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63-0 Homecoming Dub Leads to the Showdown at the Horseshoe 🧲
Penn State (6-0; 3-0 B1G East) started the week ranked #6, beat UMass (1-7; 1-3 Independent) 63-0, and then proceeded to drop one spot on the AP Poll 🤡 🫠
Defense Remains Elite 🥇
I’ve run out of superlatives to say about this unit. They continue to play hungry and sound defense, no matter who the opponent is.
Offensive Identity 🪪
I said it to my Penn State football chat group yesterday and I’ll say it here. I believe Kaytron Allen should be the clear-cut RB1.
Special Teams… Amazes! 💥
Hardy’s two punt returns for tuddies were the first in the B1G since 2013 and it was also the first time that ever happened in Penn State football program history.
Stella Lion 🦁
Did Stella actually predict Penn State would lose to Ohio State?
Game Moments 🏈
For special effect, [Daequan] Hardy celebrated the Saquon Barkley way by swimming his way out of the endzone 💙
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63-0 Homecoming Dub Leads to the Showdown at the Horseshoe 🧲
Penn State (6-0; 3-0 B1G East) started the week ranked #6, beat UMass (1-7; 1-3 Independent) 63-0, and then proceeded to drop one spot on the AP Poll 🤡 🫠
Regardless. Folks, WE’VE MADE IT!
All Penn Staters had October 21 circled on their calendar as soon as the schedule was announced. We wanted a clash with one of the two B1G titans of yesteryear and that’s what we’ve gotten. Undefeated and ranked #3 in the country, to this point Ohio State (6-0; 3-0 B1G East) will be the biggest test of the season for the Nittany Lions. The hype train is so big that ESPN’s “College GameDay” and FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” will both be in Columbus.
James Franklin doesn’t want to begin talking about Ohio State until Tuesday’s presser. We won’t do much more chatter here, either. Again, this isn’t a preview column. It’s a reaction diary. And I have LOTS of thoughts after Penn State pummeled UMass yesterday.
Saturday should be a blast. Until then, let’s look back at the fun from this past weekend’s victory!
Defense Remains Elite 🥇
The recurring segment continues!
Look at these stats. The defense compiled:
14 tackles for losses
7 sacks
1 interception
109 total yards of offense allowed
I’ve run out of superlatives to say about this unit. They continue to play hungry and sound defense, no matter who the opponent is.
Here is one thing I noticed during the game. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz still coaches his team, even up big. There was a sequence in the middle of the third quarter, with the game already way out of hand, where Penn State missed several tackles on one of the longer plays from UMass. If you watch the replay, up top you can see an animated Diaz upset with the poor tackling efforts. He even wraps his arms around a ghost player, to show that he wants tackles to be wrapped, not bumps or pushes. It continues to be very cool to see how invested Diaz is after how poorly his head coaching tenure in Miami ended.
Last note about the defensive unit: I also love how the second and third stringers hold up the same level of play that the starters do. That isn’t always the case. But it’s the main reason why Penn State has pitched two consecutive home shutouts. The reps are valuable, no matter the score, and should be another boost to the Nittany Lions as they head toward a seemingly more demanding second half.
Offensive Identity 🪪
Running Backs
I said it to my Penn State football chat group yesterday and I’ll say it here. I believe Kaytron Allen should be the clear-cut RB1.
We’ve seen this play out in the past. For example, Noah Cain emerged as the primary RB1 in 2019 before getting injured and leaving the door open for Journey Brown to bust it open. Before that, and dating back to the previous season, it had been a rotating door of solid running back play. But nobody took the reins.
Yesterday’s performance from Allen seemed to be a statement game. He was physical and ran hard all game, this coming off an undisclosed injury he suffered during the Northwestern game. The running game has more pop when he’s in the backfield.
This doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Nick Singleton. Singleton is still the homerun hitter that Allen may never be. I’m guessing we’ll see one of those big runs, if not more, over the course of the next several weeks. But he’s lacked the production consistency Allen is providing. To keep the team on schedule, they’ll need Allen’s reliability on a regular basis.
