More Than a Blowout

A record-breaking 56-0 route. It was a fun game to watch as a Nittany Lion fan! But ouch—literally with two quarterbacks going down in the first half—for the Golden Flashes who came off a 71 point shutout at the hands of Tennessee only to be shut out again.

For a moment Kent State looked like they could hang. Penn State’s first drive ended with a Beau Pribula interception and led by just seven points at the end of the first quarter, compared to Tennessee's 37 point lead the week prior. After a slow start, including an interception on their first drive, Penn State found its rhythm, scoring on six of their next seven possessions. If you have a heart you gotta feel at least a little bit for the Golden Flashes: outmatched in every category imaginable and nonstop pounded for 60 minutes, yet they continued to battle down after down.

With the grain of salt that accompanies a fantastic win against a less than competitive foe, the highlights are worthy of celebration.

Any time you can break a school record at a place like Penn State, with such a lengthy and storied history, it’s impressive. 718 offensive yards is the most ever in program history, surpassing the 711 yards against Susquehanna in 1926—a 98-year-old record! 

Eight touchdowns were scored by eight different players. Tyler Warren had an entire highlight reel to himself with five receptions for 50 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown from Allar and a one-handed grab. He rushed for 16-yards after a direct snap and threw a touchdown pass to Nick Singleton. “Tyler Warren is the most complete tight end in college football,” Franklin said in his post-game remarks. His teammates have described him as “an assassin” and as a “human swiss army knife.” Liam Clifford, Juilan Fleming, Warren, Omari Evans, Harrison Wallace III, and Nicholas Singleton all had multiple catches. All while racking up 39 first downs, breaking another program record.

Meanwhile our defense allowed just 67 yards. Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton each tallied a sack. True freshman Anthony Speca led the team with five tackles, and another true freshman, Dejuan Lane, amassed a pair of tackles in his first game as starter. 

All in all, the win was more than just a blowout; it allowed the Lions to play many of their backups and prepare for tougher competition later in the season.

James Franklin called for “white out energy” this coming Saturday night against Illinois. I kind of like the idea of taking the White Out back and not planning it so far in advance. Why not White Out when we need it, especially for a night game against a 4-0 conference contender. We have the best fans in the country, who show up no matter the threat of weather or the lackluster opponent. There’s no doubt we’ll bring all the White Out Energy, if not the shirts to match, this weekend. Go State! Beat the Illini!