STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Fresh off its narrow escape in last week's season and Big Ten conference opener at Purdue last week, Penn State returns home to Happy Valley Saturday to host Ohio in Beaver Stadium.
The game will kick off at noon on ABC.
Here's what you need to know.
Ohio (1-0) at Penn State (1-0)
THE SERIES: Penn State is 5-1 against Ohio in a series dating back to 1967 The last time the Bobcats came into Beaver Stadium was 2012, when they left with a 24-14 victory for their only win of the series. Ohio rallied from a 14-3 halftime deficit to win the game.
ABOUT OHIO: Playing in the Mid-American Conference, the Bobcats went 3-9 last year in their first season under head coach Tim Albin. Four of Ohio's nine losses in 2021 were by single-digit margins.
Albin has been with Ohio since 2005, when he joined former Bobcat coach Frank Solich's staff as offensive coordinator.
Ohio won its season opener last week, defeating Florida Atlantic 41-38. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns and added another TD on the ground for the Bobcats, while Sieh Bangura rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries. Rourke's top targets were James Bostic (six catches, 136 yards, TD) and Sam Wiglusz (two TD catches).
Rourke was named the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week after his performance.
Defensively, safety Ben Johnson finished the day with 15 tackles, including five solo stops.
ABOUT PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions rallied for a 35-31 triumph in their Big Ten and season opener at Purdue in a prime-time Thursday night game, as QB Sean Clifford drove them 80 yards in just over a minute and hit Keyvone Lee with a go-ahead TD pass with 57 seconds left.
It was the fourth touchdown pass of the game for Clifford, who also added a touchdown on the ground for the Nittany Lions. He completed 20 of 37 passes for 282 yards, but was almost the goat of the game when he threw a fourth-quarter interception to Chris Jefferson, who returned it 72 yards for a touchdown that gave the Boilermakers a 31-28 lead with 8:29 remaining.
Clifford was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week after rallying the Lions in the final minutes.
Penn State's defense broke up 16 passes and held Aidan O'Connell to a 50.0 completion percentage after he completed 71 percent of his passes in 2021. CB Joey Porter Jr. recorded a team-high eight tackles, a career-high six pass breakups and recovered a fumble.
LIONS AT HOME: This is Penn State's 63rd season in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 120-13-1 all-time in home openers, including a 44-13 triumph over Ball State last year. Penn State is 52-10 in home openers at Beaver Stadium, and is 18-2 in its last 20 home openers.