Penn State beats Kent State 56-0, following their first bye week of the season last week. The offense turned the ball over on its first possession. Then, they really hit their stride in the second quarter and didn’t look back. James Franklin’s offense produced three touchdowns over a 5:34 span in that second quarter, building a 28-0 lead at halftime. The second half saw reserves get some work in, and the scoring continued.
On the defensive side of the ball, Penn State dominated from start to finish. The tone and physicality was evident from the first whistle, and it continued throughout all four quarters. While the defense did not produce any turnovers, Kent State only completed two passes and ran for only 49 yards.
Not surprisingly, the Penn State Nittany Lions beat Kent State by a wide margin. However, there were some surprises that arose during the game. Penn State lost a key depth piece on offense to an injury in the fourth quarter. Additionally, a leader on the offense contributed in ways that were not expected from him. The team will look to take the momentum from this win into their Big Ten schedule next Saturday night, against Illinois. It will be important to correct the relatively slow starts from the offense, which happened for the third straight game. The stakes get higher when the Big Ten games start.
Key Takeaways: Penn State Beats Kent State 56-0
Creative Kotelnicki
Despite some early bumps, Andy Kotelnicki’s offense is working. It can create havoc, especially when the Big Ten schedule starts against Illinois. Interestingly, he has not even likely shown the entire bag of tricks. Once in this game, Penn State’s offense lined up in such an unconventional formation that it caused Kent State to call a timeout.
It is possible to be too cute, though. On Penn State’s first offensive drive, backup Beau Pribula threw his first interception of the season. While it was a nice play by Kameron Olds of Kent State, the play seemed unnecessarily complicated as Pribula short-armed a throw to Tyler Warren. The offense needs to stop the trend of slow starts, and being too creative could prevent that. Against Kent State, it is easier to recover from an early interception, compared to against tougher competition, like Illinois.
The offense easily recovered from the early interception, gaining a school-record 718 yards. It was explosive, producing a lot of big plays. Drew Allar completed 17 of 21 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. In the running game, the team ran for 309 yards. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen each had 11 carries, with Singleton picking up 81 yards, and Allen 66. Allar and Pribula spread the wealth in the passing game, with 10 players picking up receptions across 409 yards. Cam Wallace’s injury took him out of the game in the fourth quarter. He is a backup running back and a key depth piece.
Kotelnicki’s formula of using the running game to open up the vertical passing game is well aligned with the likes of Allar, Singleton, Allen, and Trey Wallace. One player in particular that was mentioned, but not enough, was tight end Warren. We’ll talk about Warren’s performance below.
Warren Peace
Quarterbacks establish relationships with their key passing game targets. In some cases, communication becomes a look, a hand signal, or an inflection of the pre-snap cadence. Allar relied on Wallace early in the first game at West Virginia, completing his first four passes to Wallace. However, Tyler Warren has become a focal point in the offense. The performance and stature of Warren is enough to provide peace for Kotelnicki and Allar, both leading up to the game and in stressful situations where stars need to step up.
Warren was a frequent target of Allar in the Kent State game. He finished with 50 yards on five receptions, including the game’s first touchdown. Warren went beyond just catching the ball. He ran the ball out of the Wildcat formation. On that carry, he picked up 16 yards. Going back to his roots as a high school quarterback, Warren even threw a touchdown. His touchdown pass to Singleton, a 17-yard scoring play, put Penn State up 14-0 in the second quarter. It paved the way for the offense’s acceleration, which ultimately put the game away.
The case for Warren to be considered for the Mackey Award, given annually to the country’s top tight end, continues to grow. He catches everything thrown his way, runs good routes, and blocks well. In this game, he even ran and threw the ball very well. Warren made the tight end position one of strength for the team coming into the season, despite losing Theo Johnson to the NFL Draft. So far, Warren has surpassed what were already fairly lofty expectations. Speaking of Warren, Franklin said, “He’s the best tight end in college football.”
Dominant Defense
Defensive coordinator Tom Allen had his side of the ball ready to play this week. There was constant pressure on the Kent State quarterbacks. Additionally, there was no room to run for the Kent State ball carriers. It was an all-around dominant performance by the defense. They set the tone early, and unfortunately, it was evidenced by an injury. Dani Dennis-Sutton took down Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman on the second play of the game, and Kargman was carted off the field.
It was difficult for individual performers to stand out on the defense since there were not many plays. The Kent State offense only ran the ball 28 times and threw 13 passes. The defense allowed 67 yards, with 18 of them coming via the pass (on two completions) and 49 on the ground. Anthony Speca led Penn State with five tackles. Additionally, Abdul Carter and Dennis-Sutton each had a sack. Despite being happy with the performance, coming off the field after the game, Franklin said, “Defensively, the only thing we didn’t do is get a turnover.”
By the Numbers: Penn State Beats Kent State 56-0
Penn State beat Kent State handily, by a score of 56-0. Here are some of the key statistics that underpinned the Penn State win.
Offense
Passing: Penn State threw for 409 yards, compared to 18 for Kent State. Allar completed 17 of 21 for 309 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Pribula completed six of nine passes for 83 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. For Kent State, JD Sherrod had the only two completions, finishing two of six, for 18 yards.
Rushing: Penn State had 309 yards, compared to Kent State’s 49 yards. Singleton led all players with 81 yards on 11 carries. Allen ran 11 times for 66 yards. Penn State’s touchdowns on the ground were scored by Pribula, Wallace, and Allar. Ayden Harris led Kent State with 20 yards on 10 carries. Ky Thomas had 16 yards on four carries.
Receiving: Warren led all players with five receptions that went for 50 yards and a touchdown. Omari Evans led in yardage, with 116 yards on four catches, including a 59-yard touchdown. Liam Clifford, Singleton, and Khalil Dinkins had the other Penn State receiving touchdowns. For Kent State, Ardell Banks had one catch for 13 yards, and Luke Floriea had one catch for five yards.
Defense/Special Teams
Defense: Speca led Penn State defenders with five tackles. Carter and Dennis-Sutton each had a sack. Rocco Nicholl led Kent State with 14 tackles. Matt Harmon had the Kent State sack, and Olds had the lone interception of the game.
Special Teams: No field goals were attempted in the game. For Penn State, Sander Sahaydak converted all seven of his extra points, and Ryan Barker also had an extra point. Riley Thompson had two punts, averaging 35.5 yards per punt. For Kent State, Josh Smith had 10 punts, averaging 42.2 yards per punt.
Penalties: Penalties continue to be an area for Penn State to clean up. In total, they were flagged for seven penalties and 65 yards. Kent State was called for two penalties and 20 yards.
