Ohio State hands Penn State its first loss of 2024

For the first time this season, third ranked Penn State lost a football game as they were beaten 20-13 by fourth ranked Ohio State. The loss for the Nittany Lions was significant as it will probably drop them out of the top five when the new National Collegiate Athletic Association College Football rankings come out on Sunday.

The Buckeyes got a key 21 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will Howard of West Chester, Pennsylvania to wide receiver Brandon Inniss of Hollywood, Florida with three minutes and six seconds into the second quarter. At the time, the Buckeyes went up 14-10, and it was a lead that they would not relinquish.

A key part of the game came in the fourth quarter, when the Nittany Lions were unable to score any points from the three yard line on one particular drive. Three times the Buckeyes stopped the Nittany Lions running game, and then a fourth down pass from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar went incomplete. Former Notre Dame starting quarterback Brady Quinn, who is now a college football analyst for FOX Sports was very critical of the Nittany Lions play calling, and was confused why tight end Tyler Warren of Mechanicsville, Virginia was not targeted when Penn State was at the three. He called the decision “atrocious.”

Meanwhile, CBS NFL analyst J.J. Watt disagreed with the game’s early time slot. I agree that when you have two of the top five teams playing against each other in November, a prime time television slot should have been enforced.

There was a second undefeated team that lost their first game of the season to a seeded opponent on Saturday. The 20th ranked Southern Methodist University spanked the 18th ranked University of Pittsburgh Panthers 48-25. Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings of Dallas, Texas completed 17 of 25 passes for 306 yards and two touchdown passes. Mustangs running back Brashard Smith of Richmond Heights, Florida had 23 carries for 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Mustangs tight end Matthew Hibner of Burke, Virginia had three catches for 108 receiving yards and a major score.

Meanwhile, Iowa State is no longer undefeated either after losing 23-22 to unseeded Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were led by running back Tahj Brooks of Manor, Texas (122 rushing yards and one touchdown), and wide receiver Josh Kelly of Fresno, California (127 receiving yards and two touchdowns).

There are now five teams undefeated. They are Army, the University of Miami Florida, the University of Oregon, the University of Indiana, and Brigham Young University.