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Published Sep 21, 2024
Quick Hitters: Takeaways from Penn State's win over Kent State
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Dylan Callaghan-Croley  •  Happy Valley Insider
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The Penn State Nittany Lions advanced to 3-0 on the young season on Saturday afternoon with a 56-0 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Nittany Lions totaled 718 yards from scrimmage in the victory while keeping the Golden Flashes to just 67 yards of their own.

Over the course of the next two days, HVI will be taking a look at Saturday's victory for the Nittany Lions. We start our post game coverage with a few quick hitters regarding the Nittany Lions win.

1. Drew Allar dominated, as he should

In these types of games, you want to see the starting quarterback dominate their competition. That's exactly what Drew Allar did on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The junior quarterback was able to pick apart the Kent State defense to the tune of 17 completions on 21 attempts (81%) for 309 yards and three touchdowns. After Saturday's performance, Allar is up to 729 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, and one interception.

2. Everyone gets a reception

One of the major concerns regarding the passing attack through the first two games of the season for Penn State was the lack of multiple receivers getting involved in the passing game. For the most part, the passing attack over the first two weeks was a combination of Harrison Wallace, Omari Evans, and Tyler Warren. All three were once again involved on Saturday but the Nittany Lions got numerous others involved as well. Overall, 10 different receivers recorded receptions on Saturday in the win with Liam Clifford, Julian Fleming, Nicholas Singleton, Khalil Dinkins, Tyseer Denmark, and Anthony Ivey all also recording receptions.

3. Nicholas Singleton continues strong start to 2024 season

Niicholas Singleton has rejuvenated in Penn State's new look offense under Andy Kotelnicki and after coming into the day with 26 carries for 233 yards and two scores, the Shillington, Pennsylvania native had another strong day with 11 carries for 81 yards while also recording two receptions for 22 yards and one touchdown. With the performance, he's now up to 314 total rushing yards on the season on just 37 carries, an average of 8.4 yards per carry.

4. Strong defensive effort but tackling must improve

It was a strong defensive effort on Saturday, no doubt about it. The Nittany Lions kept Kent State to just 67 that being said the Nittany Lions still had some struggles with their tackling in this one and had several instances in which they allowed Kent State's ball carriers to pick up some extra yardage. Obviously, it didn't matter in this one but as they enter Big Ten play, they'll have to clean up the tackling or teams such as next week's opponent, Illinois will make them pay for those missed tackles.

5. Nittany Lions continue to be undisciplined

One area that continues to be an issue for Penn State this season is penalties. The Nittany Lions had seven receptions for 65 yards in the win over Kent State. Like the missed tackles, it was never going to play a major factor in Saturday's game but as the NIttany Lions progress deeper into their schedule, they won't be able to afford those penalties. Through three games, the Nittany Lions now have recorded 22 penalties this season for 200 yards this season.

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