Penn State football made easy work of Delaware on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium, pounding the FCS Blue Hens 63-7 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
In his second outing as the No. 7-ranked Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback, Drew Allar was an efficient 22-26 for 204 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing score in just over two quarters of work before getting the rest of the day off.
Kaytron Allen became Penn State’s first player to rush for 100 yards in a game this season, gaining 103 and a score. Nick Singleton ran for 47 yards and three touchdowns as both sophomore backs joined Allar on the sidelines for most of the second half with the game well in hand.
Penn State finished the day with 541 yards of offense.
The Nittany Lion defense allowed a 66-yard Delaware touchdown run in the first quarter but otherwise kept the Blue Hens in check, holding Delaware to 140 yards of offense and forcing two turnovers, including a Dom Deluca interception return for a touchdown.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State set the tone early on both sides of the ball. After the defense forced a three-and-out, the Nittany Lion offense went to work with Kaytron Allen carrying the bulk of the load. He rushed for 37 yards on six carries, including a 17-yard run on third and 10, as the Nittany Lions went 60 yards in 13 plays. Nick Singleton capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run out as Penn State took a 7-0 lead.
Safety Jaylen Reed’s sack of Delaware QB Ryan O’Connor quickly ended the Blue Hens next drive and a shanked punt set Penn State up at the Delaware 37. Allar went 5-5 for 20 yards on the drive, and Allen ran four times for 17 yards, including a four-yard run for his first touchdown of the season and a 14-0 Nittany Lion advantage.
After two quick three and outs, Delaware got on the board on its next possession. Facing third and 1, running back Marcus Yarns cut through a huge hole at the line and raced 66 yards for a touchdown to narrow the Penn State lead to 14-7 before the end of the first quarter. The run accounted for all but 18 of Delaware’s 84 yards in the first half.
It was all Penn State for the remainder of the first half. Singleton scored his second touchdown of the day on a five-yard run to finish off a nine-play, 75 yard drive. On the Nittany Lions’ next drive, a 26-yard pass from Allar, rolling out to his right, to Dante Cephas set up Singleton’s third score of the day on a five-yard carry as Penn State moved ahead 28-7.
With just over a minute left in the half, Allar directed a quick drive from the Delaware 49. He ran 13 yards on a keeper and connected with four receivers, including a perfectly thrown two-yard pass on a quick slant to tight end Tyler Warren with 22 seconds left.
Penn State went into the locker room with a 35-7 lead, after keeping the ball for 22 minutes of the half and outgaining Delaware 322 to 84.
Allar and Allen led the Nittany Lions’ opening salvo of the second half. Allen ran for 34 yards on the drive and Allar was 4-4 passing before closing out the 10-play, 74-yard drive with a one-yard keeper for a touchdown.
With a 42-7 lead, that would be it for the day for many of the Nittany Lions’ starters — but not for the scoring.
On Delaware’s ensuing drive, Kevin Winston recovered a fumble forced by Keaton Ellis to give Penn State the ball at the Blue Hen 31.
Beau Pribula entered at quarterback and led the Nittany Lions on a five-play scoring drive capped by the redshirt freshman signal caller’s second touchdown of the season on a five-yard run as Penn State opened up a 49-7 lead.
The margin quickly grew later in the quarter when linebacker Dom DeLuca picked off a Zach Marker pass and returned his first career interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
While a steady rotation of backups continued to get the job done on defense, Penn State’s second- and third-team offensive players continued churning. Pribula led the Nittany Lions on a 74-yard scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, capped by his first career passing touchdown on a four-yard toss to Omari Evans.
Up 63-7 and with Delaware unable to make anything happen, Penn State ran down the clock to finish out its second win of the year.
NOTES
• Allar again spread the ball around, connecting with eight receivers, led by KeAndre Lambert-Smith with six catches for 74 yards. Including Pribula’s time leading the offense, 10 players caught passes.
• After a quiet night on the stat sheet in week one, Penn State’s tight ends were a bit more involved in the offense against Delaware. Theo Johnson had two catches on the opening drive and Warren had six receptions for 37 yards and a score (as well as a key block on Pribula’s touchdown run).
• Allen moved over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career.
• Minnesota transfer Trey Potts rushed for 59 yards on seven carries in relief duty during the second half.
• Penn State did not attempt any field goals. Alex Felkins went 8-8 on extra points, while Sander Sahaydak, who missed two field goals last week, converted on his only PAT attempt.
• Penn State celebrated the 50th anniversary of its undefeated 1973 team with a ceremony on the field after the first quarter. That team was the first in college football history to go 12-0 (though only finished No. 5 in the nation), was Joe Paterno’s third undefeated team and featured Penn State’s only Heisman winner to date, running back John Cappelletti.
• The Nittany Lions hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Illinois next Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon EDT/11 a.m. CDT on Fox.
