COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Redshirt senior wide receiver Dante Cephas tracked a lofty throw from sophomore quarterback Drew Allar over his right shoulder and hauled it in while keeping his feet in bounds. Cephas' second touchdown as a Nittany Lion embodied a consistent and dominant day from the offense in front of a home-like crowd at SECU Stadium.
It's a play worked on "almost every practice every day" said by Cephas, who showed why he was selected to the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, product tallied six receptions for 53 yards and a pair of touchdowns on plays to the back pylon of the end zone.
"Just off the release, just focusing, just staying locked into the whole play," Cephas said. "I mean, just trusting in my quarterback to get the ball in the right location. And just me trusting my hands to make the catch and I made it both times."
Allar spread the ball around to seven different pass catchers for 240 passing yards and four touchdowns. Allar and the offensive scheme designed by offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich worked the ball quickly to the perimeter and allowed playmakers to create in space. These components cultivated an offense that's scored 30 or more points in eight of nine games.
Senior offensive lineman Olumuyiwa Fashanu noted the opening drive score as a "catalyst for the entire game" as Penn State went 7-for-15 on third down and 3-for-3 on third down. The Nittany Lions established themselves at the line of scrimmage and controlled the pace of the game with a strong blend of play action passes and dynamic runs.
Wide receivers coach Marques Hagans called Penn State's 51-15 win a "total team effort" and said how blocking spearheaded by the offensive line and outside playmakers played a pivotal role behind a strong performance that featured a perfect 9-for-9 mark in the red zone.
"Once that rhythm happens, it feels like everybody's on the same page," Hagans said. "Guys are knowing the calls before they're happening and you just get into a good groove and a good rhythm. I think that allows for consistency, confidence and chemistry and once we can stay ahead of the chains, convert on third downs, it just allows us to stay on the field longer and put us in good opportunity to score more points."
Maryland's defense was unrelenting in their approach and dialed up numerous blitz packages in an effort to get Penn State in longer situations. The Nittany Lions found success by staying on schedule and mitigating the third-and-long situations to maintain a dominant drive.
Penn State's offensive line allowed just one sack and created a clean pocket for Allar, who was able to scan the field by going through his progressions and utilizing one of his most dangerous weapons, his eyes. The offensive line also orchestrated a rushing attack that tallied 158 total yards, including 91 from Kaytron Allen, who displayed his ferocious running style.
"They battled against a defensive line that we've got a lot of respect for," Franklin said. "Plus, it was a ton of cover-zero, which means no safety, overload the box, overload your protections and they did a great job all night long of giving ourselves a chance to run the ball and stay on schedule and protecting our quarterback."
Allar and the offense was unfazed by the pressure because of a constant line of communication between the sophomore quarterback and Yurcich. They've developed a close bond and Allar said, "He's done a great job of putting us in successful positions and we're doing a good job right now of going out and executing those."
Managing third down situations and extending drives is built upon strong plays on first and second down, which Franklin praised as "efficient." Creative play calling and executing were prevalent Saturday against the Terps as Penn State was over 46 percent on third down. Being able to stay on the field provides a unique "flow" to the offense as Allar said.
"It's very important because then we have the whole playbook," Allar said. "We can run or pass, we can do anything we want and that keeps the defense on their toes because the first third-and-long we were like third-and-19. They kind of brought a weird pressure that was probably just a pressure of the week and we were able to stay out of those situations for the most part today. I think it really just helped the whole flow of the game for us."