Can Singleton sprinkle in some of those electric runs we saw last season? Time will tell.
Wide Receivers
We’ve waited a long time for the explosive plays to, well, explode from the offensive unit, and the return of Trey Wallace was a huge boost to that happening. Trey overcame an early turnover to become the reliable WR2 that Drew Allar and KeAndre Lambert-Smith have been seeking. If he stays healthy, Wallace adds depth and nuance to what the offense can do.
I also want to circle back to the turnover. That could have been a devasting moment for Penn State and for Wallace. Look how far Malik McClain has fallen since his two brutal drops against Illinois. And it’s been well documented the mental struggles KLS had early in his career when searching for production consistency. So to see Wallace bounce back and be targeted several times for Allar is gigantic for this team. Credit Allar for not giving up on someone he clearly believes to have special chemistry with.
Tight Ends
These dudes are also elite. We’ve seen how this unit can cover for a depleted or unproductive wide receiver core. Even when the wide receivers are having a good game, such as yesterday, the tight ends continue to be a problem for the opposing defenses.
Tyler Warren snagged a tuddy for his fifth of the season and Theo Johnson added his first two of the campaign to solidify his standing as a dominant presence on the field.
They block, they run, they score. Stay healthy, you two, because you are difference makers to this team!
Special Teams… Amazes! 💥
Yesterday’s game was a sleepy start for the offense. The rain was coming down and they were coming off a bye week.
Penn State was looking for a spark and it came from arguably the least likely spot: special teams! I’ve lamented regularly how the special teams’ headaches had to be so deflating. Yesterday wasn’t perfect, but to see three explosive plays come from this unit had to be a welcomed sight.
In fact, James Franklin echoed that sentiment during his postgame presser, saying:
We wanted to get him [Daequan Hardy] some opportunities and some reps (at punt returner), and obviously he did a phenominal job.
Franklin later added:
This is gonna change things for us, create issues for people evaluating us, cause them some long nights.
Hardy’s two punt returns for tuddies* were the first in the B1G since 2013 and it was also the first time that ever happened in Penn State football program history.
Pretty amazing!
* Hardy also tallied more return yards in one game than the team had in all of the 2022 season 😳
There were, however, still blunders this unit produced. They had their most productive game of the season but it wasn’t a clean game.
The two miscues follow a theme I’ve talked about all season. They can be cleaned up.
Better field awareness will help Cam Miller not have the ball unfortunately bounce off his leg for a turnover. That turnover wasn’t costly but it will be one game. And it almost happened to Miller on the next punt. Penn State didn’t punt many times, so to see it happen twice, one time being a turnover, was a bit concerning.
After going up 56-0, Gabe Nwosu’s kickoff went out of bounds for a penalty. This part of the game has been very quiet all season — a good thing — but it was interesting how Alex Felkins, the primary field goal kicker, came on to boot the final kickoff after Penn State went up 63-0. It could have been nothing; Nwosu kicked off nine total times. But maybe it was an audition of sorts for Felkins? Let’s keep an eye on this one.
