Kaytron Allen became Penn State’s all-time career rushing leader and the Nittany Lions (5-6, 2-6) closed out their home schedule with a 37-10 victory over Nebraska (7-4, 4-4) on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
Allen carried 25 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the 12th 100-yard rushing game of his career and fourth this season. A short run early in the fourth quarter gave him 3,934 yards for his career, surpassing Evan Royster’s mark of 3,932 set from 2007-10. By the end of the night, Allen’s record stood at 3,954.
Fellow senior back Nick Singleton, meanwhile, ran seven times for 44 yards and two touchdowns, tying Saquon Barkley with 43 career rushing scores. Singleton also caught three passes for 51 yards.
Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer looked sharp in his fifth start since Drew Allar’s season-ending injury. The redshirt freshman was 11 of 12 passing for 181 yards and a touchdown.
For Nebraska, quarterback TJ Lateef was 21 of 37 for 187 yards and Emmet Johnson had 103 rushing yards on 19 carries.
After winning back-to-back games for the first time in more than two months, Penn State can become bowl-eligible with a victory at Rutgers next Saturday.
The Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights will kick off at 3:30 p.m. in the regular season finale airing on BTN.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter
Nebraska running back Emmet Johnson took a third-and-2 handoff 52 yards to the Penn State 11 on the game’s opening drive, but the Cornhuskers would come away empty. On fourth and 1 from the 2, Amare Campbell and Zane Durant stuffed Johnson for no gain and the Nittany Lions took over on downs.
The Nittany Lions picked up a first down for some breathing room before quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer hit freshman receiver Koby Howard on a crossing route for a 31-yard gain. Running back Kaytron Allen then got the edge and raced 50 yards to get Penn State inside the 5. Two plays later tight end Andrew Rappleyea hauled in his first career touchdown catch on a 4-yard toss from Grunkemeyer and the Nittany Lions had a 7-0 lead midway through the first after the seven-play, 98-yard drive.
Nebraska crossed midfield again on its second possession but the Penn State defense stood strong again and forced a punt. After a trio of runs moved the Nittany Lions out to their own 10, senior back Nick Singleton took a screen pass and broke loose down the sideline for a 50-yard gain to the Nebraska 28 as the opening period came to an end.
End 1Q: Penn State 7, Nebraska 0
2nd Quarter
Two Allen runs got the Nittany Lions inside the 10 but the drive stalled there and Ryan Barker came on for a 26-yard field goal that extended Penn State’s lead to 10-0 at the 12:20 mark of the second.
A 40-yard Jacory Barney return set the Husker offense up at their own 40. Quarterback TJ Lateef led Nebraska downfield with short passes and a scramble to convert a third down, and a facemask penalty against Penn State moved the Huskers into the red zone. The Nittany Lion defense, though, kept Nebraska out of the end zone once again and the visitors settled for a 31-yard field goal to narrow the Penn State lead to 10-3 with 8:31 left in the half.
A pass interference penalty and three Allen runs moved Penn State past midfield on its next possession before Grunkemeyer found receiver Devonte Ross open downfield for a 28-yard gain into the red zone. Singleton took a handoff 14 yards to the 4, then went up the middle for a bruising touchdown run as the Nittany Lions pushed their lead to 17-3 with 4:09 remaining in the second quarter.
Yvan Kemajou’s sack of Lateef for an 8-yard loss to the Nebraska 3 blew up the Huskers next drive. Penn State’s Trebor Peña returned the ensuing punt 24 yards and a personal foul penalty against the Huskers put the Nittany Lions at the Nebraska 14 with just over two minutes left.
On third and 6, Singleton got the ball on a sweep and went untouched 10 yards for his 43rd career touchdown touchdown to tie Saquon Barkley for the program record. Barker missed on a PAT for the first time this season, and the Nittany Lions had a 23-3 lead with 1:14 to go in the half.
Nebraska moved to its own 46, but got no more. Penn State took a 20-point advantage into the locker room after a half in which it gained 254 yards (133 rushing and 121 passing) to the Huskers 140. Allen and Singleton combined for 173 total yards to account for more than two-thirds of the Nittany Lions’ yardage.
End 2Q: Penn State 23, Nebraska 3
3rd Quarter
Penn State took it to the Nebraska defense on the opening drive of the second half. Grunkemeyer completed three passes to Peña for 40 yards and Allen carried five times for 35, including a 3-yard touchdown, to give the Nittany Lions a 30-3 lead after an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
Lateef converted two third-and-long situations through the air on Nebraska’s next drive to move the Huskers into Penn State territory. But after an incompletion on another, Durant sacked the Husker QB on fourth down to give the Nittany Lions the ball back at their own 38 with 6:16 to go in the quarter.
Penn State’s offense went three and out and for the first time all night a Nittany Lion possession didn’t end in a score. A kick catch interference penalty on the punt put the Huskers at the Penn State 41.
Nebraska took advantage of the good field position. Keyed by passes of 22 and 12 yards, the Huskers advanced to the red zone before Lateef scrambled for an 11-yard touchdown run to cut Penn State’s lead to 30-10 with under a minute left in the third.
End 3Q: Penn State 30, Nebraska 10
4th Quarter
Two minutes into the fourth quarter Allen carried for 3 yards to surpass Evan Royster as Penn State’s career rushing leader with 3,934 yards. On the next play, tight end Luke Reynolds took a fake punt 26 yards to the Nebraska 28. A pass interference call against Nebraska on a Grunkemeyer throw into the end zone put the Nittany Lions at the 13, and Allen took it from there, adding to his total with a 13-yard touchdown run. Penn State moved ahead 37-10 with 11:10 remaining.
Lateef completed a 30-yard pass to Barney and converted two third downs to lead the Huskers inside the Penn State 10. But a Dani Dennis-Sutton sack derailed the Nebraska momentum, and Lateef’s throw into the end zone on fourth and goal from the 12 went incomplete to turn it over on downs with 5:46 left in the game.
Penn State’s offense took the clock down to the two-minute timeout before punting, and Nebraska did little with its final possession.
Final: Penn State 37, Nebraska 10
