EAST LANSING, Mich. — Leading 14-10 in the fourth quarter, Penn State found itself in a familiar situation. The Nittany Lions had been in one-score games in the fourth quarter of all but one Big Ten contest this season, failing to close any of them in the win column.
Entering the game at 3-6 and searching for their first conference win in nearly a year, the offense produced a nine-minute, 13-play, 76-yard drive on the back of Kaytron Allen, who willed the team to a 28-10 victory in Spartan Stadium.
“Anytime I go out there it reminds me how much I love football,” Allen said after the game. “Anytime I step on the field, like I said the Iowa week, football keeps my mind off a lot of things. Been a long year, long, long season … I just try to do it for my family, my mom and all them, supporters, everybody.”
On a day in which quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer completed eight passes — two to Allen himself — the senior running back torched the Spartan defense to the tune of a career-high 181 yards on 25 carries, plus half the team’s touchdowns.
Though Grunkemeyer only completed six passes to wide receivers on the day, one resulted in Penn State’s longest play of the year — a 75-yard bomb to Devonte Ross, which established a threat over the top and helped open up the run game underneath.
Nick Singleton added 15 carries for 56 yards, which didn’t light up that stat sheet but helped soften up the defense as the game progressed and allowed Allen longer runs later in the game.
“Kaytron, Nick, all of them, they were doing their job tonight,” Ross said. “You know, they was toting the ball whenever we needed it, calling on them and they’re making plays.”
Allen said “the whole game plan” was to pound the rock, “and it worked.” The Nittany Lions had 139 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone, more than half of the total output. Though he’s not known as a home-run hitter, Allen also provided some fireworks with a 42-yard run in the fourth quarter, his longest of Big Ten play.
“We’re going to play Penn State football,” interim head coach Terry Smith said. “This was an old-school Big Ten game. We dominated up front, and we threw the ball when necessary. And it was efficient.”
The game wasn’t always pretty for the Nittany Lions, who failed on two fourth-down conversions, were tackled for loss five times, took four penalties and scored just twice on their first nine drives, but after 60 minutes, Smith ended up getting his first Gatorade shower.
Allen, who bounced back from his worst output of the season last week against Indiana, touched the ball on 43% of offensive snaps and was responsible for 52% of the yardage. He made sure to credit the offensive line for their role in his success.
“Trusting them boys up front, I couldn’t do without them, so I appreciate them boys a lot for helping me do this,” Allen said.
With the win, Penn State knocked the Spartans out of bowl contention while remaining eligible itself, meaning one of its season goals remains alive.
“I feel like it was a big game for us to show our true identity,” left tackle Drew Shelton said. “A lot of people talking about how we can’t run the ball, things like that. Well, there it is.”
The Nittany Lions had the ball late and failed to put together game-winning drives against Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa and Indiana this season. On Saturday, the run game — powered by Allen — made the difference as the Nittany Lions finally closed out a game against a power conference foe.
