Highs & Lows: Penn State avoids upset in home opener

By Nate Bauer

Penn State escaped a valiant upset bid from Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon in the Nittany Lions’ home-opener for the 2024 season. Bouncing back from a first-half deficit, they emerged with a 34-27 win to improve to 2-0 on the campaign.

Here are the highs and lows from the game.

Highs & Lows: Penn State escapes Bowling Green upset bid

PLAYER OF THE GAME A last-second colleague intervention prevented Nick Singleton from earning Player of the Game honors in Morgantown. Not this time. In a game that demanded the Nittany Lions rise to the occasion, Singleton rose above all with 119 yards and a 41-yard touchdown on 13 attempts on the ground, plus a 14-yard receiving touchdown. The scores 1) gave Penn State its first lead of the game and 2) slammed the door shut on Bowling Green’s last hopes for a miracle.

PLAY OF THE GAME With time dwindling on the fourth quarter, Penn State’s defense and Bowling Green’s offense were on a pivotal, collision course. That is, until Tony Rojas made the play of the game. Having allowed a pair of first downs to the Falcons, the Nittany Lions stopped their opponents in their tracks when Rojas stepped in front of a pass intended for Rahkeem Smith. The interception returned possession to Penn State, swinging field position. 

Offensive superlatives

BEST PASS Drew Allar and Connor Bazelak had so many of them that picking one isn’t fair to either. Rules are rules, though, and the pick might satisfy both sides. Leading the Falcons late in the third quarter, Allar uncorked a beauty from midfield to a streaking Omari Evans between the hashes. And, were it not for Evans’ push-off on the tight coverage, the connection would have been good for an explosive touchdown. Instead, a 15-yard offensive pass interference sent the Nittany Lions back into their territory. 

WORST PASS Poised to take command of the game late in the third quarter, Allar threw his first interception of the 2024 season on a pass directed to Trey Wallace. On the doorstep of taking a 34-24 lead, the misfire instead returned possesion to Bowling Green. Badelak’s interception in the fourth quarter shares the designation.

BEST RUN Reeling defensively throughout the first half, Penn State’s side was exposed further by Bowling Green running back Jamal Johnson late in the second quarter. Taking it to the heart of the Nittany Lions’ defense, Johnson followed his blocks, juked twice, and outran a hapless effort to keep up en route to a 41-yard touchdown carry. The score gave the Falcons a 24-17 lead with 3:32 remaining in the first half.

BEST CATCH Facing a critical third down late in the first quarter, Johnson needed full extension to snag a bullet from Bazelak between the hashes. The clutch catch prolonged the Falcons’ possession and kept momentum on the visitors’ side. 

WORST DROP The situation wasn’t ideal, but Allar made the most of it with his third-and-17 pass attempt late in the first quarter. Stepping up into a collapsing pocket, the Nittany Lion quarterback found Evans settled in the middle of the field, ahead of the sticks, for a drive-sustaining first down. Unfortunately for Allar, Evans, and the Nittany Lion offense, the pass bopped off Evans’ hands and fell to the Beaver Stadium turf, forcing a fourth down punt. Evans later made up for it with a 29-yard touchdown reception.

Defensive superlatives

BEST SACK The most impactful sack of the afternoon was partially a point of persistence for Bowling Green and partially a mental lapse for Allar. Facing a third-and-8 from the Nittany Lions’ 48-yard line, Allar dropped back and, lacking options, attempted to keep the play alive in the face of pressure. Twice, Allar managed to avoid the sack but, the third time was the charm for Charles Rosser, who dropped the Penn State quarterback for a loss of 23 yards. 

BEST EFFORT Appearing to play through bumps and bruises in the second half, Rojas’ game-turning interception fits the bill for the game’s best effort.

BEST KICK Sander Sahaydak’s season didn’t start the way he would’ve liked against West Virginia, duplicating a similar result from the 2023 campaign. Saturday afternoon, he found some level of stability and redemption in a critical, game-tying kick in the second quarter. Stalled out at the 26-yard line, the Nittany Lions brought on Sahaydak to attempt a 43-yard field goal in the middle of the field, which he converted to make it a 17-17 contest. 

WORST KICK After Penn State took its first 10-point advantage of the game, Gabe Nwosu’s subsequent kickoff dialed back the edge. Angling the kickoff to the left sideline, the attempt was too aggressive, sending the football out of bounds at the 1-yard line to give Bowling Green possession at its 35 yard line with 4:09 left to play. 

Wrapping up

BEST DECISION Forcing Bowling Green’s first punt of the day early in the third quarter, Penn State siezed on its ensuing opportunity to gain control of the game. Marching 85 yards in eight plays, the possession was capped by a 14-yard strike from Allar to Singleton for a touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 27-24 lead, their first of the day.

WORST DECISION Trailing Penn State, 27-24, with less than five minutes remaining in the game, Balezak made a critical mistake. Facing a third-and-11 from his side’s red zone, Balezak tossed up an ill-advised floater to the outfield, which was promptly gobbled up by Zakee Wheatley. The change in possession was parlayed into a 41-yard Singleton touchdown run the next play, effectively sealing the game’s outcome.

MOST TELLING MOMENT The first play of the game for either team served as a warning for what was to come. Starting with the ball, Bazelak aired it out to Harold Fannin Jr. along the left hash. The connection was good for 30 yards, splitting Penn State’s coverage and setting up an afternoon in which the Falcons produced more than 300 yards of offense.

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