UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State Nittany Lion football team seems to be hitting its stride at exactly the right time.
After starting slowly in some games earlier in the season, Penn State has been putting its offense into gear from the opening kickoff and leaving little doubt about the outcome.
Against Washington on Saturday, Nov. 9, the Lions shot out to a 28-0 halftime lead and subsequently closed out a convincing 36-6 victory. It continued on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Purdue, but at an even higher level.
Penn State scored two first quarter touchdowns against the Boilermakers, took a 21-3 halftime lead, and then all but closed out the 49-10 win with three more touchdowns in the third quarter.
Drew Allar began it with two first quarter touchdown passes, one to Kaytron Allen for 2 yards and the other a 15-yarder to tight end Tyler Warren.
After a Purdue field goal, running back Nicholas Singleton made it 21-3 with a 10-yard run with just over six minutes left in the quarter.
Warren scored his second touchdown just four minutes into the second half on a 48-yard romp off a direct snap, and that was quickly followed by Allar’s third touchdown pass, this one a 46-yard arc to Harrison Wallace II that made the score 35-3.
Quarterback Beau Pribula capped the 21-point quarter with a 49-yard run around the left end, and the Lions had their ninth win against just one loss.
Both teams scored a touchdown in the last quarter to set the final score in a game where Penn State asserted itself on both sides of the ball.
The defense held Purdue to 85 yards rushing and 217 passing while the Lions were posting 539 yards of offense and completing 22 of 27 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns.
Allar finished with 17 of 19 completed passes for 247 yards and three scores while Pribula was five for eight for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Warren not only caught eight passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, but he was the team’s leading rusher with 63 yards on the ground including the 48-yard touchdown.
“I thought that was the best game we’ve played overall in terms of four quarters, offense, defense and special teams,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “We were able to play 68 players in the game, which was great. Defensively, we continue to play dominant third quarter football — 10 plays for 35 yards — while our offense was sustaining drives.”
Franklin also commented on some of his top players.
“Tyler Warren continues to just make plays in a ton of different ways and like I said before, he is in the conversation as one of the best players in all of college football. And Drew played really efficient, 17 of 19, 234 yards, three touchdowns, just really good all-around football,” Franklin said. “A lot of good things to build on. I said earlier in the week that we wanted to find a way to win this game and get better, and I think we did that.”
Next up for the Nittany Lions will be against Minnesota, 6-4. Minnesota is coming off a bye week following a disappointing 26-19 loss in Piscataway to Rutgers.
Before that game, the Golden Gophers had won four tough conference matchups in a row, over USC, UCLA, Maryland and Illinois, and were certainly looking to get to 7-3 heading into Penn State and Wisconsin.
Yet, Rutgers scored 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter on a touchdown, safety and a field goal to take a 26-16 lead.
Minnesota came back with a field goal, but time was short and Rutgers held on for the Big Ten Conference win.
Rutgers outgained Minnesota by just 52 yards, but it held the Gophers to 35 net rushing yards and recorded four sacks and a fumble recovery.
This season, Minnesota has shown a solid defense that gives up just 17 points per game and 120 yards rushing.
Senior quarterback Max Brosmer, a transfer from New Hampshire, has completed 218 of 325 passes for 2,251 yards and 14 touchdowns, while running back Darius Tayler has run 136 times for 708 yards and nine touchdowns. The leading receivers are Daniel Jackson with 63 catches for 712 yards and Elijah Spencer with 39 catches for 482 yards.
Coming off a bye week, the Gophers will be well rested and prepared for the Lions, especially since this will be their last home game before finishing the regular season at archrival Wisconsin.
For Penn State, now No. 4 in the country, the importance of each game increases as the race for a playoff spot approaches the finish line.
The Lions are clicking in all phases, but this is another game against a highly motivated, solid football team with nothing to lose.
