Penn State back Kaytron Allen gets lots of love and more of what they're saying after the Lions beat Delaware

No. 7 Penn State is receiving plenty of praise for the second week in a row after the Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 by squashing Delaware 63-7 at Beaver Stadium. Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined to score four touchdowns, while quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula accounted for four in the victory that saw 76 players take the field for the blue and white.

“I think first of all, you know, I challenged them at halftime and said, listen, we need to play better in the second half than we did the first half,” head coach James Franklin said. “You could make the argument that we gave up a touchdown in the first half and didn’t give up any points in the second half. So I think it’s a start right, it’s a start.

“I’ll have a better idea after we watch the film and really grade these guys. But it’s a start for the coaching staff to build off. But it’s also a pretty good example for young guys. And, I’m going to talk to the coaches about making sure they’re grading the fourth quarter as hard as they graded the first quarter as well. This will be really good film for all those guys to watch on Sunday.”

Here’s what is being said locally and nationally about the Nittany Lions following the win.

Lots of love for Kaytron Allen

Franklin went out of his way at his Tuesday news conference to ask outside observers to respect Kaytron Allen as much as the program does. He is receiving plenty of attention today after rushing 19 times for 103 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s hard to blame Allen for craving as many carries as he can get,” Johnny McGonigal writes for PennLive. “And it’s easy to see why Franklin, running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and the team value him so much and want him involved.Allen runs angry. He runs through people. The 222-pound back built a reputation in 2022 for being the thunder to Singleton’s lightning — for powering through contact, punishing defenders and getting the tough yards.

“That kind of approach paired with Allen’s ability is hard to find.”

Read the full story here.

Drew Allar is stacking days

Statecollege.com beat writer Ben Jones focused in on how Drew Allar’s play is inspiring confidence among his Penn State teammates. The starting sophomore quarterback completed 22 of 26 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown.

“When it comes to the play of quarterback Drew Allar, there is nothing about an opponent that makes your technique better or worse,” Jones writes. “You either make the throw or you don’t, you either make the read or you miss it. You either have good habits or you don’t. So as Allar waltzed his way to a 22-for-26, 204-yard afternoon that lasted just over two quarters, it was his first opportunity to stack good games back-to-back. And he did.

“There’s something to be said for that, because for all of the flashes Allar showed last year. And, for as well as he played against West Virginia, there was more optimism than evidence that Allar might be everything fans, teammates and coaches are hoping he can be. Seeing is believing, after all. Now he’s starting to show everyone that they can believe.”

Read the full story here.

Penn State run game defense cause for concern?

Mark Wogenrich of SI looked at the one chunk play Delaware had on the day. It was 66-yard Marcus Yarns touchdown run after the Penn State defense failed to fill its gaps properly.

“Delaware began its third offensive series with minus-1 yards of offense on six plays,” Wogenrich writes. “Then it pulled off the longest run against Penn State in nearly a year. The Blue Hens’ Marcus Yarns charged through a big cutback hole and outraced Penn State’s secondary for a 66-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

“It was the longest run Penn State has allowed since Michigan’s Donovan Edwards scored from 67 yards last season. And Yarns could have been stopped for a short gain, had linebacker Tyler Elsdon filled the gap.”

Read the full story here.

A special focus on special teams

We wrap up with one of BWI publisher Sean Fitz’s initial impressions from the win. It focuses on the Lions’ special teams.

“ We harped on the special teams heavily after week one,” Fitz writes. “Penn State’s kickers responded as well as they could when called upon, although the Nittany Lions chose not to kick any field goals today. Alex Felkins had a good day. He hit all but one of the team’s extra points (Sander Sahaydak got a crack at one in the third quarter) and had touchbacks on all four of his kickoffs. Gabe Nwosu put all of his true kickoffs into the end zone and only had his perfect touchback streak snapped when Joshua Youngblood tried to make something happen… and didn’t, thanks to a nice play by Zion Tracy.

“Nwosu popped one up by design before halftime that needed to be covered as well. Kaden Saunders is still catching the ball well on punt return. But, there’s still a question as to whether or not the Nittany Lions can manufacture some explosive plays out of the return game.”

Read the full story here.