No. 3 Penn State football (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) lost to No. 4 Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) 20-13 on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State took the lead early in the first quarter with a field goal and a pick-six. However, Ohio State scored two touchdowns and finished the first half 14-10. Penn State struggled in the second half, but was outscored again by Ohio State for the eighth straight game.

How it happened

Nick Singleton returned the opening kickoff to his own 27-yard line. Runs from Singleton and Tyler Warren set up 3rd and 1, and the former barely picked up the first down with another run. Drew Allar threw it to Singleton for an eight-yard gain, and Kaytron Allen rushed for one yard.

On 3rd-and-1, Allar remained in control and fought for another Nittany Lion first down. He held it a second time and rushed to the Ohio State 45-yard line, then again for 11 yards. Two plays later, Singleton caught it and advanced to the 12-yard line. Two runs and a penalty against the Nittany Lions brought up 3rd and 10, and Allar's pass was incomplete. Ryan Barker hit a 29-yard field goal to give Penn State a 3-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter.

Quinshon Judkins rushed for one yard and then four yards to open Ohio State's drive. Then, on his first attempt, Will Howard's pass was intercepted at the 31-yard line by Zion Tracy, who returned it to the house, giving the Nittany Lions a 10-0 lead with 5:37 left in the first quarter.

Howard completed his next pass, but without success. He then fired a nine-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith, and the Buckeyes made a tush push for the first down. Judkins ran an 11-yard run and then advanced on a screen to the Penn State 30-yard line. Two plays later, Emeka Egbuka made a 25-yard touchdown reception to make it 10-7 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

Ohio State regained possession following a three-pointer by Penn State at the 19-yard line. Carnell Tate caught a nine-yard pass on 2nd-and-10 to put the third ball offside, and an offside call against Abdul Carter moved the uprights. An incompletion and no-gain run set up 3rd-and-10, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Penn State gave the Buckeyes another first down. Three plays later, TreVeyon Henderson caught a 20-yard pass on 3rd-and-5 and reached the 22-yard line. Howard then found Brandon Inniss for a 21-yard touchdown pass that gave the Buckeyes a 14-10 lead with 11:54 left in the second quarter.

Penn State had a three-pointer for the second straight game. From the 42-yard line, Egbuka rushed for five yards. Howard threw an incompletion and his pass to Egbuka made it 4th and 1. Under pressure, Howard threw it to Jelani Thurman, who barely caught it, to extend the drive. Judkins rushed for seven yards, but Howard was stuffed for a loss of one yard on 3rd-and-4. Henderson ripped off an 11-yard run to the 13-yard line to extend the drive once again. Howard fumbled before reaching the end zone, and a touchback gave Penn State the ball.

Warren ran seven yards to start the push. Allen scored a first down and Singleton managed a seven-yard run. An offside call moved Penn State to the 46-yard line. Beau Pribula completed a four-yard pass to Singleton to set up 3rd-and-6 and Allar threw another incompletion, once again keeping Penn State scoreless.

Two Judkins runs and a Howard sack forced a three-and-out for the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions regained possession at the Ohio State 49-yard line. Singleton's run and a Fleming reception brought up 3rd and 5. Allar made it to the 40-yard line and the offense stayed on the field. Singleton picked up a first down with 26 seconds left. Allar rushed 14 yards to the 24-yard line and then completed a 21-yard pass to Wallace. However, Allar threw an interception in the end zone for a touchback to end the half.

Howard started the second half with an 11-yard run. He fired a 14-yard pass to Smith for another first down, then Henderson rushed five yards to get across midfield. Henderson's drive continued with a 16-yard run to the Penn State 29-yard line. Henderson and Egbuka combined for four yards on 3rd-and-6 and Howard was on the ground before getting to the line for the win. Ohio State kicked a field goal to increase the lead to 17-10 with 10:40 left in the third quarter.

Allar completed an 11-yard pass to Warren to open the drive. Two plays later, he found Wallace for a 23-yard pickup. Singleton gained four yards, then Allen ran six for the first down. Three plays later, Warren made a three-yard catch on 3rd-and-9. Barker's field goal made the score 17:13 with 5:03 minutes left in the third quarter.

Howard lost two yards and Gee Scott Jr. was tackled by Jaylen Reed on 3rd-and-8. Then Carter sacked Howard to force Ohio State to punt.

Singleton gained 13 yards to open the ensuing drive. Warren gained two yards, but Allar was sacked to face 3rd-and-17. He was released again to complete the ride.

From his own 15-yard line, Howard completed an 18-yard pass to Smith. Two plays later, Judkins completed a 14-yard run. The Buckeyes continued to move down the field with a 12-yard pass to Inniss on 2nd-and-10. They converted again on 3rd-and-10, with Smith making a 14-yard catch. However, the drive stalled and Ohio State kicked a field goal to take a 20-13 lead with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter.

Allar completed a 31-yard pass to Warren to reach the Ohio State 40-yard line. Allar and Allen combined for five yards on 3rd-and-5, and Warren rushed 33 yards to the three-yard line. Despite this, Penn State failed to score on all attempts, giving Ohio State the ball with 5:13 left in regulation.

Judkins got a first down on 2nd-and-6. He did the same thing two plays later to get Ohio State to the 35-yard line. The Buckeyes continued to run the ball and allowed time to expire

Takeaways

• New year, same torture. Penn State faced Ohio State with home-field advantage in front of the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, but guess what? It lost to Ohio State again.
• Allar didn't show up. He went 12 of 16 for 146 passing yards and one interception that came in the end zone. That's not good enough.
• Offensive incompetence doomed Penn State. The Nittany Lions failed to score from the three-yard line after a touchdown in the second half. This is pure incompetence.
• A penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct may have been the deciding factor. Ohio State would have been stopped on third down with a 10-7 first half deficit, but that penalty gave the team a first down. The Buckeyes scored a touchdown on the same drive and never looked back.

What's next?

Penn State hosts Washington in the White Out on Saturday, November 9th at 3:30 or 8:00 p.m. at Beaver Stadium. A channel has not yet been determined.