No. 11 Penn State beat Kent State 63-10 Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.
Trace McSorley led the Nittany Lions to victory with five touchdowns against the Golden Flashes.
How It Happened
DeAndre Thompkins laid out for his first catch of the season on a 40-yard touchdown from McSorley to make it 7-0. The Golden Flashes soon tied things up on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Woody Barrett to Mike Carrigan.
McSorley gave Penn State a 14-7 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run immediately after surpassing 1,000 career rushing yards. The graduate senior broke Michael Robinson’s record for rushing touchdowns by a Penn State quarterback with his 23rd, from 2 yards out, to make it 21-7. McSorley’s first interception of the season set up a 24-yard Matthew Trickett field goal.
Miles Sanders finished with 116 all-purpose yards in a 63-10 win over Kent State. Photo by Matt Sniegowski | Onward State
True freshmen Trent Gordon and Jayson Oweh made their Penn State debuts in the first half, with Gordon lining up on special teams and Oweh rotating in at defensive end. Later in the game, classmates Jahan Dotson, Justin Shorter, Daniel George, and Zack Kuntz saw time on offense.
Hamler’s 52-yard kick return gave the Nittany Lions excellent field position before McSorley found from end zone on a 13-yard scramble. It was more of the same in the second half, as Mark Allen and Ricky Slade scored rushing touchdowns of 7 and 2 yards, respectively.
McSorley hit Brandon Polk for a 41-yard touchdown to give Penn State a 49-10 lead over the Golden Flashes with 2:37 left in the third quarter, becoming the first Big Ten quarterback with at least three rushing touchdowns and two passing scores in a game since Ohio State’s Braxton Miller.
In his second consecutive start, Brandon Polk had two catches for 55 yards. Photo by Matt Sniegowski | Onward State
Backup quarterback Sean Clifford set the record for the longest pass in program history with a 95-yard touchdown to George. Johnathan Thomas ripped off a 69-yard run to spur one last scoring drive. He found the end zone from 15 yards out a few plays later.
Junior linebacker Cam Brown led Penn State’s defense with seven tackles, while Oweh and Shareef Miller contributed two sacks apiece against the Golden Flashes. The Nittany Lions outgained Kent State 667-221.
McSorley had 229 yards on 11 of 22 passing along with 54 yards rushing
