Ohio State – Penn State football rivalry The Ohio State – Penn State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University and the Nittany Lions of The Pennsylvania State University . Before Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1990 , Ohio State and Penn State only played eight times , the last of which was in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl . After Penn State joined the Big Ten , the rivalry continued as an annual conference game . Series history . 1912 – 80 : Pre - Big Ten era . Penn State won the first four meetings in the series , however these meetings spread across 53 seasons , between 1912 and 1964 . The first ever match - up was held in Columbus , Ohio in November 1912 . Penn State had just come off a 8 – 0 – 1 season in 1911 . All of the experts had picked Ohio State to win this game in a blowout . However , it was the Nittany Lions shutting the Buckeyes out , 37 – 0 . It would not be until 1956 when Penn State made a return trip to Columbus , however when they won the second meeting between the schools , 7 – 6 . Penn State would win two more games at Ohio Stadium before Ohio State won a game in 1975 . The first ever match - up of the two held in State College , Pennsylvania was in 1976 where Ohio State beat Penn State 12 – 7 . Penn State won in 1978 back in Columbus . In 1980 , the two schools played in their first and only postseason bowl , the 1980 Fiesta Bowl . The Ohio State Buckeyes were 9 – 3 , while the Penn State Nittany Lions were 10 – 2 . The Penn State Nittany Lions won at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona 31 – 19 . As Ohio State and Penn State now play in the same conference , it is unlikely for the two schools to face off in another bowl game . 1993 – 2000 : Penn State enters the Big Ten . Following the 1980 Fiesta Bowl , Penn State and Ohio State did not meet again until Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 . From 1993 to the present , the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions have played annually . Ohio State won the first conference meeting , 24 – 6 after a close 7 – 6 first quarter . Ohio State has won 11 of the matchups , while Penn State has won six . The largest margin of victory for ether teams came in 1994 when Penn State beat Ohio State 63 – 14 . Interestingly following this defeat , an Ohio State sportswriter dropped Penn State from # 1 to # 2 in the AP Poll . In 1995 , the Nittany Lions were the losing team , losing 28 – 25 to Ohio State . In 1996 , the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions 38 – 7 in a game that some picked Penn State to win . The Nittany Lions got revenge next year as Penn State , ranked No . 1 at the time and into November before losing to Michigan , came back from 27 – 17 to win 31 – 27 . The two teams split the next two , and Ohio State won in 2000 45 – 6 . That was the most lopsided Ohio State win over Penn State and the second biggest margin of victory for either team . 2001 – 10 : Paterno vs . Tressel . The decade of the 2000s saw several close games between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions , as they put long time Penn State head coach Joe Paterno , against Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel . Ohio State went 6 – 3 during this period . What would have been the Buckeyes ' seventh win in 2010 , along with that entire season , was vacated as a result of players receiving improper benefits . The two teams were perennially near the top of the Big Ten standings . Ohio State won seven Big Ten titles , either shared or outright , in 2002 and 2005 through 2010 , although Ohio State vacated the 2010 title due to improper player benefits . Penn State shared titles in 2005 and 2008 with Ohio State , but both were vacated due to NCAA action regarding the Penn State sex abuse scandal ( see below ) . The 2001 game was significant because it gave Paterno his 324th career win . Penn State was suffering through a dismal season with a 1 – 4 start with Matt Senaca leading the way . Senaca was soon benched in this game where Ohio State climbed to a 27 – 9 lead and promising freshman Zack Mills helped Penn State come back and nearly saved their season ( Penn State finished 5 – 6 ) . The following year , Penn State would very nearly beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe , only losing 13 – 7 to the eventual national champions . In 2003 , Penn State had a dismal season but actually looked like the better team against the Buckeyes as they took a 17 – 7 lead at one point . Ohio State came back to win 21 – 20 with a last second field goal falling just short . Ohio State won the next game 21 – 10 despite being outscored 10 – 7 offensively . That game was only one of two times that the Nittany Lions scored double digits at Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993 . In 2005 , Penn State was an underdog despite trouncing then - No . 