Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry

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Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry
Ohio State Buckeyes logo.svg
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Athletics wordmark.svg
Penn State Nittany Lions
First meetingNovember 16, 1912
Penn State, 37–0
Latest meetingOctober 30, 2021
Ohio State, 33–24
Next meetingOctober 29, 2022
Statistics
Meetings total37
All-time seriesOhio State, 22–14[1]
Largest victoryPenn State, 63–14 (1994)
Ohio State, 63–14 (2013)
Longest win streakPenn State, 4 (1912–1964)
Ohio State, 5 (2017–present)
Current win streakOhio State, 5 (2017–present)
Locations of Ohio State and Penn State

The Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football match between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Ohio State leads the series 22–14.

The programs met eight times prior to the 1993 season when Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference. Since 1993, the teams have played annually, and the series continues as an annual Big Ten East division game.

1912–1980: Pre-Big Ten era[]

Penn State won the first four meetings in the series, however the games were scheduled intermittently between 1912 and 1964. The first ever match-up was held in Columbus, Ohio in November 1912. Penn State, coming off an 8–0–1 season in 1911, shut out Ohio State, 37–0. The game is officially recorded as a forfeit by Ohio State.[2] The first contest held in State College, Pennsylvania was in 1976 where Ohio State beat Penn State, 12–7.

In 1980, the two schools played in their first and only postseason bowl, the 1980 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State's record was 9–3, and Penn State's 10–2. Penn State won, 31–19, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Following the game, Penn State and Ohio State did not meet again until Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993

1993–2000: Penn State enters the Big Ten[]

Following the Nittany Lions joining the Big Ten, the two programs met as conference foes for the first time on October 30, 1993, in Columbus. The No. 3 Buckeyes defeated the No. 12 Nittany Lions 24–6. For the following six matchups, at both teams were rated in the top 25 of the AP Poll each year, with at least one team in the top five. In 1996, the Associated Press compared the newly minted rivalry to The Game between Harvard and Yale when speaking of the magnitude, and also saying it had developed into one of the country's biggest rivalries in just six years.[3]

Due to the competitive nature of the games, both teams began to realize that there was uniqueness in the matchup. After only three years in the Big Ten, Buckeye players were already comparing the game to the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, with a player saying "Penn State's right up there with Michigan. It's definitely one of our biggest games. You can sense there was a rivalry from day one."[4]

When the Buckeyes lost two games before meeting Penn State in 1999, one Lions player said, "It's Penn State-Ohio State. Records don't matter."[5]

2001–2010: Paterno vs. Tressel[]

The 2000s saw several close games between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions, as they put long time Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, against Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Ohio State went 6–3[6] during this period. What would have been the Buckeyes' seventh win in 2010, along with that entire season, was vacated as a result of players receiving improper benefits. Ohio State won seven Big Ten titles, either shared or outright, in 2002 and 2005 through 2010, although Ohio State vacated the 2010 title due to improper player benefits. Penn State shared titles in 2005 and 2008 with Ohio State.

The 2001 game gave Paterno his 324th career win and the record for most wins by a coach in NCAA history. Penn State was suffering through a dismal season with a 1–4 start with Matt Senaca leading the way. Senaca was soon benched in this game where Ohio State climbed to a 27–9 lead and freshman Zack Mills helped Penn State come back and nearly saved their season (Penn State finished 5–6). The following year, Penn State would very nearly beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe, only losing 13–7 to the eventual national champions.

In 2005, Penn State was an underdog despite trouncing then-No. 18 Minnesota 44–14 the week before and being undefeated. However, Penn State played defense and shut down the Buckeye ground game. With the help of a loud and boisterous home crowd, Penn State upset the then-favored Buckeyes 17–10 in State College. The noise level of the stadium as a factor in Ohio State's defeat gained national attention and respect for the Penn State student section, giving birth to the "Whiteout" tradition at Beaver Stadium. The following year, the Lions were able to get on the board first and maintained a 3–0 lead at halftime. Penn State fumbled while driving for another score in the third quarter and, after a missed Penn State field goal that would have given the Lions a 6–0 lead, the Buckeyes were able to score the game's first touchdown and gain a 7–3 advantage going into the 4th quarter. Ohio State went up 14–3 when QB Troy Smith, attempting to avoid a sack, threw downfield into coverage. Wide Receiver Brian Robiskie was able to catch the pass and avert a Penn State interception. On the next drive Penn State, starting from its own 20, was able to take the ball to the Ohio State 1-yard line before being pushed back and kicking a field goal to cut the OSU lead to 8. Ohio State was able to score twice in the final two minutes of the game on a pair of interceptions thrown by Penn State QB Anthony Morelli that were returned for touchdowns to secure a 28–6 victory.[7]

