University Park, PA— Penn State hosted its annual White Out Game against the Washington Huskies— Washington’s first trip to Happy Valley since joining the Big Ten this year. The ninth largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history (110,233) got to witness a dominant first half that led to Penn State taking a dominant 28-0 lead into the locker room.
The Penn State offense gained 264 yards on four drives, all ending in touchdowns. Meanwhile, PSU’s defense held the Husky offense to a mere 71 yards. The defense was so dominant super senior transfer quarterback Will Rogers was benched after the break in favor of true freshman Demond Williams Jr.
Ultimately the first half advantage was more than enough for Penn State to win by a wide margin of 35-6. This result gives validation to Penn State’s current No. 6 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. We should also see PSU move up Tuesday night. Two teams above it, No. 3 Georgia (@ Ole Miss) and No. 4 Miami (@ Georgia Tech), both lost Saturday.
Pressure, Pressure, Pressure
The Penn State defense was reminiscent of the one coached by Manny Diaz the previous two seasons. It put together a performance of nine tackles for loss and five sacks. The nine TFLs accounted for -51 yards for the Husky offense, -39 of those yards from the five sacks.
The TFLs and sacks only tell part of the story. From the jump, the Penn State defense set up camp in the Washington backfield. At no time during this game did either signal caller ever get to set his feet on a consistent basis. Combined, the two opposing quarterbacks were 16-23 for only 119 yards. Will Rogers also threw an interception to Jaylen Reed who doing his best John Fogerty impersonation, playing “Centerfield.”
While the Husky offense struggled through the air, it seemingly had a rougher night on the ground. Washington averaged just 2.2 yard per carry on 33 attempts for a total of 74 yards. On every tote either Jonah Coleman or Adam Mohammed were dodging at least one Penn State defender before making any progress upfield.
After the game when Penn State LB Kobe King was asked what changed, he credited the preparation this week. When asked about why the defensive line was able to perfectly the time the snap almost every play he said, “We were just on point. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Clicking on All Cylinders
The Penn State offense has struggled at times this season. The performance last week against Ohio State certainly left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. Seven days after tallying 270 yards against the Buckeyes, the offense was just six yards shy (264) of totaling that number in the first half alone tonight.
In part, this was because Penn State QB Drew Allar was able to find his wide receivers. Combined that position group tallied 8 receptions for 123 yards and a score. Julian Fleming recorded his first touchdown for the Blue and White. It was also Penn State’s first touchdown by a wide receiver in Big Ten play. Trey Wallace led the way with catches and yards five and 84, respectively.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Fleming is the first Penn State receiver to reach the end zone in 2024 Big Ten action. https://t.co/PqVRpnIr1e
— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) November 10, 2024
This game, finally, felt like the running backs were one tackle away from breaking a big one. That hasn’t been the case since probably before the Nick Singleton injury earlier in the season. The offensive line was opening up holes and the running backs found them. Kaytron Allen led the way with 20 carries for 98 yards and a score.
It wouldn’t be a Penn State football article this year without mention of Tyler Warren. The do-it-all tight end didn’t touch the ball until about two and a half minutes into the second quarter. He then got heavily involved. Twice he took a direct snap from the “Warrencat” formation at the two yard line and scored on both attempts. A sight that, to Penn State fans, was a week and a few hours too late.
While the offense faltered in the second half, only scoring once, I wouldn’t read that much into it. The focus level may have dipped after taking the 28-0 lead into the half. Also, the second half didn’t flow as well in general. I saw enough in the first half to know that the proper adjustments have been made after last week’s pitiful performance.
Fountain of Youth
The White Out is typically Penn State’s most important game of the season. That often means younger, more inexperienced players don’t get to see the field let alone make an impact. Queue Audavion Collins. The transfer sophomore from Covington, GA made his presence known in the defensive secondary. He was credited with five tackles including a sack late in the game. He also came up with the tackle on Washington’s final offensive play of the game–a fourth and 11 deep inside Penn State territory.
Arguably, Collins should be awarded with an interception in the second quarter. Will Rogers threw a pass to Giles Jackson. Collins blanketed Jackson. He managed to rip the ball out of the Husky’s grasp and fell to the ground with the ball in his arms. The play went to review and ended up remaining a completion for Washington.
And on the offensive side, Corey Smith took advantage of his opportunity. He entered the game in the fourth quarter after Singleton left the game, seemingly with an injury. He failed to score in a goal line situation, Kaytron Allen ultimately punched that one in. On the next drive however, he broke free for a 78 yards.
He finished the game with five carries for 95 yards. If Nick Singleton is unable to suit up next week, Smith might become Penn State’s new home run hitter from the backfield.
