Penn State-Ohio State football 2016: Revisiting Nittany Lions' 24-21 win over Buckeyes

Penn State-Ohio State football 2016: Revisiting Nittany Lions’ 24-21 win over Buckeyes

Posted by Admin November 2, 2024 Football

The Penn State football team will be fighting against more than 11 scarlet-and-gray clad players at a time when it takes on Ohio State this weekend.

The Nittany Lions will carry with them the weight of years of disappointment.

Coach James Franklin’s teams have lost seven consecutive games to the Buckeyes, setbacks that derailed dreams of conference titles, College Football Playoff appearances and even national championships at a proud program with justifiably lofty expectations.

Embedded in that sea of losses, however, is a bright spot, a moment that the Nittany Lions and their fans can look back on nearly a decade later and still smile.

Eight years ago, an unranked Penn State team upset a top-five Ohio State squad 24-21 at Beaver Stadium in State College in front of one of the school’s famed white out crowds. The win changed the trajectory of Franklin’s tenure, helped propel the Nittany Lions to their first outright Big Ten title since 1994 and positioned the program for much of the success it has enjoyed in the years since.

As No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Ohio State prepare to once again face off in Happy Valley, here’s a look back at the Nittany Lions’ breakthrough victory in 2016, the last time they managed to defeat the Buckeyes:

Penn State-Ohio State 2016 revisited

As it made the trip to central Pennsylvania in October 2016, the Ohio State football program was rolling.

Under coach Urban Meyer, the Buckeyes had won the championship of the inaugural College Football Playoff 21 months earlier and followed that up with a 12-1 season and a Fiesta Bowl victory. They had shown few, if any, signs of slowing down in 2016, with a No. 2 national ranking and a 6-0 record that had most recently included an overtime victory on the road against a top-10 Wisconsin team.

Penn State found itself in a less enviable position.

Franklin had arrived at the program in 2014 with great promise, as a Pennsylvania native coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons at lowly Vanderbilt. In his early years at Penn State, though, he struggled to get the Nittany Lions back to being a national or even Big Ten title contender, with a pair of 7-6 seasons and a winless record against Ohio State and Michigan.

The start of the 2016 season didn’t offer much in the way of encouragement. Penn State fell to rival Pitt in the first meeting between the programs since 2000 and was blown out by Michigan 49-10 two weeks later. Though they recovered with two straight victories before hosting Ohio State, the Nittany Lions and their coach headed into the matchup with the Buckeyes on shaky ground.

For much of the night, it appeared as though it would be more of the same for Franklin and his team. Ohio State scored the game’s first 12 points and took a 21-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter, with a Penn State offense featuring future Pro Bowlers Saquon Barkley and Chris Godwin largely held in check.

In the game’s final period, though, momentum swung. The Nittany Lions got points when they needed them, marching 90 yards in just five plays and 1:20, capped off by a two-yard Trace McSorley touchdown run. Penn State tacked on a field goal on its next drive – which was made possible by a blocked punt which gave it the ball at the Ohio State 28-yard line – but the Buckeyes responded by getting down to the Nittany Lions’ 28 and setting up for a field goal, with a chance to extend their lead to seven with fewer than five minutes to play.

Then, in an instant, everything changed.

Ohio State’s Tyler Durbin lined up for what would have been a career-long 45-yard kick, but Penn State’s Marcus Allen ran to the line, leaped into the air and blocked the attempt. The ball was scooped up in stride by Nittany Lions cornerback Grant Haley, who outran Durbin and holder Cameron Johnston for a go-ahead, 60-yard touchdown with 4:27 remaining.

“It’s something you dream about as a kid,” Haley said after the game. “Just running to the end zone and falling, it was a huge sigh of relief, like, everything, all the hard work this team’s put in coming into play against the No. 2 team in the country.”

The Buckeyes had a chance to tie the game or take the lead, but they weren’t able to get past their own 42, saw quarterback J.T. Barrett get sacked twice and turned it over on downs to secure a 24-21 victory for Penn State. The win led to a euphoric scene, even by the standards of a place called Happy Valley, with white-clad fans rushing the field.

It was the Nittany Lions’ first victory against Ohio State since 2011, their first win over a ranked team under Franklin, their first victory over a top-five team since 1999 and their first win against a top-two team since 1990. For the Buckeyes, it marked the end of their 20-game road win streak.

“Obviously these types of wins are important,” Franklin said after the game. “To be honest with you, I don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about the big picture right now, I just want to soak this all in. I just want to enjoy tonight.”

For both Franklin and the program, it was a breakthrough moment.

Though its two early losses thwarted its College Football Playoff dreams, Penn State went on to win the Big Ten championship that season and earned a spot in the Rose Bowl. Prior to that monumental victory, the Nittany Lions had gone 18-14 under Franklin. Beginning with that win over the Buckeyes, Penn State is 77-25, with five seasons with at least 10 wins, four top-10 finishes in the US LBM Coaches Poll and five appearances in New Year’s Six bowl games.

James Franklin record vs Penn State

As memorable as that night was for Franklin and his program, it’s the only time the Nittany Lions have beaten Ohio State under their coach.

Franklin is 1-9 against the Buckeyes during his Penn State tenure.

Penn State-Ohio State series record

Penn State and Ohio State have faced off 39 times in the illustrious history of the two programs, with the Buckeyes holding a 25-14 advantage in those games.

Since joining the Big Ten ahead of the 1993 season, the Nittany Lions are 8-23 against the Buckeyes, including a 6-9 mark in games played at Beaver Stadium.

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