Penn State-Ohio State is the first top-five game at Beaver Stadium in 25 years

State College will be the epicenter of college football and potentially the 2024 presidential election on Saturday when Beaver Stadium hosts the first game between top-five teams in 25 years. So welcome to Happy Valley Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Pat McAfee and possibly Donald Trump. And good luck to everyone in traffic.

Penn State and Ohio State are currently ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively AP Top 25 College Football Pollmeaning they will play Saturday with their highest combined ranking since 1996, when No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 4 Penn State 38-7 in Columbus. Saturday's game is the first between top-five opponents at Beaver Stadium since 1999, when the No. 3 Nittany Lions opened the season with a 41-7 win over No. 4 Arizona. The attendance for this game was 97,168. On Saturday there could be 14,000 more and a record set at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State and Ohio State set the value Record attendance at Beaver Stadium in 2018, when an announced crowd of 110,889 watched the Buckeyes defeat Penn State 27-26. This game could surpass that and become the first game in Beaver Stadium history to reach the 111,000 threshold.

First, Penn State fans are excited to see the Nittany Lions back home after a four-week absence. The Nittany Lions last played at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 5 and were about a bye week between away games at USC and Wisconsin. That makes them all the more excited to see the Nittany Lions end their seven-game losing streak against Ohio State. Penn State will face Ohio State for the first time since 2017 with a 7-0 record. This year it was the sixth-place Buckeyes ended No. 2 Penn State's winning streak 39-38 in Columbus. This is Penn State's highest-ranked team in the AP Top 25 since this season.

Second, college football's premier pre-game shows will take place in front of Beaver Stadium. ESPN College Gameday and FOX's Big Noon will be simulcast from State College for the first time. FOX will broadcast the game on its Big Noon broadcast.

Third, Penn State is preparing for a possible visit from former President Donald Trump three days before the 2024 election. A “private person” Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was invited to the game, Penn State said in a statement. In his opinion Website events calendarTrump is scheduled to hold a rally in Salem, Virginia on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The schedule does not include an appearance at the Penn State-Ohio State game. Penn State is already advising fans to be prepared for traffic and safety issues.

“The U.S. Secret Service is working with University Police and Public Safety, as well as other state and local law enforcement agencies, on security measures taken around the presence of presidential candidates,” Penn State said in a statement. “With that in mind, we encourage fans, all campus visitors and those attending the game to arrive early to the game or their scheduled destination.”

The game itself is already full of storylines and subplots. Penn State remained undefeated with a 28-13 win at Wisconsin Starting quarterback Drew Allar was injured and didn't play the second half. Backup quarterback Beau Pribula completed 11 of 13 passes and led two long scoring drives as the Nittany Lions rallied from a halftime deficit. Franklin called it a “courageous cultural victory.”

“I think sometimes as coaches and fans we get too close, and I know we want all the wins to be nice,” Franklin said. “It was one of the nicest and ugliest victories we've ever had, but that's the beauty of it.”:

Ohio State (6-1) arrives at Beaver Stadium after a close matchup against Nebraska. The Buckeyes struggled offensively but scored a late touchdown to escape with one 21-17 win. After the game, Ohio State University quarterback Will Howard, who attended high school in Pennsylvania, said it was him “Excited” about the trip to Beaver Stadium.

Penn State hasn't beaten Ohio State since 2016, when the Nittany Lions beat the No. 2 Buckeyes 24-21 at Beaver Stadium en route to the Big Ten championship. However, three of the seven straight losses have come on a single possession, and Ohio State has not won by more than 13 points in that series.

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