9/9/2023 football Edit

Players of the game from Penn State's 63-7 mauling of Delaware

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • Happy Valley Insider

Editor

The Penn State Nittany Lions dominated the Delaware Blue Hens on Saturday afternoon 63-7 as they get prepared for Big Ten play. Here are a handful of Nittany Lions who stood out in the rout of the Blue Hens on Saturday afternoon.

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QB Drew Allar

It was another terrific day for Drew Allar. Over the course of seven drives, Allar led the Nittany Lions offense on six scoring drives, completing 22-of-26 passing attempts for 204 yards and one touchdown. He also had 27 yards on five rushing attempts and one additional touchdown on the ground. For the season, the sophomore signal caller is 43-for-52 for 529 yards, four passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown.

"He's just steady eddy," James Franklin said about Allar's performance. "He never gets too high, he never gets too low, you can pat him on the back, you can scream at him, he's just steady eddy. His preparation on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, obviously, is a small sample size, but last year, I thought he prepared as if he was the starter, and he's taken it to another level this year. Doing a great job of managing the game, the clock, situational football, all those things, I've been impressed by him."

"I think the biggest thing is he showed signs last year, but it was a small sample size. This training camp, as well as these first two games, there's a ton of plays to be able to evaluated. What you guys are now able to see, a larger amount of reps and a larger sample size, is what we saw, really all training camp. It's exciting to build on. It really is," he later added.

Franklin also noted that Allar has shown what he can do both last year and this year, that it will be more challenging for defenses to gameplan for the Nittany Lions, considering they have two elite running backs as well as a quarterback who has shown what he can do on the field.

RBs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen

It was a fantastic day for Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Much like last week against West Virginia, neither running back was overly explosive, the longest rushing attempt for either being 17 yards, but they were productive. Together, they combine for 31 rushing attempts for 159 yards and four touchdowns.

Allen had the better day overall with 103 rushing yards and one touchdown across 19 carries, but it was Singleton who found the endzone a trio of times on 12 carries for 47 yards.

"Those guys have bought into the idea that we have two starting tailbacks; we will see how that goes week to week based on preparation," James Franklin said about his two tailbacks on Saturday after the game. "We're going to play them both like starter reps, and they're competitors; they want the ball, and they want opportunities to make plays, but they also understand the long term for their collegiate careers, but afterward, showing that those guys have a lot of tread on the tires and are fresh for their careers for the long haul. Sometimes, in the heat of the battle, they want more opportunities and more touches, but big picture-wise, they get it, they really get it."

Trey Potts also deserves a nod for his second half performance totaling 59 yards over seven carries.

WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith

After an impressive performance against West Virginia, Lambert-Smith continued to be a dominant presence in the passing game. The Virginia native totaled six receptions for 74 yards. He now has ten receptions for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season.

TE Tyler Warren

After a quiet day from the tight end room in week one, Penn State's tight room had a better day against Delaware, led by Tyler Warren, who had six receptions for 37 yards and one touchdown. The six receptions were a career-high for Warren, who came into the day with 16 receptions for 193 yards and four touchdowns.

Penn State's defense as a whole

We'll give a little bit of a cop-out here since no one Nittany Lion defender had a huge day. But as a whole, the Nittany Lions defense allowed just 140 yards of total offense, including just 82 rushing yards. Delaware's lone scoring play of 66 yards made up 47% of the Blue Hens' total yardage in the game as well. Penn State also totaled four sacks, seven tackles for a loss, and seven quarterback hurries in the game.