No. 7 Penn State roars Delaware for its second straight victory

On a gloomier Happy Valley afternoon, No. 7 Penn State fought against Delaware for the first time in program history.

The Nittany Lions pounced on the Blue Hens 63-7 en route to 2-0 on the season.

Penn State won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, giving Delaware the opening possession of the game where Ryan O’Connor and his offense failed to convert a first down, forcing the Blue Hens to punt.

The Nittany Lions took the field and immediately got their tight ends involved with the first offensive play of the game when Drew Allar connected with Theo Johnson.

In a more methodical approach, Penn State established the run game with Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton; the opening drive lasted nearly six minutes, with Singleton rushing two yards into the endzone for the score.

The blue and white’s defense forced Delaware into another three and ou,t with Jaylen Reed sacking O’Connor for the first time in his career. Ryan Kost’s short punt provided the Nittany Lions possession still within blue and yellow territory.

Once again, the Allar-led offense relied on the team’s rushing playmakers since Delaware kept tight coverage on passing targets. This time, Allen received the handoff to score, putting Penn State up 14-0 before the Blue Hen’s exploited the Nittany Lions’ defensive weakness: the rush.

Three plays and 1:11 later, Marcus Yarns broke free through the interior’s tackle attempts and sprinted 66 yards to the house. Beaver Stadium appeared speechless in confusion while the Blue Hens celebrated.

Penn State’s offense returned to the field unphased and marched down in nine plays lasting 4:15, ending with Singleton’s second score. Defensively, the Nittany Lions started applying more pressure, forcing Zach Marker (who took over for O’Connor) into tricky situations where the Blue Hens struggled to convert first downs.

Establishing the running game early allowed the passing game to open up as Allar became more comfortable taking the option or finding his targets. Going through his progressions with ease, the sophomore was able to maneuver through the pocket and hit his open receivers.

A catch by Dante Cephas from a scrambling Allar put the Nittany Lions in scoring position, allowing Singleton to rush for his third score of the half.

In the final minute of the half, Penn State drove down the field primarily in the air. Connections between Lambert-Smith and Harrison Wallace allowed for quick progression down the field. After a pass interference call on the Blue Hens, Allar found Tyler Warren to lead 35-7 heading into the break.

Allar remained at quarterback to start the second half while other positions started to rotate to the twos and threes. Penn State received the ball, and the possession resulted in another score. Along the way, Allen rushes paired with Warren and Lambert-Smith receptions resulted in a one-yard Allar-sneak and score.

It wouldn’t be long before the Nittany Lions regained possession: Keaton Ellis forced the Blue Hens to fumble, and Kevin Winston Jr. recovered it — this was the first turnover of the season for the blue and white.

Beau Pribula took over the offense on the Delaware 31-yard line and found the endzone in just five plays.

The defense continued to rewrite some wrongs as Zane Durant added a sack to the stat sheet, forcing the blue and yellow to punt on its second drive of the half. Penn State’s awareness continued to improve as Dominic DeLuca picked off Marker and ran it back 26 yards to score.

By the end of the third quarter, the Nittany Lions led 56-7. Delaware started to string a drive together, but Zuriah Fisher had other plans — his sack was the fourth of the game.

Halfway through the fourth, Pribula connected with Omari Evans for another touchdown on a drive that took up four and a half minutes.

Overall, the Blue Hens struggled throughout the matchup to compete with the Nittany Lions, who dominated both sides of the ball.

Next week, Penn State will travel to Illinois for its first road test of the season to open up conference play.

Amanda Vogt is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email amandaevogt@gmail.com.