Penn State Football’s top 10 wins of the James Franklin era

No. 1 – 2016 vs Ohio State

This game is one of the biggest wins in the history of Penn State Football, certainly in recent memory.

The unranked Nittany Lions took on the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes, a team they had not beaten since 2011, and haven’t beaten since (hopefully that changes soon).

The Nittany Lions trailed 12-0 late in the first half, when Trace McSorley engineered a 74 yard touchdown drive in 50 seconds, capped by a 20 yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin, to cut it to a one score game at halftime.

However, Ohio State was able to stretch the lead to 21-7 by the middle of the third quarter, and it seemed like they would run away with the game.

Early in the fourth quarter, Trace McSorley found the end zone with his legs, and then Cam Brown blocked a punt to set the Nittany Lions up with a short field, but they had to settle for a field goal.

Then with 4:39 to left in the game, the play that everyone remembers. Marcus Allen went up high to block an Ohio State field goal attempt, and Grant Haley scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown to give the Nittany Lions the lead.

The Penn State defense was able to get a stop to secure the win that turned the program around. Following the win, Penn State Football was ranked for the first time since 2011, and with the exception of seven weeks on the back end of the 2020 season, have remained ranked ever since.