Penn State toys with Rutgers, then erupts in blowout; Lions showed resiliency in win: What they're saying

Piscataway, N.J. — For the third time this month, Penn State earned a double-digit, blowout victory. This time, a 55-10 thumping of Rutgers gave James Franklin and his staff a chance to play many young players for a long duration of time in the second half.

“We’re playing good complementary football,” Franklin said. “I think we scored three non-offensive touchdowns which is special. We’re playing really good on defense. We’ve done it for multiple weeks. It didn’t feel like that early in the game because of the field position.

“Our defense was in tough spots from a field position perspective, but overall, we’re playing really well. Defensively, we got 16 different players with a sack. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard that stat before. That’s an impressive stat, we got a lot of guys that are able to contribute, so that’s been awesome.”

Here is what is being said locally and nationally about the Lions following the big victory.

Penn State toys with Rutgers before erupting for blowout win

That was the take from Cory Giger of DKPittsburghSports. The Lions certainly started slow but then turned it on in strong fashion from there to runaway with a 45-point triumph.

“For as hard as Rutgers typically plays — and to their credit, that is usually the case — it appeared as though the Scarlet Knights just kind of gave up as the game went on,” Giger writes.

“Penn State started having its way on both sides of the ball, and the competitiveness shown by Rutgers early on disappeared. That’s how this turned into a 55-10 game, and surely something coach Greg Schiano won’t like seeing when he reviews the film.”

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Rutgers’ punter’s record says it all

Dave Jones at PennLive latched onto a simple but sad fact: Rutgers punter Adam Korsak is now the NCAA all-time leader in career punting yards. That only happens one way: A team is so bad that it must punt almost endlessly. That has been and will continue to be the Scarlet Knights’ m.o. until they recruit better and develop more talent.

“Penn State always owned it before Rutgers and Maryland entered the league in 2014,” Jones writes. “And Franklin has owned these schools during his concurrent tenure. He arrived at Penn State when they arrived in the league. And he’s never allowed them more than an occasional breath above water.

“While beating OSU and UM is the ultimate goal, to do it, he must keep tattooing his only two local competitors for the talent in his extended backyard. He’s certainly doing that much. Until that changes, Rutgers can remain known as a great punting school.”

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Lions showed resiliency in latest win

That’s the outlook from Centre Daily Times beat writer Jon Sauber. And, that’s a good sign for the future. He writes:

“Now it must take the next step. It seems to have regained its consistent footing as a top-10 team that can challenge the best programs but may not be able to overcome them. There is still room for more, though, and Brown knows it too. He expressed his sadness over not being able to go out having achieved the team’s highest goals. The hope for the Nittany Lions is that the next group of players like Brown will not be proud of their consistency. Instead they’ll be proud of reaching the mountaintop, of achieving the highest peaks in college football — making the College Football Playoff.

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Penn State defense was ‘suffocating’

That’s how BWI senior editor Nate Bauer saw it. It was a very good day for Manny Diaz and co., after some early mishaps.

“Though Rutgers managed a field goal and touchdown on its second and third possession of the game, respectively, Penn State allowed just 33 and 21 yards gained in the short series,” Bauer writes. “Rather, in the wake of linebacker Kobe King’s fumble recovery for a touchdown to close the first quarter, the Nittany Lions began and continued a streak of bullying.

“Until Rutgers’ final possession of the game, at that point trailing by 45 points, the Nittany Lions allowed no possessions of more than six plays. Only once until that point did the Scarlet Knights exceed 26 yards in any of its possessions. And, most important, with the fumble recovery for a touchdown, the Johnny Dixon interception leading to Penn State’s first offensive score to Tyler Warren, and a dramatic sack-fumble-six for Curtis Jacobs and Ji’Ayir Brown, the Nittany Lions turned three turnovers into 21 points.”

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