State College, Penn. - Penn State's defense posted their second shutout of the season, Daequan Hardy returned two punts for a touchdown, and the Nittany Lions tight ends recorded three touchdowns in a 63-0 win over the UMass Minutemen.
Prior to Saturday afternoon, Penn State senior defensive back Daequan Hardy never returned a punt return during his Penn State career. By the time the third quarter was over, Hardy was in the Penn Sate history books with two punt returns for a touchdown.
Hardy would open the scoring on Saturday afternoon following UMass's second drive of the game, returning a CJ Kolodziey punt 56-yards for a touchdown. It was Nittany Lions' first punt return for a touchdown since Jahan Dotson did so in 2020 against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
The Nittany Lions offense which failed to score on its first two drives of the day, would find its rhythm following the punt return. Over the remainder of the game, the Nittany Lions offense would score on each of their seven remaining drives.
Penn State's offense wouldn't get on the board themselves until early in the second quarter when Drew Allar made it a 14-0 game on a "tush push" before Kaytron Allen added a touchdown of his own, his third touchdown of the season.
The Virginia native had a strong first half against the Minutemen, totaling 67 yards across eight carries, averaging 8.4 yards per carry. Fellow sophomore tailback Nicholas Singleton had a quality first half himself, with 43 yards on 10 carries.
The final touchdown of the first half came on a seven-yard touchdown reception by Tyler Warren with just over a minute left. It marked Warren's fifth touchdown of the year and the ninth of his career while capping off a 21-point second quarter for the Nittany Lion
The Nittany Lions' defense in the first 30 minutes was smothering UMass. The Minutemen totaled just 26 yards of total offense in the first half with 25 passing yards and one rushing yard. The Nittany Lions' front seven dominated the trenches recording five sacks in the first half including 2.5 from Adisa Isaac. Penn State also had 10 tackles over the first half of action.
In the third quarter, Penn State wouldn't take their foot off the gas. The Nittany Lions added three more touchdowns coming out of halfitme including a pair of touchdown receptions from tight end Theo Johnson. It was the first two touchdowns of the junior's season. For the day, Johnson would record four receptions for 66 yards and the pair of touchdowns.
As the third quarter was nearing its end, Daequan Hardy would pick up his second punt return for a touchdown, this time returning it 68-yards to extend Penn State's lead at the time to 49-0.
Penn State's domination in the third quarter continues what has been a strong trend for the Nittany Lions this season. Through six games this season, the Nittany Lions have otuscored their opponents 87-0 in the third quarter.
Transfer tailback Trey Potts would find the endzone for the second straight game, this time from two-yards out in the fourth quarter. The Williamsport native has had a small role for the Nittany Lions this season but has made the most of it thus far with 20 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He also has two receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown this season on top of one passing touchdown for 11 yards.
Beau Pribula would pick up his fifth touchdown of the season midway through the fourth quatrer on a 30-yard scamper. It was the second of back-to-back explosive plays for the Nittany Lions on the ground. On the play prior to Pribula's touchdown, walk-on running back Tank Smith would pick up Penn State's longest carry of the season, a 39-yard run that took the Nittany Lions into UMass territory.
Overall, Penn Sate's effort on Saturday was exactly what Penn State fans wanted to see out of the Nittany Lions. In what could probably be best described as a tuneup prior to their shodown against Ohio State next weekend, the Nittany Lions dominated on both sides of the ball, keeping UMass to just 109 yards of total offense while the Penn State offense once they found their groove was unstoppable.
NEXT UP
Penn State will be back on the road next Saturday afternoon against the top-five ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State will enter next weekend 6-0 on the season after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette 41-7.
The Nittany Lions will look to beat Ohio State for the first time since 2016 and to do so on the road for the first time since 2011.
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