It wasn’t always pretty, but Penn State moved to 4-0 on the season on Saturday with a 33-14 win over Central Michigan (1-3).
Let’s take a quick look back at the win for the Nittany Lions.
Offensive Star of The Game: Kaytron Allen
Penn State has quite the dynamic duo of freshmen running backs. Nicholas Singleton had garnered most of the headlines through three games, but Kaytron Allen has earned his fair share of praise as well. On Saturday, it was Allen who starred for Penn State. He rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries (8.5 average) and provided a needed spark in the second half for the blue and white offense. He and Singleton are going to be terrorizing defenses for the foreseeable future.
Defensive Star of The Game: Kalen King
Teams aren’t going to challenge Joey Porter Jr. with much regularity this season, so it’s important for the the other cornerbacks in the Penn State lineup to hold their own. Sophomore Kalen King shined for the Nittany Lions, recording four tackles, four pass breakups and forced a fumble inside the red zone that effectively iced the game for home side.
Moment of Magic: Muffed punt leads to TD
With Central Michigan hanging tough down 21-14 to start the second half, Penn State needed something to create some breathing space. After a holding call nullified the Nittany Lions’ opening possession of the third quarter, punter Barney Amor did what he does best and dropped a dart inside the Chippewas’ 10-yard line. The Central Michigan return man muffed the kick and linebacker Curtis Jacobs was able to pounce on the loose ball. Two plays later, Sean Clifford floated a touchdown pass to Brenton Strange in the corner of the end zone and Penn State found itself back up by double-digits.
Something To Work On: Field Goals
The Nittany Lions attempted two field goals and missed both, one from Jake Pinegar (38 yards) and one from Sander Sahaydak (56 yards). Pinegar also saw a PAT blocked as a Central Michigan rush got through in the middle to bat the ball down.
Looking Ahead: Northwestern on deck
Penn State closed out its non-conference schedule with the win over the Chippewas. The Nittany Lions return to Big Ten action next Saturday (Oct. 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET) against Pat Fitzgerald’s Northwestern Wildcats.
The Football Letter Blog 