No. 10 Penn State (3-0) throttled a struggling Kent State (0-4) team 56-0 on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium in the Nittany Lions’ final non-conference game of the season.
The Nittany Lions racked up a program-record yards of 718 yards of offense (409 passing, 309 rushing) and held the Golden Flashes, who saw their first- and second-team quarterbacks leave with injuries, to 67 (18 passing, 49 rushing). Penn State’s yardage total eclipsed the school’s previous record of 711, set in 1926 against Susquehanna.
Quarterback Drew Allar was 17-21 for 309 yards and three touchdowns and carried the ball five times for 26 yards and another score in about two and half quarters of action.
With the game well in hand by the second half, Penn State was able to spread the wealth around. Eight different players scored the Nittany Lions’ eight touchdowns. Ten players caught passes — including six wide receivers, three tight ends and a running back — led by receiver Omari Evans’ four for 116 yards and tight end Tyler Warren’s five for 50. Warren even threw a touchdown pass to running back Nick Singleton.
Singleton led eight Penn State rushers with 11 carries for 81 yards, while Kaytron Allen had 11 for 66 as both sat early after the game was well in hand.
Penn State will next host Illinois for Homecoming on Sept. 28 at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff time — which will be 7 or 7:30 p.m. — and broadcast designation are still to be announced.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kent State went three-and-out on an opening possession that saw starting QB Devin Kargman carried off the field on a stretcher after a sack by Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton. The Nittany Lion offense looked as if it would get on the board quickly with a methodical drive to the Golden Flashes’ 25 that included a 16-yard run by tight end Tyler Warren on a direct snap.
But an ill-advised throw underneath by backup QB Beau Pribula was picked off by Kent State’s Kameron Olds to end the Nittany Lions’ advance.
Another unproductive Kent State drive ended with a Josh Smith punt that put the Nittany Lions at their own 11. Penn State needed just three plays, including a 21-yard pass from Drew Allar to Julian Fleming, his second catch of the year, to get back into Golden Flash territory. A 12-yard gain on Liam Clifford’s first catch of the season and a pair of Nick Singleton runs moved Penn State into the red zone, and Allar finished off the drive with a 16-yard toss to Warren streaking down the middle.
The nine-play, 89-yard drive put Penn State in front 7-0 with 2:38 left in the opening frame.
Second quarter
After a facemask penalty against Penn State LB Tyler Elsdon and a couple of runs by backup QB JD Sherrod and running back Ky Thomas moved the Golden Flashes into Penn State territory, Kent State opened the second quarter with a short gain but nothing more. Another excellent Smith punt pinned Penn State’s offense at its own 3.
The Nittany Lion offense picked up one first down but was forced to punt after starting deep in its own territory. Penn State’s defense quickly shut down the Golden Flashes again, with defensive end Abdul Carter’s first sack of the season forcing another great Smith punt that started the Nittany Lions at their own 10.
That’s when the Penn State offense put it into high gear. After a nine-yard Nick Singleton run picked up a first down, Warren made a catch-of-the-year candidate with a one-handed grab on the sideline for 14-yard gain.
Allar then connected with Omari Evans for a 38-yard gain, and Warren followed by taking another direct snap and passing to a wide-open Singleton for a 17-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Sander Sahaydak’s PAT made it 14-0 after a seven-play, 90-yard drive.
Kent State picked up a first down on its next drive, but second-string QB Sherrod was injured on a run and the Golden Flashes punted it back to Penn State.
After a 13-yard gain by Kaytron Allen, Allar threw a strike down the middle to Clifford for a 38-yard gain to the Kent State 24. Four plays later, Allar connected with Clifford again on a seam route in the end zone for a 14-yard scoring pass. The Nittany Lions stretched the lead to 21-0 with the six-play, 79-yard drive.
Penn State’s offense was back on the field following another Kent State three-and-out, starting at its own 25 with a minute remaining in the half. The Nittany Lions moved quickly, with a Allar hitting Warren for a 16-yard gain and then threading the needle on a 39-yard pass to Fleming. Allar then kept it for a 10-yard run and a five-yard keeper for the score with 15 seconds left in the half.
The touchdown was Penn State’s third in the final 5:49 of the half as the Nittany Lions took a 28-0 lead into the locker room. Penn State outgained Kent State 396 to 41 in the half. Allar was 16-20 for 250 yards and three total touchdowns.
Third quarter
Penn State’s dominance carried into the second half. The Nittany Lion offense opened with three straight Kaytron Allen runs totaling 16 yard before Allar launched a 59-yard bomb to a wide open Evans for a 59-yard touchdown and a 42-0 lead in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
Kent State was forced to punt again on its next possession, and Smith’s boot landed at the nine. The poor field position didn’t matter much for the Nittany Lion offense.
Pribula led a run-heavy, 91-yard drive capped off by a 16-yard touchdown throw to tight end Khalil Dinkins as the Nittany Lions opened up a 42-0 lead they carried into the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter
Plenty of backups and young players saw action in the final quarter and a half, and many made the most of the opportunity. On the opening drive of the fourth quarter, freshman tight end Luke Reynolds made a leaping circus catch for a 19-yard gain and third-team RB Cam Wallace broke off a 13-yard run.
Pribula connected with Tyseer Denmark for a 13-yard gain, the freshman’s first collegiate catch, and Evans got just short of the goal line on a 15-yard throw from Pribula. Wallace punched it in from a yard out to finish the eight-play, 67-yard drive, and Penn State extended its lead to 49-0 with 9:14 remaining
Kent State remained unable to do anything on offense and the Penn State offense got the ball back for a final drive. Pribula and backs Cam Wallace and Quinton Martin directed the Nittany Lions 83-yards downfield, with Martin’s 10-yard gain to the 1 breaking the total yardage record. Pribula kept it for the days final score, and Ryan Barker came on to punctuate it with the extra point to round out the 56-0 victory.
