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Published Sep 22, 2024
Grading Penn State's 56-0 win over Kent State
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Dylan Callaghan-Croley  •  Happy Valley Insider
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@RivalsDylanCC

Saturday afternoon's victory for the Nittany Lions was just about perfect. Other than turning the ball over once, which was more bad luck than anything, and failing to create a turnover, there is very little to gripe about from Penn State's 56-0 shellacking of Kent State.

With that said, let's handout grades for the Nittany Lion performance.

QUARTERBACK: A+

The only blemish today for Penn State was a Beau Pribula interception on the Nittany Lions first drive of the game. James Franklin in his post game press conference took the blame off Pribula in a way, noting that the Kent State defensive linemen "twisted" into the coverage almost by accident and was in a perfect spot to pick the ball off. Outside that interception, Drew Allar was fantastic completing 17-of-21 passing attempts for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Pribula bounced back from the interception completing six of his eight remaining passing attempts for 83 yards and one touchdown.

RUNNING BACKS: A+

There won't be any complaints about Penn State's rushing attack after this one. As a whole, the Nittany Lions offense ran for 309 yards in the game led by Nicholas Singleton (81 yards) and Kaytron Allen (61 yards). Cam Wallace was solid on nine attempts for 39 yards and a touchdown, he did, however leave late in the game with what appeared to be a poetntially significant ankle injury. True freshman Quinton Martin made his debut in the fourth quarter and showed some promise as well including a 10-yard run which almost resulted in a touchdown in the final minute.

WIDE RECEIVER: A+

Another position group, another A+. The Nittany Lions wide receivers were getting strong seperation throughout the game. Omari Evans had the biggest game of his career thus far with four receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. Liam Clifford and Julian Fleming after quiet first two games of the season had quality performances thsmelves; Clifford finished with three receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown while Fleming had two receptions for 60 yards. Anthony Ivey and Tyseer Denmark both also recorded receptions in the contest.

TIGHT END: A+

We won't be handing out only A+'s in this article. That being said, the tight ends were once again strong for Penn State. Tyler Warren continues to be one of the best tight ends in the country with five receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown. Freshman tight end Luke Reynolds had a phenomenal reception in the second half and Khalil Dinkins found the endzone as well in the game.


OFFENSIVE LINE: B

The offensive line for the Nittany Lions on Saturday had some moments in which they struggled. There were a handful of times that the Golden Flashes found their way into the Penn State backfield and got pressure on Drew Allar or were able to pick up sacks. It wasn't a bad performance by any means but it should've been a game that the offensive line thoroughly dominated from start to finish and that simply didn't happen on Saturday. The Nittany Lions offensive line remains a work in progress as they head into Big Ten play.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A-

When keeping an opponent to just 1.6 yards per carry, a A- sounds a bit harsh. That being said, the Nittany Lions did struggle at tackling at times including on the defensive line, allowing the Golden Flashes to pick up some extra yardage at times. The pass rush didn't get many opportunities to impact the game either with just 13 Kent State passing attempts but were getting consistent pressure on the Golden Flashes trio of quarterbacks when given opportunities. Among the notables


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