Rapid Reaction: Penn State runs away from Idaho in opener
Final Score: #15 Penn State 79 Idaho 7
Brief Recap: Nobody expected Penn State to have any trouble with Idaho in the season opener, and it sure didn’t. The lopsided final was the largest margin of victory the Nittany Lions have experienced in the James Franklin era, and they got there by piling up over 650 yards of offense and shutting down the Vandals on the defensive side of the ball. Idaho finished the afternoon with just five first downs and less than 10 rushing yards. Running backs Devyn Ford, Noah Cain and Journey Brown had no trouble carving up the Vandals defense, either.
Key Moment: Believe it or not, Penn State actually struggled to find the end zone on its first few possessions, settling for field goals early in the game. With a 6-0 lead, Ford broke a 23-yard touchdown run to give the Nittany Lions a 13-0 lead with 5:03 left in the first quarter. After PSU broke the plain, it never stopped scoring.
Key Stat: Holding an opponent, any opponent, to single-digit rushing yardage is an incredible feat. Idaho finished the afternoon with 4 yards on 28 carries. That’s not too bad. Not too bad, at all.
Key Player: You could really take your pick, but K.J. Hamler’s performance was sensational. The sophomore caught just four passes but totaled 115 yards and scored two touchdowns. He’s already established himself as one of the top receivers in the B1G and one of the fastest players in college football. This kid is going to be a lot of fun to watch again.
What it Means: Honestly, a 79-7 win over any opponent looks great on paper. But Idaho hasn’t been good for a long time and the talent gap is so wide that it’s really hard to know how good Penn State really is right now. Plus, Franklin is known to run up the score a bit. Penn State’s talent positions played well, Sean Clifford was solid from start to finish and the defense was outstanding. We knew that would be the case in this game, though. We probably won’t learn much else next week when the Lions host Buffalo, either.