STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Fresh off its 34-12 triumph at West Virginia last Saturday, Penn State returns to Happy Valley this week for its home opener -- a non-conference matchup with Mid-American Conference contender Bowling Green.
The game will kick off at 12 p.m. on The Big Ten Network.
Penn State, which is ranked No. 8 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, opened as a 31.5-point favorite over the Falcons.
Here's a look at the matchup.
ABOUT PENN STATE
WHO'S THE MAC? Penn State is familiar with the MAC, having played a MAC team in 21 of the last 23 seasons. The Lions will also face Kent State on Sept. 21. Penn State is 30-3 all-time against current members of the MAC.
THE SERIES: Saturday's matchup will be the first meeting between Penn State and Bowling Green since 1998 and just the third meeting overall. The Nittany Lions hold a 2-0 series edge. They beat BG 45-19 in 1987 and 48-3 in 1998.
HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday's game will be Penn State's 65th home opener in Beaver Stadium. The Lions are 122-13-1 all-time in home openers and are 54-10 in home openers at Beaver Stadium.
LAST WEEK: Penn State opened the season with an impressive road victory at West Virginia, defeating the Mountaineers 34-12. The Lions were flying on both sides of the ball, racking up 457 yards of offense while limiting WVU to 246.
Penn State's new-look offense under coordinator Andy Kotelnicki showed the kind of explosiveness the Lions lacked last year, racking up 11 plays of 20 yards or more. Running back Nicholas Singleton racked up 114 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, including a long run of 40 yards. QB Drew Allar completed 11 of 17 passes for 216 yards and three TDs, including a 55-yarder to Harrison Wallace III, who had 5 catches, 117 yards and two scores overall.
Meanwhile, new coordinator Tom Allen's defense forced three turnovers and sacked WVU quarterback Garrett Greene twice. The Mountaineers, who had one of the nation's leading rush attacks in 2023, managed just 85 yards on the ground all day.
PENN STATE BY THE NUMBERS
- 98.3 - Drew Allar has the second-best quarterback rating (98.3) in the FBS through week one.
- 46-1 - Since 2014, PSU is 46-1 when leading by 10+ points at halftime.
- 40+ - The Nittany Lions had four plays of 40+ yards against West Virginia, including two passes of 50+ yards and two 40-yard runs.
- 3 - Penn State forced three takeaways against West Virginia, including two fumbles and an interception.
ABOUT BOWLING GREEN
LAST WEEK: The Falcons earned a 41-17 win over Fordham in their season-opener last Thursday, rushing for 305 yards and scoring five times on the ground.
Terion Stewart led the squad with 161 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Justin Pegues returned the game's opening kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown.
Bowling Green finished with 475 total yards.
Stewart's TDs covered 7, 7, and 73 yards. Of his 161 rushing yards, 137 came after contact.
QB Connor Bazelak completed 15-of-22 passes for 168 yards and scored on an 8-yard run.
Lucian Anderson III added a 13-yard touchdown run for the Falcons, who were picked to finish third in the MAC in the preseason.
Bowling Green allowed 401 total yards against Fordham, including 219 through the air and 182 on the ground. The Falcons recorded five sacks, including two by Anthony Hawkins and one each by Joseph Sipp Jr. and Charles Rosser.
COACHING: Scot Loeffler is in his sixth season as head coach at Bowling Green. Loeffler has led the Falcons to back-to-back bowl games in 2022 and 2023, making trips to the Quick Lane Bowl. It's the first time BG has made consecutive bowl appearances since 2012-15.
STEADY IMPROVEMENT: The Falcons have improved their win total each of the last three years going from 0 (2020) to 4 (2021) to 6 (2022) to 7 (2023).
The Falcons went 7-6 in 2023, appearing in the Quick Lane Bowl against Minnesota.
SCOUTING REPORT: Bazelak, the Falcons' veteran QB, enters Saturday with 897 career completions, ranking No. 3 among active players (behind Will Rogers and Dillon Gabriel). He needs 103 more to become the 41st player in FBS history to reach 1,000 career completions. Against Fordham, Bazelak notched a start, giving him one in six straight seasons. He is one of six players who have played their entire careers at the FBS level to have already reached this milestone this season.
Bowling Green is 9-26 all-time against current members of the Big Ten Conference, with games against Indiana (1-1), Maryland (1-1), Michigan (0-3), Michigan State (0-3), Minnesota (2-3), Northwestern (2-1), Ohio State (0-5), Oregon (0-1), Penn State (0-2), Purdue (3-0), UCLA (0-1), Washington (0-1), and Wisconsin (0-3).
BG's most recent game against a Big Ten Conference opponent was in 2023 against Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
In 2021, BG defeated Minnesota 14-10, one of the biggest upsets that year. BG entered the game as a 31-point underdog.