Second-Half Surge Pushes No. 6 Penn State Past Northwestern

As James Franklin has said before, Penn State is a second-half team.

Following a sluggish first half that saw the game tied at 10, the Nittany Lions turned up the heat and pulled away from a pesky Northwestern team at Ryan Field, 41-13.

Penn State received the opening kickoff looking for a hot start, but it was quite the opposite. Running back Nicholas Singleton fumbled, and it was recovered by the Wildcats at the Penn State 11.

After a false start put Northwestern behind the sticks, kicker Jack Olsen converted on the 33-yard field, 3-0.

It was the blue and white’s first turnover of the season and became the first time they trailed through four games.

On their first true offensive drive, the Nittany Lions had some momentum but stalled up around midfield. A good punt by Riley Thompson pinned Northwestern inside their own 20.

It was the Kobe King drive as the junior linebacker notched a sack on first down and then a tackle for a loss on second down.

Singleton took over on the next drive with nice runs and a big completion. Allar also connected with Dante Cephas on a 4th and 6 to keep the drive alive. However, the Wildcats stood tall on the goal line.

Alex Felkins knocked through the 20-yard field goal, improving to 6-for-8 on the season, 3-3.

After the two sides traded punts, the Northwestern offense came alive and took advantage of poor tackling by the Penn State defense.

Running back Cam Porter slipped through three tackles to pick up a 3rd and 16, then receiver Cam Johnson put the offense inside the five before quarterback Ben Bryant capped it off with a 1-yard sneak, 10-3.

It was a 10-play, 59-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock.

Following another Penn State three-and-out, Manny Diaz’s defense picked up Allar and the struggling offense by pushing the Wildcats backward.

With excellent starting field position, Allar threw strikes to Keandre Lambert-Smith and Singleton before Trey Potts found paydirt on a 13-yard run, 10-10. It was his first rushing touchdown of the season, following his passing touchdown at Illinois.

The blue and white got one more crack on offense before the half but couldn’t find a groove, so the two squads went into their locker rooms tied at 10.

The start of the third quarter saw momentum shift in Penn State’s favor. Northwestern had possession for the opening drive of the second half and was quickly off the field on a three-and-out.

Allar then orchestrated a beautiful and gritty 12-play, 68-yard drive, taking 5:31 off the clock. After a big completion to Lambert-Smith, Allar used his legs to get inside the five and later found the endzone on a quarterback sneak, 17-10.

Northwestern, looking to respond, went for it on 4th down in their territory and came up empty-handed. Penn State capitalized on the field position as Felkins improved to 2-2 on the day with a 47-yard field goal, his season-long, 20-10.

On the next drive, the Wildcats pulled out some trickery with a fake punt, and it didn’t pay off, giving the Nittany Lions the ball back at the Northwestern 34.

Working with the short field, Singleton got going once again with a 16-yard run and then found the endzone on a 2-yard passing touchdown from Allar, 27-10.

Bryant and the Northwestern offense found its groove on the next drive, as they marched towards the goal line, but on 3rd and goal, Zane Durant broke through for a sack.

Olsen came out and split the uprights on the 28-yard chip shot, 27-13. It ended Penn State’s streak of 24 unanswered points.

After a couple of punts, including a 22-yard punt by the Wildcats, it set up the Nittany Lion offense with more great field position.

Allar took some deep shots, but it was the medium routes that made the difference with connections to Lambert-Smith and Tyler Warren. Singleton finished the drive on a 1-yard touchdown rush, his second touchdown of the day, 34-13.

That touchdown made it 12 games in a row where Penn State has scored more than 30 points, the longest streak in the nation.

The blue and white got the ball back deep in Northwestern territory following a Daequan Hardy interception, his second takeaway of the season.

On the next play, backup quarterback Beau Pribula got the cherry on top with the 30-yard pitch and catch with Potts, 41-13.

The offense took a while to get going but outscored the Wildcats 31-3 in the second half.

Manny Diaz’s defense never took their foot off the gas, notching seven sacks and 12 tackles for a loss as Durant had three on his own.

Penn State has a bye next week before returning home to face UMass on October 14 for Homecoming at 3:30 p.m.

Matthew Scalzo is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email matt.scalzo8@gmail.com or mms7477@psu.edu.