Entering as a 41.5-point favorite over Florida International, Penn State stumbled through a lackluster first 30 minutes, in which the Nittany Lions mustered a 10-0 lead while barely outgaining the visiting Conference USA opponent. Scattered boos rained down from Nittany Lion faithful braving the rain as the team trotted into the tunnel.
“Obviously we wanted to start a lot faster,” wide receiver Devonte Ross said. “I think that once we went to the half or whatever, we came out and made some adjustments, I think we did a good job bouncing back from the first half that we had.”
One of the few shining moments from the first half was a 17-yard punt return from Ross, which achieved one of the loudest crowd reactions of the day.
Then, coming out of halftime, Ross dazzled with a one-handed, 42-yard touchdown catch with a defender draped over him. Penn State scored two more touchdowns after that, extending its lead to 34-0 before the final whistle.
After the game, head coach James Franklin admitted the Nittany Lions “need to be more explosive on offense,” but he acknowledged the importance of having Ross at full health. After transferring from Troy this offseason, he dealt with injury trouble leading up to the season.
“It was being projected that we wouldn’t have him until Game 4,” Franklin said. “So the fact that he played in Week 1 in a limited capacity and really no limitations in Week 2 was able to obviously be an impact in the game … I think we’re way ahead of where we hoped to be, and we just got to continue to build on it.”
Ross said he felt back to full health on Saturday, and he looked the part with arguably the best play of Penn State’s season through two weeks.
Against Nevada, wide receiver Trebor Peña led the team in catches, while Kyron Hudson set the pace in receiving yards. Ross had just one reception for four yards against the Wolf Pack, his lowest output since October 2023. While it was easy to dismiss his performance, Ross proved on Saturday that he’s capable of being a major contributor in the room.
“I feel like you always have to earn whatever you want in life,” Ross said. “So I never came in here thinking like, ‘Oh, I’ve already played college football. I just deserve something,’ you know, I wanted to pride myself on just working hard and earning the respect of my teammates and my coaches and just doing whatever I have to do to help the team win.”
That includes making an impact on special teams, where he’s developed into a viable option as a punt returner, a position that needed answers after last season. Penn State cycled through five players in 2024 and only had one punt return longer than Ross’ 17-yarder — a 23-yard return by Kaden Saunders, who continues to be sidelined with an injury that began last season.
“I love punt return. It’s something that, if I’m being honest, as a freshman, I was a little nervous back there,” Ross said. “I didn’t do it in high school, but I would say, around my sophomore year, I started practicing a lot more, and I got a little bit more comfortable back there. So since then, I’ve really enjoyed that.”
After all, Ross’ performance against Iowa while at Troy last season was one of the things that caught Franklin’s attention. Ross finished with receiving touchdowns of 63 and 62 yards, plus a 77-yard punt return for a score, making him responsible for all 21 of the Trojans’ points that day.
While Franklin — and the fanbase — may want to see more explosive plays from the Nittany Lions, Ross showed he can have a hand in that moving forward. His strategy is simple.
“Just attack the DBs whenever we get a chance, and just execute easy throws. And I think all of it will come into place.”
