As 35-point favorites over Bowling Green, Penn State returned home to a partially renovated Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Pregame rain cleared, the Nittany Lions deferred to the second half after winning the coin toss and booted the opening kickoff out of the end zone for a touchback.
Then sixth-year Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak brought a quick stop to any prematurely high vibes from Penn State and its fans. He dropped back on the Falcons’ first snap of the game and delivered a strike down the seam to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. for 30 yards.
Another 29-yard pass and a 6-yard completion for a touchdown later, and Bowling Green had unexpectedly punched Penn State in the mouth with a 7-0 lead. The score broke a 28-game streak in which the Lions had not allowed an opening-drive touchdown to their opponent.
“I was shocked, to be honest with you. I didn’t really think that would ever happen while I was here,” veteran defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas said after a 34-27 win. “But it happened. You kind of gotta move on. It’s a next-play mentality. If you continue to live in that moment, then the next moment is going to be just as bad. So we kind of had to rally together and keep pushing forward.”
Bazelak and Bowling Green’s fireworks didn’t stop there. After starting his career at Missouri and transferring to play at Indiana last season under now-Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen, Bazelak torched his old head coach’s defense for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 16-for-21 passing in the first half.
Fannin did most of the damage alongside Bazelak, going for 11 catches, 137 yards and a touchdown in total on the afternoon. Malcolm Johnson Jr. had 81 yards and a score on eight catches, while Jamal Johnson broke a 41-yard touchdown run right through the heart of Penn State’s defense.
Though the Lions offense moved the ball with relative ease and held its own on the scoreboard, a first-half total of 286 yards (94 rushing, 192 passing), 14 first downs and 7.9 yards per play led to a jarring 24-20 lead for Bowling Green at the break — showered by boos from the Penn State faithful.
Bowling Green didn’t do anything to surprise Penn State, players said after the game. It was just a strong scheme that was executed well by coach Scott Loeffler’s team.
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“We came out a little sloppy. There’s some stuff we gotta correct going over film tomorrow. Second half, we came out and played how we’re supposed to play,” safety Jaylen Reed said. “It definitely wasn’t how we expected it to be in the beginning. I feel like we definitely could have played better, but we passed it and we’re gonna appreciate the win.”
Penn State coach James Franklin attributed part of the first-half letdown to playing outside of the framework of the defense. It’s something he’s noted happening more than once over the past few years.
He added that Penn State struggled on early downs, giving way to easier conversions for Bowling Green and extended drives. Bowling Green converted three of five first-half third downs, and through the game, it averaged more than 5 yards on first down.
“We gotta look at this: I think early on, we’re trying to make plays rather than play the defense,” Franklin said. “We’re getting out of our gaps, trying to make plays, doing things that we haven’t done during the week. We’ve gotta get those things cleaned up, for sure.”
Penn State struggled to tackle early on as well, leading to yards after contact. It struggled to generate pressure with no sacks and just three quarterback hurries all game, allowing Bazelak to calmly scan the field.
J-Thomas noticed some of the same things Franklin did, especially with some early-season, first-home-game jitters playing a part.
“Everybody wants to have a big hit. You want to come downhill. You want to knock somebody’s lights loose,” J-Thomas said. “And to be honest with you — with the mentality that we have in terms of how we come downhill, how hard we hit, what we do on a day-to-day basis — it doesn’t really surprise me. It was the first time at Beaver Stadium.”
Penn State flipped a switch in the second half. Bowling Green put up just three points, had only 89 total yards and averaged three yards per play. Bazelak threw a pair of back-breaking interceptions.
Players credited Allen and leaders like J-Thomas, Reed and Kevin Winston Jr. (who missed the second half for undisclosed reasons) for their demeanor and messaging to the locker room at the break.
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Reed said he simply told teammates to “lock in,” knowing they’d played below their standard to that point. J-Thomas told teammates “we’ve been here before,” and urged them to lean on years of on-field experience in the group. For Allen, it was back to basics.
“Coach Allen does an incredible job of reminding us exactly who we are, what we came to do and then just our core values: tackling, toughness and effort,” J-Thomas said. “I think him bringing us back to our values is what a good defensive coordinator would and should do. I think Coach Allen did an incredible job.”
Penn State stifled West Virginia in Week 1, allowing just 12 points and 246 yards to a team expected to be much stronger than Bowling Green.
The Lions have an older defense, but it’s a group that hasn’t played together much and is learning under a new coordinator. Penn State made adjustments in the second half, mixing up coverages more often, according to Reed, and playing with “10 times” more effort, according to J-Thomas. Tony Rojas and Zakee Wheatley made interceptions when it mattered most.
Days like Saturday might just be part of building toward this season’s goals, and it showed the “grit” Penn State’s players talked about postgame.
“We needed something to test us,” J-Thomas said. “We needed that test so that way, moving forward, we know how we’re going to respond when adversity comes. I think this was just a great opportunity for us to show that.”