Penn State-Rutgers takeaways: Christian Veilleux leads Lions to win, backups step up, more

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State-Rutgers is over.

There is plenty to say following a 28-0 Nittany Lions win on Senior Day at Beaver Stadium.

Let’s get to the takeaways.

1. Recapping Veilleux’s Penn State debut

Before Saturday, Christian Veilleux last played in a game on Nov, 9, 2019, when he threw a pair of touchdowns during a playoff game loss for The Bullis School in Maryland.

Fast forward two years and two weeks, and the Canadien native was back on the field in a competitive setting when Sean Clifford exited early in the eventual victory. It’s unclear why No. 14 left the game, but he was not sharp and also missed warmups. Big Ten Network said that was due to him receiving fluids before the game. The veteran passer also held his right elbow at one point on the sideline.

Regardless of the reason, with Ta’Quan Roberson not on the sideline, Veilleux was the only option once Clifford went first to the injury tent and then the locker room at the end of the first quarter. He wasn’t a bad one, either.

Veilleux finished 15 of 24 for 235 yards and three touchdowns of 8, 17, and 67 yards. For a first-year player, he was not rattled by the moment and directed things with confidence. There is plenty to work on, of course, but considering how it could have gone, Penn State and its fans must be happy with the performance.

Clifford’s status for the remainder of the season is unclear, and the Lions won’t face this hapless Rutgers team again. But, there is reason to think Veilleux could close things out if he’s needed to. He showed at least that much on Saturday.

2. Defense shines again

The Rutgers offense is bad. Very bad, in fact. But, we’ll still give credit to Penn State defense for almost endlessly shutting it down.

Saturday’s visitors finished with 163 yards of total offense and endlessly found themselves in inopportune situations. They only threatened to score once, and then ended with a sack and forced fumble. Jonathan Sutherland had an interception, and Jaquan Brisker led the team in tackles.

3. Penn State forced to makes changes on both sides of the ball

Franklin said following practice on Wednesday that some members of his roster were dealing with a non-COVID illness. That seemingly impacted game day, as well.

While it’s impossible to know if an unusually high number of absences were related to that, another injury, or performance, it has to be mentioned. Rasheed Walker and Mike Miranda were both unavailable, which equaled more playing time for Bryce Effner and Anthony Whigan. Freshman Landon Tengwall replaced tackle Caedan Wallace after the first series and stayed there the remainder of the game. Penn State rolled mostly with a front of Tengwall-Wilson-Scruggs-Whigan-Effner.

In the backfield, Keyvone Lee and Noah Cain were the only backs to play with John Lovett not available. Then, on defense, Jonathan Sutherland played a season-high number of snaps at linebacker with Curtis Jacobs unavailable.

Veilleux played a bunch too, as noted above.

4. Meiga shows why so many were excited about his Penn State future

It’s true that Malick Meiga’s first score in blue and white came courtesy of a woefully blown Rutgers coverage, but the second-year Lion still took advantage of it.

With Penn State facing a 1st and 10 at its own 30, Veilleux rolled toward his right and found Meiga all alone at the Rutgers 49. After securing the catch, he looked over his shoulder once and then took off untouched for a 67-yard score.

It was a Canada-to-Canada connection, as both players hail from there. In addition to that, it was a terrific sign of what could be for the Nittany Lions in the future.

5. Final Penn State-Rutgers thoughts

—Parker Washington will need to be the No. 1 receiver next year, and he had a breakout game in that direction on Saturday. The Lion finished with a team-high six catches for 72 yards and a score.

—Mason Stahl made his Lions debut late in the fourth quarter with the home team holding a 28-0 lead. The walk-on is the de-facto backup if Clifford is out next week unless Roberson returns.

–While we noted above how bad this Rutgers team is, kudos to James Franklin’s bunch for overcoming a rash of illnesses and other issues to put up a shutout and double-digit win.

–What a day for Canadien-born Nittany Lions. Veilleux had three touchdowns, Meiga had a score, and Sutherland secured an interception.

–The Lions return to the field for their regular season finale next Saturday at Michigan State.