OPENING KICK: No. 18/17 Penn State plays its first home game and night game of the season when the Nittany Lions host Ohio State Saturday in Beaver Stadium. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
MARQUEE MATCH-UP: The Penn State-Ohio State game is one of the highlights of the college football calendar, with 16 points deciding the last four meetings. The last three games in Beaver Stadium, dating back to 2014, have been nail-biters with the 2014 game going to double overtime, an unranked Penn State team defeating No. 2 Ohio State in 2016 and a one-point game in 2018. The last four Ohio State games in Beaver Stadium have been primetime games.
Home Opener: Penn State begins its 61st season in Beaver Stadium with a seven game-winning streak in home openers, and faces a its highest-ranked home-opening opponent since hosting No. 2 Miami (Fla.) in 2001. The Halloween night home opener is Penn State's second (Dickinson, 1888) and latest since 1918 (Wissahickon Barracks, Nov. 2). Both of those games finished in 6-6 ties. It is also Penn State's second home opener against a Big Ten opponent, as Penn State's very first Big Ten game took place in Beaver Stadium to open the 1993 season (Minnesota; W, 38-20).
Dual Threat: At Indiana, Penn State QB Sean Clifford completed 24 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns, while also running for a career-best 119 yards on 17 carries. The 357 yards of total offense totaled by Clifford were the third-most in his career.
TOP TE: With his touchdown catch in the first quarter at Indiana, Pat Freiermuth owns the Penn State career record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end with 16 career touchdown grabs. He broke a tie with Mike Gesicki (2014-17).
The Opposition: Ohio State moved up to No. 3 in the rankings after a 52-17 win over Nebraska last week to open its 2020 season. Quarterback Justin Fields completed 20-of-21 passes against the Huskers. The Buckeyes have won their last 14 regular season games against Big Ten opponents.
Home Opener History
- Penn State's all-time record in home openers is 119-13-1 and 51-9 in Beaver Stadium.
- Penn State has won 17 out of its last 18 home openers and its last seven consecutively, defeating Idaho (2019; 79-7), Appalachian State (2018; 45-38, OT), Akron in 2014 (21-3) and 2017 (52-0), Kent State (2016; 33-13), Buffalo (2015; 27-14), and Eastern Michigan (2013; 45-7).
- Penn State's 79-7 win over Idaho in the 2019 opener marked its biggest opening season win since defeating Susquehanna, 82-0, in 1926.
- Penn State is playing just its second Halloween home opener. In 1888, Penn State's second season of football, the Nittany Lions battled to a 6-6 tie with Dickinson.
- The home opener is Penn State's latest in the year since World War I and an influenza pandemic delayed the start of the 1918 season until Nov. 2 against the Wissahickon Barracks, which was also a 6-6 tie.
- Penn State's only home opener against a Big Ten opponent was its very first Big Ten game in 1993, a 38-20 win over Minnesota.
- Penn State is playing its first home opener against an AP Top 25 team since 2001 and ninth all-time. Penn State is 4-4 in those games.
Storied Programs Meet
- Penn State and Ohio State both rank among the top-10 programs in winning percentage and total victories in NCAA history.
- Four of the top-10 winningest programs in NCAA history are from the Big Ten.
- Penn State sits No. 8 in all-time victories (898) and No. 10 in winning percentage (.689).
- Ohio State sits second with 925 all-time victories and No. 2 with an all-time winning percentage of .730.
- The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes are also among the most ranked teams in NCAA history according to the AP poll.
- Ohio State has spent 105 weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll (2nd all-time) and Penn State has earned the No. 1 ranking by the AP on 21 occasions (T-15th all-time). (Not including preseason rankings).
- Penn State's 653 weeks ranked among the AP Top 25 and 388 ranked among the Top 10 both rank ninth all-time, while Ohio State's 925 weeks in the Top 25 and 645 in the Top 10 are both the most in NCAA history.