Drew Allar threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 8 Penn State rallied in the second half to a 34-27 win over Bowling Green on Saturday in State College, Pa.
Allar completed 13 of 20 passes for 204 yards with an interception. He gave the Nittany Lions (2-0) a 27-24 lead with 6:13 left in the third quarter on a 14-yard scoring strike to Nicholas Singleton.
Singleton added the clinching touchdown with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter on a 41-yard touchdown run, the highlight of his 119-yard effort in 13 carries.
Connor Bazelak completed 25 of 39 passes for 254 yards with two scores and two interceptions for the Falcons (1-1). They rolled up 286 yards in the first half but managed just 88 after halftime.
Jackson Kleather nailed a 42-yard field goal with 47 seconds remaining in the game to draw Bowling Green within seven points. But Penn State recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.
Penn State came into the game as a whopping 34-point favorite but Bazelak and Bowling Green served immediate notice that this would not be an easy tuneup. The Falcons scored the first three times they touched the ball.
Bazelak hit Harold Fannin Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown just 2:21 into the game, then led a drive of nearly 5 1/2 minutes that resulted in a 33-yard field goal from Kleather. When Bazelak found Malcolm Johnson Jr. for a 15-yard score at the 12:48 mark of the second quarter, the Falcons led 17-7.
Allar, who rushed for a 5-yard touchdown on the Nittany Lions’ first possession, connected with Omari Evans for a 29-yard strike to make it 17-14 with 11:48 remaining. Penn State tied it with a 43-yard field goal by Sander Sahaydak with 5:28 left.
But Bowling Green regained the lead less than two minutes later on a 41-yard run by Jamal Johnson. Sahaydak hit from 28 with 14 seconds on the clock but the Falcons took a stunning 24-20 edge into halftime.
–Field Level Media
