Penn State Football vs Rutgers: Key takeaways from the Nittany Lions' win
Penn State on Saturday afternoon recovered from a slow start against Rutgers, scoring 48 unanswered points to rout the Scarlet nights 55-10 in Piscataway. The win was the Nittany Lions' ninth of the season and third straight since losing to Ohio State.
Here are three key takeaways from the Nittany Lions' demolition of Rutgers.
1. Another dominating defensive effort....
After starting a bit slow in the first quarter, allowing 10 points, Penn State's defense found its groove in the second quarter. From that point on, the defense completely dominated.
After allowing 74 yards in that first quarter to the Scarlet Knights, the Nittany Lions allowed just over the remainder of the game. The Rutgers offense would only get past midfield one other time in the game, resulting in a missed field goal early in the second quarter. Outside of that one drive, the Nittany Lions forced three turnovers, including a pair of fumbles returned for a touchdown. They also forced seven three-and-outs over the course of the drive as well.
While the Nittany Lions didn't rack up the sack numbers that we've seen the last few weeks with just four, they were still swarming into the Rutgers' backfield, totaling 15 tackles for a loss.
The Scarlet Knights' offense was never able to get anything going on the ground in the game, averaging just 0.9 yards per carry as Rutgers had just 32 yards over 35 attempts.
2. The Nittany Lions run game leads the offense...
It was another strong game for Penn State's rushing attack as we expected coming into the game. The Nittany Lions in the game totaled 237 yards over 37 attempts, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. Kaytron Allen led all rushers in the game with 117 rushing yards and one touchdown over 11 attempts. Nick Singleton, who had a kickoff returned for a touchdown in the first quarter, had himself a solid day on the ground with 62 yards on nine attempts.
Both Sean Clifford and Drew Allar were able to have success as well, with runs of 14 and 19 yards respectively. Combined the two signal callers totaled 62 yards and one touchdown.
When it comes to the passing attack, the two quarterbacks were 22-for-36 for 199 yards and one touchdown. Sean Clifford was 17-for-26 for 157 yards and one touchdown while Drew Allar completed 5-of-10 passing attempts for 42 yards.
3. Special teams starts up and down but strengthen as the game progresses...
Like both on offense and defense, it wasn't a perfect day for the Nittany Lions on special teams. Nick Singleton did return a kickoff 100-yards and a touchdown and Jake Pinegar was once again perfect, that being said, Barney Amor struggled early in the game, backup punter Alex Bacchetta fumbled a snap on a penalty negated play, and the Nittany Lions also nearly allowed Aron Cruickshank to return a kick for a touchdown right after Singleton's own return.
That being said, as the game progressed Penn State's special teams strengthened and ended up having a quality day overall. Barney Amor finished with four punts pinned inside Rutgers' 20-yard line, Jake Pinegar was 2-for-2 in field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points. While they didn't have any more long kick or punt returns, the Nittany Lions' didn't allow any other long returns either.
Quick takeaways:
- Kobe King continues to come into his own and play at a high level. He had six total tackles in the game including two solo tackles and one fumble returned for a touchdown. Curtis Jacobs had himself a strong day as well with five tackles including two tackles for a loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.
- Abdul Carter.... nothing is surprising with him at this point. I'm also willing to say at this point, he's not just one of the best freshmen in the country but one of the best defensive players in the country. Four more tackles for him including two tackles for a loss and one sack.
- With Parker Washington out, Mitchell Tinsley stepped up very nicely with five receptions for 63 yards over eight targets. Harrison Wallace III also had a nice day with three receptions for 49 yards.
- Two notable stats to pass on, Penn State's freshman running back duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are the first freshman teammates in Big Ten history to total over 700 yards in a season. Additionally, Penn State has now kept opponents to under 200 yards in three straight games.
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