Stella Lion 🦁
Did Stella actually predict Penn State would lose to Ohio State? Find out below ⤵️
Game Moments 🏈
Q1
11:57: For the second straight game week, we open with a Penn State turnover. It’s not what you want. Drew Allar dropped back and found Harrison “Trey” Wallace III slanting across the middle, hitting him in stride for the completion and the first down. Unfortunately, Wallace coughed up the ball before his knee hit the ground and the Nittany Lions surrendered their first turnover of the season on offense. Penn State 0 - UMass 0
4:32: The Penn State defense backed UMass deep into its own territory. The rush from the special teams unit almost got to punter CJ Kolodziey, who got off a clean kick just beyond the 50-yard line where Daequan Hardy received it. Hardy then made a couple of quick moves to avoid the racing defenders before turning upfield, finding all of his blockers ahead, and scoring the first tuddy of the game for Penn State. Hardy’s 56-yard return tuddy was the first punt return for Penn State since Jahan Dotson in 2020. Penn State 7- UMass 0
1:29: Nick Singleton started the game at running back but was having trouble getting traction. Kaytron Allen entered and immediately provided a spark, running for 18 yards, many of them coming with multiple UMass defenders draped all over him while he dragged the pile forward. This was a toughness statement from Allen that may give him a slight edge over Singleton at this point in the season. Penn State 7 - UMass 0
Q2
14:25: Allar didn’t lose confidence in Wallace and that proved to be a huge development. After the wide receiver fumbled early in the first quarter, he received another chance in the second and made the most of it. Wallace broke one tackle and was inches away from breaking another and taking this one to the house. In all, it was a 21-yard gain. This was an explosive play that showcased how having Wallace next to KeAndre Lambert-Smith can make the offense more complex for defenses to handle. Penn State 7 - UMass 0
12:41: Another tush push for Allar gave the Nittany Lions a two-touchdown lead. That play is no gimme, but Penn State has made it look easy through the first half of the season. Penn State 14 - UMass 0
6:26: Once again, Allen’s strength was on display as he bulldozed his way into the endzone for a 9-yard tuddy. Drap as many defenders on him as you want, Allen’s legs just keep on moving. Penn State 21 - UMass 0
1:05: Allar had enough time in the pocket to go through all his progressions and look to both sides of the field before he went back across the middle to Tyler Warren for the 7-yard tuddy. Right “on the money” as was heard on the Big Ten Network broadcast. Warren’s tuddy reception was the start of a special day for the tight ends. Penn State 28 - UMass 0
Q3
11:25: Again Allar had great pocket protection and took his time reading through progressions before finding Theo Johnson across the middle for a 30-yard tuddy. A throw, a catch, and a touchdown. The score was the first of the season for Johnson. Penn State 35 - UMass 0
8:22: Competition between two great players is always a positive. It looks like Penn State may have that with Hardy and Kaden Saunders. Saunders, who is also looking to get more into the mix on offense, has looked tentative and timid at times as the primary punt returner. After seeing his teammate take one to the house, Saunders almost broke off a big one himself. Still, the 37-yard return almost negated the 46-yard punt from Kolodziey, giving the Nittany Lions another explosive play and another explosive player option. Penn State 35 - UMass 0
5:21: My favorite offensive play of the game. Dante Cephas went in motion from the far side to the near side of the screen, Allar took the snap from the shotgun and found Johnson coming out of the backfield on the sideline for the reception. Johnson kept running forward and lept into the air right by the goalline before flipping over a UMass defender and scoring his second tuddy of the game. Electric and athletic from Johnson. Just awesome. Penn State 42 - UMass 0
4:13: Hardy’s second punt return tuddy showcased his speed out in the open. After he made a couple of defenders miss, he turned the corner and completely ran away from all the UMass defenders. He even saved one final juke for Kolodziey before racing to the endzone. For special effect, Hardy celebrated the Saquon Barkley Way by swimming his way out of the endzone 💙 Penn State 49 - UMass 0
00:08: Keaton Ellis grabbed what would have been a pick-6 before Penn State was called for a block below the waist on the return. No matter. Four plays later Penn State was on the board again. Penn State 49 - UMass 0*
*Penn State’s defense stifles in the third quarter. They’ve outscored their opponents 87-0.
Q4
9:18: A rare opportunity for Tank Smith—yes, his real name is Tank and he’s built like one, too— led to the longest carry* of the day. Smith rumbled for 39 yards, electrifying what was left of the 105,000+ rain-soaked fans. Penn State 56 - UMass 0
*This is also, pretty unbelievably, the longest carry of the season by any Penn State player.
8:39: QB2 Beau Pribula is definitely going to give opposing defensive coordinators something to think about. His legs continue to be a threat and he showed why on this nifty 31-yard tuddy run, putting an exclamation point on the Penn State scoring. Penn State 63 - UMass 0
FINAL: Penn State 63 -UMass 0*
*Shoutout to my friend Dalvin who pointed out that this was the largest shutout pitched by Penn State since joining the B1G.
UP NEXT ⏭️
Game #7: Saturday, October 21, noon ET at Ohio State from Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.