Happy Valley, PA—-Penn State’s offense took a little time to warm up, but once Drew Allar found his rhythm and grove, there was no stopping the No. 10 Nittany Lions. The junior quarterback threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Lions dominated Kent State 56-0.
Tyler Warren, Nick Singleton, Liam Clifford, Omari Evans, and Khalil Dinkins all caught touchdown passes, contributing to Penn State’s record-breaking 718 total yards of offense. Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes were held to just 67 yards, six first downs, and were forced to punt 10 times.
The previous school record for total offense had stood since 1926, when Penn State gained 707 yards against Susquehanna.
Head coach James Franklin emphasized the importance of getting many players onto the field. “Our veteran players played well enough to get a ton of guys in the locker room on the field who deserve to play,” Franklin said. “That’s going to be great film for us to learn from.”
Though Penn State started the game with a turnover, they quickly rebounded, scoring on six of their next seven possessions. For Kent State, the game started disastrously and only got worse. After a 71-0 loss to No. 7 Tennessee the previous week, they lost their top two quarterbacks to injuries early in the first half.
Starting quarterback Devin Kargman was stretchered off after being sacked by Dani Dennis-Sutton on just the second play of the game. Backup JD Sherrod also went down with a non-contact ankle injury early in the second quarter. Tommy Ulatowski, the third-string quarterback, finished the game 0-for-6.
Kargman was taken to the hospital, and head coach Kenni Burns said he would provide updates on the players’ conditions on Monday. Sherrod was seen in a walking boot and crutches after the game.
“There’s always going to be a physical aspect to football, but today was a little rougher than usual,” Burns said. “Still, I thought our guys kept fighting.”
Despite Penn State’s slow start, Allar soon found his groove, leading his team to a dominant performance. He connected with Warren for a 16-yard touchdown late in the first quarter and followed it with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Singleton in the second quarter. A 14-yard pass to Clifford and a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Allar made it 28-0 by halftime.
Allar finished with 17 completions out of 21 attempts for 309 yards. He was replaced by Beau Pribula in the second half, who threw a touchdown to Dinkins and directed two more scoring drives, including a 1-yard touchdown run by Cam Wallace.
Dennis-Sutton, who sacked Kargman, expressed concern for the injured quarterback. “You never want to see someone get hurt,” he said. “It’s a violent sport, but you never want to purposely take anyone out. I hope their quarterbacks and all their players are okay.”