STATE COLLEGE — Only the most pessimistic of Penn State fans would have found a fault in their football team’s performance Saturday.
As expected, the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions dominated Delaware from start to finish, rolling past the Blue Hens 63-7 before 108,575 fans on a sun-splashed afternoon at Beaver Stadium.
Drew Allar passed for 204 yards and one touchdown and ran for another, Nick Singleton rushed for a career-high three scores and the defense beat the feathers out of the Blue Hens (1-1) in a tuneup for the start of the Big Ten season.
Kaytron Allen ran for 103 yards and one TD for Penn State, which travels to Illinois next week in its conference opener. It was the most points scored by the Lions since their 79-7 win over Idaho in the 2019 opener.
Penn State finished with 541 total yards, 315 on the ground and 226 through the air. The Lions also had a balanced attack in their opener against West Virginia.
“I think we take pride in that because there are times we’re going to have to run the ball,” Allar said, “and there are times we’re going to have to throw the ball. I think we’re going to be able to do both well.
“It’s really taking advantage of what the defense gives us. They can’t take away everything.”
Allar completed 22-of-26 passes and increased his season percentage to 78.2. He’s thrown for 501 yards and four touchdowns without an interception so far.
On the ground, Allen and Singleton, a Gov. Mifflin graduate, combined for 150 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.
“We pose a big threat,” Singleton said of he and Allen. “Drew can throw the ball. We have good receivers and tight ends. You saw what me and Kaytron did today, so the offense looks really good.”
Allen showed a lot of emotion when he scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter for his first touchdown of the season, slapping his helmet several times.
“I just love getting to the end zone,” Allen said. “Any time I get in the end zone and express myself that’s all I want to do.”
Coach James Franklin had three goals going into the Lions’ first meeting with Delaware, which was ranked 19th in both Football Championship Subdivision polls.
Franklin wanted more consistency from the kicking game, more third-down success by the offense and turnovers by the defense.
Mission accomplished.
Penn State (2-0) was 5-for-7 on third down and scored on five of its six possessions in the first half to take a 35-7 lead. The Lions converted on 9-of-15 third downs on the day.
“Offensively I just thought we were very efficient,” Franklin said. “We were able to stay on the field and sustain drives.”
Alex Felkins and Sander Sahaydak combined to make 9-of-9 PATs; and Dominic DeLuca returned an interception 26 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.
Keaton Ellis forced a fumble that KJ Winston recovered, which set up backup quarterback Beau Pribula’s 6-yard TD run also in the third quarter.
Delaware’s only bright spot was Marcus Yarns’ 66-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Outside that play, the Blue Hens gained only 74 yards on 41 plays.
“I thought we played really well on defense,” Franklin said. “We had the one play where we were not gap-sound. The ball found that gap, and they have some talented guys who can run.
“But overall, statistically, we were really good.”
One week after piling up 559 yards against Stony Brook, Delaware gained just 140 yards against a swarming Lions defense. Quarterbacks Ryan O’Connor and Zach Marker combined to complete just 6-of-17 passes for 58 yards.
Penn State sacked O’Connor and Marker four times and registered seven quarterback hurries.
“We take that very personal,” defensive tackle Zane Durant said about the overall pass defense. “We want to affect all aspects of the game as much as possible. That’s what we’re looking to do every game.”
Singleton scored his three touchdowns in the first half on runs of 2, 5 and 5 yards. The last time he scored three touchdowns in a game came Nov. 19, 2021, in Gov. Mifflin’s 38-13 win over Spring Grove in a District 3 Class 5A semifinal.
“The line is making holes for us,” Singleton said. “They make our jobs easier. It’s a credit to them. Coach Seider (running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider) always says, ‘Let them (defenders) feel it.’ Today we obviously did.”
Allar found tight end Tyler Warren for a 2-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the second quarter. He opened the third quarter by directing a 74-yard drive that he finished with a 1-yard sneak for a score.
Then it was time for Pribula, who ran for one score and passed 4 yards to Omari Evans for another.
Now, though, Penn State turns to the Big Ten part of its season, facing Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern the next three weeks before a bye.
“I know we have a tough challenge next week,” Allar said. “We’re going to see a lot of different defenses. We’re going to see a lot of talented players. Our coaches will get us prepared to play whoever we have.
“They’ve done that the first two weeks. I look forward to building off that.”
