A Win Is A Win
A win’s a win. How many times am I going to say it? It wasn’t a blowout but it was solid. Uninspiring yet comfortable. An eye-catching stripe out with 110,000 fans for the first game between Penn State and UCLA since 1968 and 27-11 win. Mission accomplished.
We are 5-0 for the fourth year straight. We’re the only school in the country to do so and it’s the first time in our own school history.
In his post-game press conference, James Franklin reported that his team won the explosive play battle but not by much; the lack of Nick Singleton was noticeable but allowed Kaytron Allen and true freshman Quinton Martin Jr. to step up.
Despite an uncharacteristic three-and-out to start, we showed we have a plethora of playmakers on offense: Liam Clifford recorded his first game with over 100 yards and Tyler Warren continues to be both dependable and difficult to defend. Drew Allar threw for 237 yards, including a touchdown, and ran in another six points. Even still, let’s hope we have all our weapons healthy as the competition increases in the coming weeks.
Overall, the Nittany Lions forced four punts, two turnovers on downs and held its third-straight opponent to under 100 rushing yards. Our third quarter defense held UCLA to minus nine yards. Tony Rojas, making a case for Linebacker U, led the group with eight tackles, including one for loss. Abdul Carter also had a couple tackles for loss. Zakee Wheatley racked up seven tackles, and Jaylen Reed had a sack and a forced fumble.
On special teams, Ryan Barker made two field goals from 25 and 40 yards, and we all breathed a sigh of relief that we have a kicker we can count on. No disrespect to Sander Sahaydak; I hope he gets his Sam Ficken story, but until then I’m a-ok with Barker making the start.
All that and an improvement in the penalty department.
Next week we take on the (as of this writing) 11th ranked USC, who leads our series 6-4. Go State! Beat the Trojans!
