Watch Penn State head coach James Franklin's postgame press conference
Penn State improved to 3-0 Saturday following a 55-0 win over Kent State. While the Nittany Lions started slower than many expected, leading just 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, the offense turned it up in the second quarter, scoring 21 points in the final six minutes of the quarter. That was followed by a four-play, 75-yard drive in under two minutes to start the third quarter. The Nittany Lions never looked back from there, finishing with a school record 718 yards of total offense.
“We were more efficient today on offense. We were still explosive. I think we were 80 percent on third down, which was big,” Franklin said.
Quarterback Drew Allar finished the game with 309 yards passing and three touchdown passes in two-and-half quarters of play. In addition to completing over 80 percent of his passes, Allar also had a five-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with 26 yards rushing on five carries.
Highs & Lows: Penn State cruises past Kent State to wrap nonconference slate
Penn State’s staff then replaced Allar with backup Beau Pribula midway through the third quarter. The York, Pa., native immediately led a nine-play, 91-yard drive that resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Khalil Dinkins. Pribula finished the game for 6 for 9 passing with 83 yards. He also scored the final touchdown of the game with just over a minute remaining.
Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton both totaled 11 carries each. Singleton totaled 81 yards, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. He also caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from tight end Tyler Warren in the second quarter. Allen finished with 66 yards rushing, while true freshman Quinton Martin made his debut, totaling seven carries for 24 yards in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Penn State had 409 yards passing and 309 yards rushing. The offense also set a school record with 40 first downs. Defensively, Penn State pitched its first shutout of the season. The Golden Flashes totaled just 67 yards of offense, which was the eighth-lowest total since 1947. Kent State had just six first downs the entire game.
The Nittany Lions will now shift their focus to an undefeated Illinois squad that’ll come into next weekend’s game ranked in both major polls. The Fighting Illini already have two quality wins on the season, defeating a Kansas squad that was ranked No. 19 at the time back on Sept. 7. They then traveled to Nebraska on Friday night and beat the 22nd-ranked Cornhuskers in overtime, 31-24.
