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Rapid Reaction: Penn State overwhelms Rutgers is all phases for 55-10 victory
By Luke Glusco
Published:
Down 3 starting offensive lineman and its top receiver, Penn State needed a kickstart from its defense and special teams.
The Lions (9-2, 6-2) got that kickstart, and it propelled them to a 55-10 road victory over Rutgers (4-7, 1-7).
The runaway victory continued Penn State’s November run through Big Ten East also-rans, which it’ll try to cap at home next Saturday against Michigan State.
Penn State played without Parker Washington, its leading receiver, and again without linemen Olu Fashanu, Landon Tengwall and Caedan Wallace. Some mid-week reports had Washington done for the season with an injury suffered in practice, but the program had not confirmed that prior to kickoff. The defense was without corner Joey Porter (apendiciitis) for a second straight game.
But the Lions program, fueled by a dominant freshman class, is as deep as it has been in years, and enough players stepped up to squelch any upset ideas the Scarlet Knights might have entertained when they briefly led 10-7.
At the end of the first quarter, Penn State had as many touchdowns as first downs. Nick Singleton returned a kickoff 100 yards for the Lions’ first score, and Kobe King returned a fumble 14 yards for the second.
Not much else was going right early on for Penn State. Singleton and fellow freshman back Kaytron Allen had just 12 rushing yards combined on 5 carries in the first quarter, and then Singleton lost a fumble early in the second.
But all of that was just delaying the inevitable.
The offense eventually got rolling, the defense scored another touchdown and set up yet another, and Mitchell Tinsley stepped up in Washington’s absence.
Sean Clifford finished 17-of-26 for 157 yards and TD, notching his 30th victory in 44 career starts before giving way to Drew Allar in the third quarter. Clifford also augmented the slow-starting running game, carrying 7 times for 35 yards and a touchdown.
Penn State beat Rutgers for the 31st time in 33 all-time matchups and 16th time in a row, a record in the series.
James Franklin gained his 100th win as a head coach and 76th at Penn State, and got a big assist from first-year DC Manny Diaz in this one.
Diaz’s defense, with freshman linebacker Abdul Carter wreaking havoc, registered 3 sacks, double-digit tackles for loss, an interception and 2 fumble returns for touchdowns. Johnny Dixon returned the interception to the end zone, but that would-be score was taken off the board because of an illegal block. Clifford put the points back on the board with a 30-yard drive, hitting TE Tyler Warren for the final 10 yards. The other defensive TD was a 70-yard fumble return by Ji’Ayir Brown, set up by a strip sack by Curtis Jacobs.
Beyond the big plays, the defense harassed Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt into a rough outing. He was constantly throwing the ball away to avoid further sacks, and other times missing open receivers when he did have time. .At then end of the third quarter, the redshirt freshman was 10-of-29 for 122 yards and Rutgers had just 158 total yards and 8 first downs.
At that point, Penn State had racked up 386 yards. The ground game, despite the slow start, entered the final quarter with 224 rushing yards. Allen had 117 and a TD on 11 carries, including a career-long 59-yarder. Singleton broke one for 26 yards among his 9 carries for 62 yards.
The only frustration for Penn State fans? Allar, the 5-star heir apparent at quarterback, again didn’t get to play meaningful snaps. Penn State did continue to throw the ball into the fourth quarter, even leading 48-10, but Allar didn’t find much of a rhythm, starting 1-for-5. He did eventually lead a 15-play, 65-yard drive, finishing it off with his first rushing touchdown. At that point, he was 5-of-10 for 41 yards and had 27 yards on 6 carries.
The highlights for Rutgers were its 3-0 and 10-7 leads, a 66-yard Aron Cruickshank kickoff return and Adam Korsak setting the NCAA record for career punting yards.
Up next for Penn State
The Nittany Lions close the regular season at home next Saturday against Michigan State (5-6, 3-5) with the Land Grant Trophy on the line. More significantly, the Lions will be seeking a 10th win, top 10 ranking and favorable bowl bid, as well as revenge for a 30-27 loss to Mel Tucker’s club a year ago.
Up next for Rutgers
Their bowl hopes dashed, the Scarlet Knights will head to Maryland on Saturday looking to end the season on a high note.
Luke Glusco is a Penn State graduate and veteran journalist. He covers Penn State and occasionally writes about other Big Ten programs and topics. He also serves as the primary copy editor for Saturday Tradition.