No. 11 Penn State football (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) defeated Rutgers (4-7, 1-7 Big Ten) 55-10 on Saturday, capping off a cold afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Ji’Ayir Brown and Kalen King each had a scoop-and-score touchdown in the game, while running back Nick Singleton ran a kickoff back to the end zone for the first time in his career. Kaytron Allen and Singleton combined for 179 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 combined carries out of the backfield.
Saturday’s win marks the 16th straight victory for Penn State in its series with Rutgers.
How It Happened
Rutgers won the toss and elected to defer, giving Penn State the ball first. It didn’t result in much, though, as the Nittany Lions went three-and-out to start the game. Rutgers did the same on its first possession.
After Penn State wasn’t able to get much going on its next drive, the Scarlet Knights took the ball down the field before kicker Jude McAtamney capped off the drive with a 42-yard goal to give Rutgers an early 3-0 lead.
Then, things got a bit crazy. Running back Nick Singleton shook SHI Stadium with a 100-yard house call on the ensuing kickoff to give Penn State a 7-3 lead.
Rutgers answered with a long return of its own, as Aron Cruickshank returned the following kickoff 66 yards to Penn State’s 21-yard line. After gaining 17 yards on the next three plays, Wimsatt completed a four-yard pass to Shareem Jones for a touchdown to give Rutgers a 10-7 lead with 5:56 left in the first quarter.
Sean Clifford and the Nittany Lions went three-and-out on the next drive to give Rutgers the ball right back on its own 41-yard line. Manny Diaz’s back seven got lucky with Wimsatt missing a few passes to give Penn State the ball back. After a 36-yard drive, backup punter Alex Bacchetta came in to replace Barney Amor and fired off a 37-yard punt.
As if the game couldn’t get weirder in the first quarter, Marquis Wilson forced a fumble that got picked up and returned to the end zone by Kobe King, adding a touchdown to give Penn State a 14-10 lead.
Penn State quickly got the ball back after a short Rutgers drive, but Singleton fumbled and gave the ball back to the Scarlet Knights at Penn State’s 24-yard line. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, McAtamney came up empty and missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.
Freshman punter Alex Bachhetta dropped the snap while punting on the next drive, but Rutgers was offsides, giving Penn State a fortunate first down instead. Rutgers’ speed on defense was too much for Penn State to handle, forcing the Nittany Lions to punt again. This time, Barney Amor returned to the game and fired off an exemplary punt inside the Penn State five-yard line.
Wimsatt then threw an interception to Johnny Dixon, who took it back to the end zone for what would have been his first career pick-six. Instead, it was called back on a Coziah Izzard illegal block in the back away from the play. That didn’t seem to matter, though, as Clifford was able to lead the Nittany Lions into the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Warren. Penn State’s lead increased to 21-10.
Penn State then got the ball back after trading possessions. Sean Clifford turned on the jets and rushed 14 yards for a touchdown to extend Penn State’s lead to 28-10 — the same score that read at the end of the half.
Rutgers started the second half with a bang when Sean Ryan hurried down to Penn State’s 20-yard line on a 55-yard reception. Ji’Ayir Brown answered back with a 70-yard scoop-and-score touchdown to extend the lead to 35-10.
The Nittany Lions quickly got the ball back after a Rutgers punt. Sean Clifford led his offense all the way down to Rutgers’ three-yard line, but Penn State settled for a 22-yard Jake Pinegar field goal.
Once again, Penn State got the ball back, and Drew Allar checked into the game for the Nittany Lions. He didn’t need to do much on his first drive, as Kaytron Allen carried Penn State into the end zone on two carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.
The Nittany Lions came back knocking on the door of the goal line, but they settled for another field goal. Sander Shaaydak extended their lead to 48-10 on his first converted collegiate kick. Freshman signal-caller Drew Allar got the ball back and led Penn State down the field to score his first career rushing touchdown, giving Penn State a 55-10 lead that would carry until the clock ran out.
Takeaways
- James Franklin talked about starting fast all season, and it’s something the Nittany Lions were able to do successfully last week against Maryland. That didn’t happen this time. Penn State fell behind 3-0 and then 10-7 in the first quarter while working at a frustrating pace. Then, like most other games, Franklin’s squad picked up the pace and broke out in the second quarter, making the game a blowout by halftime.
- Penn State’s defense had another fabulous day. After struggling a bit to contain Rutgers in the first quarter, Manny Diaz’s crew completely shut the door, allowing Penn State to score 38 unanswered points. The defense also combined for two scoop-and-score touchdowns from Kobe King and Ji’Ayir Brown.
- The future is bright, folks. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are really something else. Singleton housed a kickoff for the first time in his career, while Allen continued to bulldoze his way through Rutgers’ defense. It’s just remarkable at this point.
What’s Next?
Penn State will return home for Senior Day when it takes on Michigan State at Beaver Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 27. The game’s kick time and television designation remain up in the air.
