ATLANTA - No. 10 Penn State (10-3, 7-2 Big Ten) fell, 38-25, to No. 11 Ole Miss (11-2, 6-2 SEC) on Saturday afternoon in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Penn State put up 510 yards of total offense in the game, its third-highest mark ever in a bowl game. Quarterback Drew Allar completed 19-of-39 pass attempts for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in his first bowl game start. The sophomore also rushed for 40 yards on the ground. Beau Pribula's touchdown pass was his only pass attempt of the day, although he did convert a two-point conversion try in the fourth quarter with a toss to Nicholas Singleton.
Tight end Tyler Warren led the Nittany Lion pass-catchers, recording five grabs for a career-best 127 yards, including a 75-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter that set up a receiving touchdown for fellow tight end Theo Johnson. Johnson caught two passes for 16 yards and a score. Warren's 127 receiving yards are the most by a Penn State tight end in a bowl game. Singleton complemented the two tight ends with four catches for 86 yards and a score. His day was highlighted by a 48-yard touchdown reception from Pribula in the second quarter. Harrison Wallace III rounded out the Nittany Lion receivers with four grabs for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Kaytron Allen fronted Penn State's rushing effort, recording 51 yards on 10 carries. Singleton posted 50 yards on eight carries, as both backs averaged over five yards per carry.
Penn State's defense posted 10 tackles for loss in the game, with nine Nittany Lions each posting a full tackle for loss. Kevin Winston Jr. paced the Nittany Lion defense with nine total tackles. Daequan Hardy followed with seven tackles and Tony Rojas, Kobe King, and Cam Miller each posted five stops in the game. Miller also recorded a career-high three pass breakups in his first collegiate start for the Nittany Lions.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the game and took control of the ball at their own 32-yard line following an Ole Miss punt. Penn State's offense constructed a 10-play, 64-yard scoring drive to go up 3-0 on the Rebels at the 9:17 mark of the opening quarter. A 26-yard field goal by Alex Felkins marked the first points of the game.
Ole Miss tied the game at three apiece on their next trip down the field. The Rebels went 56 yards on eight plays, finishing with a 36-yard field goal to tie the game with 7:16 left in the first quarter.
The Rebels scored the first touchdown of the game with 30 seconds left in the first quarter to take a 10-3 lead over Penn State. The Ole Miss drive spanned 3:31 as it went 77 yards on 10 plays for the score.
On the following drive, a 75-yard pass to Warren from Allar set Penn State up with a first down at the Ole Miss 5-yard line. Allar tossed a 2-yard, fourth-and-goal pass to Johnson for the Nittany Lions' first touchdown of the game. The Nittany Lions went 75 yards on six plays for the score, tying the game 10-10 at the 13:34 mark of the second quarter.
A 45-yard field goal for Ole Miss gave it a 13-10 advantage with 10:33 left in the first half. The try was the culmination of a nine-play, 52-yard drive.
The Rebels recorded their second touchdown of the afternoon on their next drive, extending their lead to 20-10 with under five minutes to play in the opening half. Ole Miss scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass by Jaxson Dart to Caden Prieskorn.
Penn State answered immediately with a 75-yard touchdown drive of its own that spanned just four plays and took 2:13 off the clock. Pribula tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Singleton to bring the Nittany Lions back within three of Ole Miss with 2:45 left on the clock in the first half. Neither team was able to score in the final minutes and Ole Miss maintained a 20-17 lead as the teams entered their locker rooms at the break.
Ole Miss knocked through a 52-yard field goal to open the scoring in the second half, extending its lead to six points at the 10:48 mark of the third quarter. On their next drive, the Rebels added a touchdown plus a two-point conversion to go up 31-17 with 4:10 left in the third quarter. Ole Miss took 10 plays to go 82 yards on their sixth scoring drive of the day.
The Rebels tacked on a fourth-quarter touchdown to go up 38-17 with 6:29 left to play. The culmination of a 10-play, 65-yard drive pushed the Ole Miss lead to 21 points.
Allar threw his second touchdown pass of the day, this time a 14-yard score to Harrison Wallace III, and Pribula converted the ensuing two-point conversion try with a pass to Singleton, to cut the Ole Miss lead to 38-25 with 4:14 left to play. Penn State needed just four plays to go 70 yards for the score.
The 2023 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.
