Rapid Reaction: Penn State starts off slow in blowout win over FIU

Penn State didn’t have the smoothest of first halves against FIU. But the Nittany Lions pulled away in the 2nd half as they defeated the Panthers 34-0 at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

Drew Allar led a 10-play, 87-yard drive on the Nittany Lions’ second possession, capping it with a 9-yard pass to Khalil Dinkins as Penn State took a 7-0 lead with just under 4 minutes to go in the first quarter.

While the Penn State offense stalled out, its defense kept FIU from making progress of its own. The Panthers got down to the Nittany Lions’ 22 before Keyone Jenkins was picked off by Alonzo Ford Jr.

Penn State, though, couldn’t pull away, ultimately taking a 10-0 lead on Ryan Barker’s 41-yard field goal. But Barker missed a 53-yarder at the end of the half to keep FIU in striking distance.

The Nittany Lions opened the second half on an extended drive, but settled for a Barker-34-yarder that made it a 13-0 game 5 minutes into the 3rd. On their next possession, though, Devonte Ross made a spectacular catch in the end zone as Penn State made it a 20-0 game with less than 5 minutes to go in the frame.

Kaytron Allen added a 67-yard touchdown run late in the 4th before Chaz Coleman strip-sacked Jenkins close to midfield and returned it to the 5. Nicholas Singleton then punched it in to stretch the lead to 34-0 with just over a minute remaining.

Allar was 19-of-33 for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Allen finished with 144 yards and a score on 16 carries while Ross’s 3 catches for 61 yards led all receivers.

Penn State’s defense held FIU to 290 yards. The Panthers were forced to punt on 6 straight drives at one point and turned it over twice.

Penn State 34, FIU 0

Here’s the Penn State-FIU box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:

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Drew Allar vs Keyone Jenkins

A statistical breakdown of how Penn State QB Drew Allar outperformed FIU counterpart Keyone Jenkins:

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