18 Minnesota 44 – 14 the week before and being undefeated . However , Penn State played defense and shut down the Buckeye ground game . The 2005 teams met for what became the deciding game for the Big Ten championship , Penn State upset the then - favored Buckeyes 17 – 10 in State College , with Penn State finishing No . 3 in both polls and Ohio State finishing No . 4 themselves . Penn State went on to lose to Michigan next week in a controversial 27 – 25 game but went on to win out the rest of the way as Ohio State won out the remainder of the way , including a come - from - behind win over Michigan 25 – 21 . This resulted in the two teams sharing the Big Ten title . Penn State defeated ACC champion Florida State 26 – 23 in the Orange Bowl as Ohio State defeated Notre Dame 34 – 20 in the Fiesta Bowl . The 2006 game has a deceptive final score , Penn State led 3 – 0 and was a fullback fumble away from leading 10 – 0 , but missed a field goal early in the third that would have made it 6 – 0 , Ohio State struck back and went up 7 – 3 , early in the fourth quarter , Ohio State ' s Troy Smith avoided a sack and threw the ball downfield , it was nearly intercepted but Brian Robiskie caught it for a touchdown . Penn State drove down to the one yard line , but a false start penalty pushed them back , forcing them to kick a field goal . Still , with the score 14 – 6 , the Nittany Lions drove down the field and nearly scored the game tying touchdown , but with two minutes left , Malcolm Jenkins intercepted an Anthony Morelli pass and ran it back for a touchdown to make it 21 – 6 . Penn State made the same mistake again with one minute left , making it 28 – 6 . In the 2007 game , Ohio State came back from an early 7 – 3 deficit to take a 17 – 7 halftime lead and eventually winning 37 – 17 . The 2008 meeting between the two teams saw the third ranked Nittany Lions win 13 – 6 against the 10th ranked Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium . This game turned out to be the deciding factor in giving Penn State a berth in the Rose Bowl ; the teams shared the Big Ten title , but the Lions were chosen ahead of Ohio State due to their head - to - head win . Before that victory , Penn State had a seven game road losing streak to the Buckeyes , and interestingly enough , Penn State has yet to score 14 or more points in Columbus since joining the Big Ten . Regardless , the Lions did not turn the ball over , while Ohio State did twice . The 2009 meeting also played a role in the Big Ten championship , with both teams tied for first in conference at the time since previously unbeaten Iowa lost to Northwestern . With the roles reversed , the visitors , Ohio State , won a stubborn defensive struggle over the home team 24 – 7 , In what Kirk Herbstriet called " rope - a - dope " offensive strategy for both teams . This time , Penn State turned the ball over twice and Ohio State did not turn it over once . In 2010 , the Buckeyes were listed as huge favorites against a 6 – 3 Penn State team . Penn State had other ideas , however , rolling to a 14 – 3 lead at halftime , with Penn State QB Matt McGloin throwing the first touchdown passes against Ohio State since Joe Pateno became head coach . Ohio State rallied to retake the lead and win , with the aid of two Matt McGloin interceptions , won 38 – 14 . 2011 : Rivalry hit by scandal . After the 2010 season , it was revealed that several Ohio State players , most notably QB Terrelle Pryor , received improper benefits . An investigation determined that Tressel had knowledge of the situation but failed to notify the University or the NCAA . This resulted in Tressel resigning from the program . As part of a self - imposed sanction , Ohio State vacated all of its wins from the season , including its win over Penn State , its Big Ten Title , and Sugar Bowl win . The 2011 season began a new era in the rivalry with new additions to the Big Ten conference , as well as new head coaches for both teams . With the addition of Nebraska into the Big Ten , the conference split into two six - team divisions . Both Ohio State and Penn State were placed in the " Leaders " Division and will continue to play each other annually . The 2011 season also marks a new era for the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions , as Luke Fickell was named the interim head coach for the season after Tressel ' s resignation and Tom Bradley after longtime Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was fired 9 games into the season following the uncovering of the Penn State sex abuse scandal . 2012 – present : Two Fresh Starts . Both schools will have new head coaches for the 2012 season . On November 28 , 2011 , Ohio State hired former Utah and Florida head coach Urban Meyer as head coach , beginning a new era in the rivalry . Meyer had been considered by many , including Paterno himself , as a possible replacement for Paterno at Penn State . Penn State eventually hired former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O ' Brien to succeed Paterno as head coach . Game results . " Ohio State victories are colored █ scarlet . Penn State victories are colored █ blue . Vacated victories by either team are shaded in █ gray "