Ohio State entered the 2007 edition at Happy Valley undefeated and ranked #1 in the country. Despite the loud Penn State "whiteout" planned by the Lions' student section, the Buckeyes were able to overcome an early 7–3 deficit to win 37–17. The 2008 meeting saw Penn State prevail 13–6 at Ohio Stadium, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the Shoe. The Buckeyes would win in 2009 and 2010, going on to win the Big Ten title each year, but the 2010 victory was later vacated.

2011: Rivalry hit by scandal[]

After the 2010 season, it was revealed that several Ohio State players, most notably QB Terrelle Pryor, received improper benefits. An investigation determined that Tressel had knowledge of the situation but failed to notify the University or the NCAA. Tressel resigned his position and Ohio State vacated all of its wins from the season, including its win over Penn State, its Big Ten Title, and Sugar Bowl win.

The 2011 season began a new era in the rivalry with new additions to the Big Ten conference, as well as new head coaches for both teams.[8] With the addition of Nebraska into the Big Ten, the conference split into two six-team divisions. Both Ohio State and Penn State were placed in the "Leaders" Division and will continue to play each other annually. The 2011 season also marked a new era for the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions, as Luke Fickell was named the interim head coach for the season after Tressel's resignation and Tom Bradley after longtime Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was fired 9 games into the season following the uncovering of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal (Paterno died shortly thereafter on January 22, 2012).[9] Both schools were ultimately handed postseason bans for the 2012 season (Penn State's ban was slated to extend through 2015, it was lifted on September 8, 2014[10]).Ohio State vacated its wins from the 2010 season, while Penn State was forced to vacate all of its wins from 1998–2011 (although these wins were later restored in 2015).

2012–2018: Two fresh starts[]

Both schools had new head coaches for the 2012 season. On November 28, 2011, Ohio State hired former Utah and Florida head coach Urban Meyer as head coach, beginning a new era in the rivalry. Meyer had been considered by many,[11] including Paterno himself,[12] as a possible replacement for Paterno at Penn State. Penn State eventually hired former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to succeed Paterno as head coach.

The O'Brien Era at Penn State lasted only two seasons, as he was hired as to be the head coach of the NFL's Houston Texans in 2014. O'Brien's Lions lost twice to the Buckeyes, with the 63–14 result in 2013 representing Penn State's worst loss, and most points scored against the team, since 1899. O'Brien was replaced by former Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin in January 2014. Ohio State won in Franklin's first two seasons, but in 2016, a blocked punt and blocked field goal helped Penn State upset the #2 ranked Buckeyes, 24–21. Penn State would go on to win the conference championship. In 2017, the sixth-ranked Buckeyes hosted #2 Penn State. The Nittany Lions came into the game with best scoring defense in the country, allowing only 9.6 points per game, against an Ohio State team that led the Big 10 in scoring. Ultimately the Buckeyes overcame a 28–10 deficit to win, 39–38, scoring the winning touchdown with 1:48 in the game. In 2018, #4 Ohio State rallied from a 26–14 deficit to defeat #9 Penn State, 27–26. The loss ended Penn State's 16-game home winning streak.

Meyer retired from Ohio State in January 2019. Buckeyes offensive coordinator Ryan Day was announced as the next head coach. #2 Ohio State defeated #8 Penn State, 28–17, in Day's first game coaching against Penn State. The win clinched the Big Ten East Division for the Buckeyes for the 3rd straight year.

