Penn State football (2-5) took care of business with its 23-7 win over Rutgers (2-5) Saturday afternoon in Piscataway.
The Nittany Lions dominated the Scarlet Knights from the beginning, totaling 229 yards compared to Rutgers’ 43 in the first half. Penn State struggled a bit in the third quarter, but was ultimately able to close out the game in the final 15 minutes.
The win was not only Penn State’s second of the season, but also the 900th in program history.
How It Happened
Rutgers won the toss and deferred to the second half, which gave Sean Clifford and the offense the ball to start the game.
The offense got it going early on by picking up a few first downs on the ground and through the air with short passes.
Penn State faced a fourth-and-long later in the drive and went for it instead of attempting a 48-yard field goal into the wind. The Nittany Lions came up short and got no points after a 17-play drive that lasted over six minutes.
Penn State’s defense picked up the offense on the next drive. Rutgers went for it on fourth-and-short and the Nittany Lions stuffed Johnny Langan short of the first down marker to give Penn State the ball back in Rutgers’ territory with 5:53 left in the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions quickly took advantage of the nice field position. On the fifth play of the drive, Clifford connected with an open Parker Washington across the middle for a 29-yard touchdown to put Penn State up 7-0 with 3:32 left in the first quarter.
This strike from Sean Clifford to Parker Washington gave Penn State the first quarter lead pic.twitter.com/Q3R6EcKkah
— StateCollege.com (@StateCollegecom) December 5, 2020
After Rutgers went three and out, Will Levis checked in and picked up two first downs with his legs before the first quarter ended.
Penn State continued to pick up first downs on the ground at the start of the second quarter, as Clifford and Devyn Ford drove the Nittany Lions down into the red zone. However, the Scarlet Knight held Penn State to a Jake Pinegar field goal attempt, which he converted from 30 yards out to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 10-0.
On the ensuing drive, Rutgers went for it on fourth and short in its own territory, and once again came up short to give Penn State great field position.
Following a Keyvone Lee 21-yard run and a third down conversion from Clifford and Isaac Lutz, Ford ran untouched for a seven-yard touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 17-0 with 6:21 left in the first half.
Welcome back to the end zone, Devyn Ford pic.twitter.com/FY2krIA6vs
— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 5, 2020
Rutgers went three and out, but Penn State gave the ball right back when Ford fumbled on the first play of the drive. It appears that the ball touched a Scarlet Knight while his foot was out of bounds, but the call on the field stood and Rutgers took over on Penn State’s 35-yard line.
Neither team was able to get anything going for the rest of the half and Penn State took a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
On just the second play of the second half, Ellis Brooks forced a fumble and Penn State recovered on Rutgers’ 39-yard line. The Nittany Lions were unable to pick up a first down and settled for a Jordan Stout 47-yard field goal to put them up 20-0 with 11:38 left in the third quarter.
Following a Rutgers punt, Clifford’s pass was tipped and then intercepted by Christian Izien to set the Scarlet Knights up on Penn State’s 36-yard line. Later in the drive, on a fourth and goal, Noah Vedral threw up a prayer and it was caught for a touchdown by Bo Melton to cut Penn State’s lead to 20-7 with 4:56 left in the quarter.
Penn State responded with three straight ineffective quarterback runs by Levis and punted the ball right back to Rutgers. Rutgers wasn’t able to capitalize, as the Scarlet Knights went three and out.
A few drives later, Penn State took over at its own 2-yard-line and drove 88 yards down the field on the ground, mostly on the back of the true freshman Lee, who led all rushers with 95 yards on the day. The drive ended with a Pinegar 27-yard field goal to extend Penn State’s lead to 23-7 with 7:27 left in the game.
Rutgers wasn’t able to mount a comeback in the final seven minutes and the game ended with consecutive sacks by the Nittany Lion defense to close out the 23-7 Penn State win.
Takeaways
- Penn State completely dominated Rutgers in the first half, which is something the Nittany Lions have struggled with for much of the season. James Franklin’s squad totaled 229 yards compared to Rutgers’ 43, as well outscoring the Scarlet Knights 17-0. Additionally, Penn State picked up 14 first downs in the first 30 minutes of action and Rutgers only managed two.
- The Nittany Lions controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball throughout the game. Penn State’s defensive line dominated, allowing the Scarlet Knights to average just 2.9 yards per attempt. On offense, the Nittany Lions ran for 248 yards behind a great performance from the offensive line.
- Will Levis’ usage in this game was a bit curious. The Nittany Lions often subbed Levis into the game, as he ran the ball 17 times. However, he attempted zero passes, which basically told the defense what play was coming whenever he was in the game.
What’s Next
Penn State will close out its regular season next week with a home matchup against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium. The time and channel of the game are currently unknown.
