Atlanta, GA - December 30, 2024: The Penn State Nittany Lions played in their first Peach Bowl against Ole Miss and lost 38-25 in front of a capacity crowd in Mercedes Benz Stadium. A win by the Lions would have made them the only team to ever win all of the "New Year's Six" bowl games. Ole Miss, ranked 11th in the country, controlled the second half, holding the 10th ranked Nittany Lions to one score. The first half saw a close game with the teams going into the break and the Rebels holding a slim 20-17 lead. Penn State's defensive pressure was an issue for Ole Miss early in the game until they made adjustments by short QB drops and quick slant plays, neutralizing Penn State's aggressive pass rush. The Ole Miss defense came up big when they had to in order to stop Penn State drives. Penn State was only 6 of 15 on third down conversions for the game. The Penn State defense was missing its top two cornerbacks and a defensive end, and their offense was without a key offensive lineman, as Coach James Franklin mentioned in the post-game press conference as being a big part of their loss. Ole Miss racked up 540 total yards on offense, showing the aggressive up-tempo SEC style, in a dominant win to finish their season at 11-2. Defensively, Penn State had held their opponents to 70 yards on the ground per game but Ole Miss managed 146 yards for the game. Penn State RB Nicholas Singleton had 136 yards in total offense, including a 48-yard pass reception for a touchdown. Penn State finishes the season 10-3 and will have some work to do heading into 2024. Ole Miss receivers were outstanding and found the soft spots in the Penn State defense all afternoon. Ole Miss TE Caden Prieskorn and DE Jared Ivey took home offensive and defensive MVP's respectively. This was the 56th Annual Peach Bowl, hosted by Chick-fil-A, and the entire Peach Bowl staff ran an outstanding event.
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