Game results[]

Ohio State victoriesPenn State victoriesVacated wins
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 November 16, 1912 Columbus, OH Penn State 37 Ohio State 0
2 October 20, 1956 Columbus, OH Penn State 7 #5 Ohio State 6
3 November 9, 1963 Columbus, OH Penn State 10 #10 Ohio State 7
4 November 7, 1964 Columbus, OH Penn State 27 #2 Ohio State 0
5 September 20, 1975 Columbus, OH #3 Ohio State 17 #7 Penn State 9
6 September 18, 1976 State College, PA #2 Ohio State 12 #7 Penn State 7
7 September 16, 1978 Columbus, OH #5 Penn State 19 #6 Ohio State 0
8 December 26, 1980 Tempe, AZ #10 Penn State 31 #11 Ohio State 19
9 October 30, 1993 Columbus, OH #3 Ohio State 24 #12 Penn State 6
10 October 29, 1994 State College, PA #1 Penn State 63 #21 Ohio State 14
11 October 7, 1995 State College, PA #5 Ohio State 28 #12 Penn State 25
12 October 5, 1996 Columbus, OH #3 Ohio State 38 #4 Penn State 7
13 October 11, 1997 State College, PA #2 Penn State 31 #7 Ohio State 27
14 October 3, 1998 Columbus, OH #1 Ohio State 28 #7 Penn State 9
15 October 16, 1999 State College, PA #2 Penn State 23 #18 Ohio State 10
16 September 23, 2000 Columbus, OH #14 Ohio State 45 Penn State 6
17 October 27, 2001 State College, PA Penn State 29 Ohio State 27
18 October 26, 2002 Columbus, OH #4 Ohio State 13 #18 Penn State 7
19 November 1, 2003 State College, PA #8 Ohio State 21 Penn State 20
20 October 30, 2004 Columbus, OH Ohio State 21 Penn State 10
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
21 October 8, 2005 State College, PA #16 Penn State 17 #6 Ohio State 10
22 September 23, 2006 Columbus, OH #1 Ohio State 28 #24 Penn State 6
23 October 27, 2007 State College, PA #1 Ohio State 37 #24 Penn State 17
24 October 25, 2008 Columbus, OH #3 Penn State 13 #10 Ohio State 6
25 November 7, 2009 State College, PA #12 Ohio State 24 #11 Penn State 7
26 November 13, 2010 Columbus, OH #7 Ohio State 38 Penn State 14
27 November 19, 2011 Columbus, OH #21 Penn State 20 Ohio State 14
28 October 27, 2012 State College, PA #9 Ohio State 35 Penn State 23
29 October 26, 2013 Columbus, OH #4 Ohio State 63 Penn State 14
30 October 25, 2014 State College, PA #12 Ohio State 31 Penn State 24
31 October 17, 2015 Columbus, OH #1 Ohio State 38 Penn State 10
32 October 22, 2016 State College, PA Penn State 24 #2 Ohio State 21
33 October 28, 2017 Columbus, OH #6 Ohio State 39 #2 Penn State 38
34 September 29, 2018 State College, PA #4 Ohio State 27 #9 Penn State 26
35 November 23, 2019 Columbus, OH #2 Ohio State 28 #8 Penn State 17
36 October 31, 2020 State College, PA #3 Ohio State 38 #18 Penn State 25
37 October 30, 2021 Columbus, OH #5 Ohio State 33 #20 Penn State 24
38 October 29, 2022 State College, PA
Series: Ohio State leads 22–14[1]
† Vacated by Ohio State.

See also[]

  • List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Winsipedia - Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Penn State Nittany Lions football series history". Winsipedia.
  2. ^ "A Lesson In Penn State-Ohio State History". October 22, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "This week's 'Big Game' is Ohio State vs. Penn State". Ludington Daily News. October 2, 1998. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Scarcella, Rich (October 5, 1996). "PSU-OSU rivalry rages on". Reading Eagle. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Big Ten rivals silence trash talk". Eugene Register-Guard. October 15, 1999. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  6. ^ This does not include the 2010 season, in which all wins were vacated by Ohio State in July 2011
  7. ^ "The New Border War: Ohio State vs. Penn State - Ohio State - Scout". October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  10. ^ Moyer, Josh (September 10, 2014). "Penn State's postseason ban over". ESPN. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  11. ^ "Urban Meyer won't be headed to Penn State, was hired as Ohio State football coach". November 28, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  12. ^ ESPN The Magazine
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