During his team’s 36-35 overtime road loss to Indiana on Saturday, Penn State junior tight end Pat Freiermuth made history when he caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sean Clifford early in the first quarter.

That score was the 16th touchdown of Freiermuth’s career, making him the school’s all-time leader in touchdowns by a tight end. The mark previously was held by Mike Gesicki, a member of the program from 2014-17.

Gesicki, a third-year player with the Miami Dolphins, sent his regards to Freiermuth.

“I’ve heard from Mike,” Freiermuth said via video conference Tuesday. “He texted me, reached out to say ‘Congratulations, man. Keep going.’ I’m really appreciative of him.

“I wish we would have ended up with a win at the game,” Freiermuth said via video conference Tuesday. “I’ve taken time to reflect on it. It’s obviously a great accomplishment for myself. Not only myself but for the team. I couldn’t have gotten where I’ve gotten breaking that record without (tight ends coach Tyler Bowen and coach James Franklin).

“… I’m thankful and appreciative to the whole program and whole staff who helped me get to this point of being able to break that record. It’s a great honor to be a record-holder at Penn State, such a great established program. I’m always going to be blessed to be a part of this program. Breaking that record means the world. But obviously I still have to continue to work and put my head down and grind. There’s more records to be broken.”

Against Indiana, Freiermuth led Penn State with seven receptions for 60 yards. Despite the loss, he saw reason for optimism.

“There are a lot of positives on the film,” Freiermuth said. “We gained (488) yards on offense. We were (9 of 17) on third down. We executed a majority of our plays. We’ve just got to continue. We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We’ve got to take care of the ball.”

Freiermuth and his teammates are hoping those positives manifest themselves against Ohio State on Saturday night in a Big Ten matchup at Beaver Stadium.

“We’re capable of a lot of things. We’re capable of protecting the ball. We’re capable of being one of the most explosive offenses in the country. We’re just capable of making plays, making big-time plays in big-time moments,” he said.

“That sort of thing lacked Saturday. We’ve got to work this week to be able to make those big-time plays in big-time moments. This is the opportunity to do that. … It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase what we can do on the whole offense.”

Ohio State has won three straight against Penn State, including one-point victories in 2017 and ’18. Last season, Ohio State won 28-17 at home.

“Obviously, it’s important being so close and ending up losing the game both years that I’ve been here against Ohio State. That was part of the reason that I came back was to get that opportunity to beat them. I’m excited for this week to prepare for Ohio State,” Freiermuth said. “I’m excited to get that opportunity on Saturday night on primetime and hopefully showcase what our team really is like and how we can play and what we’re capable of.”

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