State College, PA - September 7, 2024: The Penn State Nittany Lions squeaked out a 34-27 victory Saturday afternoon in their home opener against the Bowling Green Falcons. The Lions improved to 2-0 overall. In the season opener the previous week at West Virginia, Penn State defeated the Cavaliers 34-12. Penn State was behind this afternoon for a good portion of the game as Bowling Green’s passing offense gave the Penn State secondary all it could handle. Bowling Green QB Connor Bazelak threw for 254 yards going 25 for 39 with 2 touchdowns. Bazelak’s main target was TE Harold Fannin Jr., a 6’3, 230 pound junior, who caught 11 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown. Penn State running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen led the Lions on the ground and proved to be the key to their victory. Singleton and Allen rushed for a combined 220 yards on 27 carries. Singleton scored twice, once on a 14-yard reception in the third quarter to finally put Penn State ahead 27-24. Singleton then scored late in the game on a 41-yard run which sealed the victory. Penn State QB Drew Allar was 13 for 20, 204 yards, with two touchdowns. He had one interception and was sacked twice. In the air, Penn State WR Tyler Warren led his team with 8 catches for 146 yards. Bethlehem (PA) Liberty High School graduate Sander Sahaydak made two field goals for Penn State in the 2nd quarter, one was from 43 yards while the other was from 28 yards. On defense, Penn State was led by safety Jaylen Reed, who had 4 solo tackles and 6 assists, and defensive end Abdul Carter, who had 5 solo tackles and 2 assists. Safety Zakee Wheatley and linebacker Tony Rojas both recorded a key interception for the Lions, both INT’s came as the Falcons were moving the ball down field. Coach James Franklin said after the game that Bowling Green played their tail off and his team was in a dogfight. He also noted that Sahaydak hitting those two field goals were big for the team, as well as the home crowd noise that caused Bowling Green some cadence issues. Penn State has the next week (9/14) off before hosting Kent State at Beaver Stadium. The below photo shows Penn State running back Nick Singleton (10) running for yardage.
