Will Howard playing to prove himself, more notes ahead of Penn State-Ohio State
Penn State and Ohio State meet in a star-studded showdown Saturday in State College.
Penn State is off to its first 7-0 start since the 2019 season, one which ended in a Cotton Bowl Classic win over Memphis, Harrisburg legend Micah Parson’s final game in the blue and white.
Despite the 11-2 finish and strong start from the Nittany Lions in 2019, they still couldn’t get over a major hump in the program that has been a source of struggle since a historic 2016 game.
Beating Ohio State.
This Saturday, Penn State has a chance to beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 2016, a historic 24-21 win for the Nittany Lions that will forever live in State College history.
PSU prides itself on recruiting from inside the state, keeping the best football talent in Pennsylvania in its home state. It’s led to some of the best players in the program’s history, including Saquon Barkley, the aforementioned Parsons, and current greats like Nicholas Singleton.
In 2019, a prospect from Downingtown West High School emerged, a three-star, the 11th ranked player in Pennsylvania. He recieved nine offers, three in the Big Ten in Minnesota, Rutgers and Maryland. He committed to Kansas State on June 23, 2019, spent four years with K-State before transferring to Ohio State for his senior season.
The offer he wanted and didn’t get five years ago? Penn State, the school he grew up worshipping and dreaming to attend.
“I cannot wait. It’s gonna be a homecoming. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough. I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”
This season, the senior Buckeyes quarterback has found the endzone 22 times, 17 by passing and five on the ground. He’s got a completion rate of 74%, the highest of his college career.
The meeting between Nittany Lions is one of the most anticipated, which is contributing to the attendance of both mainstream college football morning preview shows, ESPN’s College GameDay and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff. It’ll be the 13th time that College GameDay broadcasted at the site of a Penn State-Ohio State meeting, the most frequently used matchup in College GameDay’s 37-year history.
The focus for Saturday has quickly shifted from a superstar matchup to Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback, and what his availability will look like ahead of the season’s biggest game.
On Saturday night, facing Wisconsin, Allar exited late into the first half with an apparent left-knee injury. After an attempt to warm up for the second half, the Nittany Lions moved on to their backup, Beau Pribula.
Pribula, a Central York alumni, stole the show, completing 11 passes on 13 attempts, throwing for 98 yards and a touchdown. Pribula is adds a mobility factor under center, which he’s proven over his first two seasons in Happy Valley, rushing 77 times for seven touchdowns in two seasons.
Penn State enters the meeting as the favorite for the first time since 2017, a game that PSU still lost. The Nittany Lions are looking for their first Buckeye win since 2016.
Luke Brown is a 2024 graduate of Camp Hill high school and first-year student at Rowan University, studying Sports Communication. With bylines in PennLive, NJ.com and various media outlets, this is his forum to create sports content on the side. Subscribe today!