BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Penn State’s freshman running backs combined for four touchdowns en route to the Nittany Lions securing a 45-14 win to give Indiana its sixth consecutive loss on a windy Saturday evening.
Running back Nicholas Singleton struck first for Penn State, plunging into the end zone on his first carry of the game for a 1-yard touchdown run. Indiana responded on the ensuing drive when quarterback Jack Tuttle, who was making his first start of the year, connected with tight end AJ Barner from 8 yards out to tie the game up at seven points apiece. The Nittany Lions were in command of the game from there and scored 38 unanswered points.
Fellow running back Kaytron Allen got in on the scoring act in the second quarter, finding pay dirt on two occasions, once on an 11-yard scamper and later for a 6-yard score. Just before halftime, kicker Jake Pinegar converted a career-long 50-yard field goal to put Penn State up 24-7 at the break.
Allen got his third touchdown of the game halfway through the third quarter, which set a new career-high for the freshman. In the fourth quarter, freshman quarterback Drew Allar threw Penn State’s first touchdown pass of the game, finding wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for his first career touchdown catch.
Daequan Hardy picked off a pass on Indiana’s next offensive series, which set the stage for Allar to throw another touchdown pass. This time, he found tight end Theo Johnson, which brought Penn State’s lead to 45-7. Hoosiers running back Jaylin Lucas scored a rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter with the outcome no longer in question.
As a team, Penn State rushed for 179 yards despite missing three offensive linemen from its starting lineup. Left tackle Olu Fashanu and left guard Landon Tengwall did not make the trip and right tackle Caedan Wallace, who journeyed with the program, did not play.
Freshman offensive lineman Drew Shelton had his first career start at left tackle, Hunter Nourzad got the nod at left guard before giving way to JB Nelson and Bryce Effner as the right tackle.
Sacks City
Penn State’s defensive line had a field day against Indiana’s offense, racking up six sacks in the first half alone while dominating the line of scrimmage as a whole. The Hoosiers had negative six rushing yards on 19 attempts in the first half and finished the game with just 65 yards on the ground.
In total, the Nittany Lions came one short of matching their most sacks of the season. In Penn State’s 41-12 win against Auburn in September, the defense had seven sacks, which was the prior season-high.
On the season, the Nittany Lions now have 23 as a team.
Up Next
Penn State returns home next Saturday to face a Maryland team that is already bowl-eligible with six wins but dropped its third game of the year this weekend. The Terrapins traveled to Madison, Wis. this weekend and fell 23-10 to Wisconsin.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa returned from injury to play against Wisconsin but was ineffective, completing just 10 of 23 passes for 77 yards. Before Saturday, the Terrapins’ only two losses of the season were to Michigan by seven points and Purdue by two.
Like Indiana, Maryland also beat Penn State during the COVID-19-impacted season, doing so by a 35-19 margin. The Nittany Lions have lost one other time to the Terrapins in the James Franklin era, which came in his first year leading the program in 2014 and Maryland’s inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten.
