. 8 Penn State (2-0), the big game hangover almost clipped the Nittany Lions as they held off Bowling Green (1-1) 34-27 at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 7. Penn State entered the game as 34.5 point favorites. The win improved James Franklin’s record at home in out of Big Ten Conference games at Penn State to 25-0.

Game Notes

Bowling Green set the tone early on their opening possession marching the ball down the field behind quarterback Connor Bazelak. Bazelak, who enters his second season at Bowling Green after stops at Missouri and Indiana, was 4-of-5 passing for 71 yards on the opening series and connected with wide receiver Harold Fannin Jr. for the opening score.

Penn State would respond on the ensuing possession behind the running of junior running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. For the game the duo combined for 234 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns.

Bazelak's Big First Half

After tying it at seven a piece, Bowling Green would take command the rest of the first half behind the passing of Bazelak and his favorite target Fannin. Fannin would finish the first half with 7 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Most of Fannin’s success came from the Penn State defense missing junior safety Kevin Winston Jr., who left the game early in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury.

As the first half came to a close, Bowling Green dominated the Nittany Lion offense in a near 2-1 time of possession advantage. Baselak was 16-of-21 passing and had a pair of touchdown passes. The vaunted Nittany Lions defense surrendered 94 yards at the end of the first half.

In the second half, the defense adjusted without Winston in the lineup.

Penn State Takes the Lead

Midway through the third quarter, Penn State took its first lead when quarterback Drew Allar connected with Singleton on a 14-yard passing touchdown to make it 27-24.

While the momentum from defense was able to clamp the Falcons offense, the offense never was able to fully pull away. Near the end of the third quarter, it appeared Penn State was going to put Bowling Green away when Allar connected with wide receiver Omari Evans for a 55-yard touchdown. The celebration was cut short as the touchdown was nullified by an offensive pass interference infraction by Evans. Penn State would continue to plug it down the field—including a fourth-and-5 conversion from Allar to Evans. On the final play of the third quarter, Allar threw an errant pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Bowling Green senior cornerback Jacorey Benjamin.

In the final stanza, it seemed Penn State’s defense was fully engaged forcing two Bazelak interceptions. The adjustments against Bazelak held him to 50 percent passing (9-of-18) in the second half for 62 yards to go with the pair of interceptions.

As the see-saw battle went back and forth, Penn State took advantage with 4:16 remaining thanks to Bazelak’s second turnover. On the ensuing drive, Singleton took off for a 41-yard touchdown to give Penn State the two-possession lead. On Bowling Green's next possession the Falcons were able to drive down to the Penn State 24-yard line, where kicker Jackson Kleather connected on a 42-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game. Penn State the recovered the Falcons' onside kick attempt and killed the final 47 seconds of the game to secure the win.

Turning Point for Penn State

The turning point came late this week for Penn State. During the fourth quarter, linebacker Tony Rojas intercepted Bazelak for the first time, but the Nittany Lions' offense could not capitalize on the opportunity going three-and-out. Undeterred by the lack of offensive success, the Penn State defense on their next series intercepted Bazelak a second time with less than five minutes to go. It would be Singleton who would secure the win for Penn State on the 41-yard touchdown run.

After the game Rojas said the leaders stepped up during halftime and were vocal about making second-half adjustments.

The Upshot

During postgame, Franklin was more optimistic with the early bye week than he had previously. With the status of Winston unknown, Penn State has to figure out if they have a solution without their strong safety.

Franklin mentioned this was a dangerous Bowling Green team that is senior laden and has experience pulling upsets. Bowling Green finished with 121 rushing yards against Penn State, the most a Mid-American Conference team has had since 2019.

While the defense has to figure out what to do potentially without Winston, the more alarming note is Penn State did not register a sack against Bowling Green. EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton had the only hurry for the Nittany Lions.

Offensively, the superlatives go to the Penn State running back duo of Singleton and Allen, as well as tight end Tyler Warren. Warren set a Penn State record for most receiving yards by a tight end, finishing with 8 receptions for 146 yards. Franklin acknowledged Allar has the most confidence and chemistry with Warren, but said during his post game comments that can shift week-to-week for a quarterback.

Amongst the tight end group, Andrew Rappleyea was out to an undisclosed injury, allowing freshman Luke Reynolds to make his first career start. Both Warren and Franklin indicated during their postgame comments they have confidence in Reynolds.

Wide receiver Julian Fleming made his first of the season and only reception for 3 yards agains the Falcons. Overall the much maligned wide receiver group had very little impact combining for 3 receptions for 37 yards. Franklin said one of the main issues is Penn State is not getting enough plays to get the wide receivers involved.

At some point, Penn State will need to make this a priority as in all their big games during the 2023 season.