Postgame Notes: No. 10/8 Penn State vs. Kent StatePostgame Notes: No. 10/8 Penn State vs. Kent State

Postgame Notes: No. 10/8 Penn State vs. Kent State

TEAM

  • Penn State is now 7-0 all-time against Kent State.
  • Penn State is 32-3 all-time against current members of the MAC, including 13-straight wins.
  • The Nittany Lions have won 22 consecutive games over non-conference opponents during the regular season, dating back to a win over Temple in 2016.
  • Penn State has won 21 consecutive games against teams that are not members of a Power Four conference.
  • Penn State has won 27-straight non-conference home games, dating back to a win over Kent State in 2013.
  • Since 2014, Penn State is 47-1 when leading by 10+ points at halftime.
  • Penn State posted 718 yards of total offense and allowed 66 total yards on defense, a difference of 652 yards. The difference is the most for a Penn State team since 1947 and according to ESPN Stats & Info, the highest yard differential in the FBS in the last decade and the highest against an FBS opponent in the last 20 seasons.
  • CB Elliot Washington II made his first career start. He is one of nine Nittany Lions who have made their first collegiate start this season.
  • WR Julian Fleming made his first start at Penn State. He is one of 11 Nittany Lions who have made their first Penn State start this season.
  • K Ryan Barker, CB Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, RB Amiel Davis, WR Tyseer Denmark, DT Xavier Gilliam, DE Max Granville, DE Jaylen Harvey, RB Quinton Martin Jr., CB Jon Mitchell, DT Joseph Mupoyi, LB Jackson Pryts, LB Anthony Speca, S Vaboue Toure, CB Kenny Woseley Jr. and LB Winston Yates made their collegiate debuts. Twenty-three Nittany Lions have made their collegiate debuts this season.
  • CB Feyisayo Oluleye made his Penn State debut. Thirty players have made their Penn State debut this year.
  • Thirteen true freshmen have played this season: CB Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, OL Cooper Cousins, WR Tyseer Denmark, DT Xavier Gilliam, DE Max Granville, DE Jaylen Harvey, S Dejuan Lane, RB Quinton Martin Jr., CB Jon Mitchell, TE Luke Reynolds, LB Anthony Speca, S Vaboue Toure and CB Kenny Woseley Jr.

 

STREAKS

 

Defense

  • Penn State has now had at least one shutout in each of the past four seasons (2 in 2021, 1 in 2022, 3 in 2023, 1 in 2024)

 

Special Teams

  • Penn State has not allowed a special teams touchdown in 63-straight games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

 

OFFENSE

Team

  • Penn State had a school record 718 yards of offense today. The old record was 711 yards vs. Susquehanna in 1926.
  • The Nittany Lions had a school record 40 first downs in today’s game. The old record was 38 vs. West Virginia in 1962.
  • Penn State’s 409 passing yards are the fifth highest total in school history and the most since the Nittany Lions had 429 passing yards vs. Villanova in 2021.
  • Between the second and third quarters, Penn State scored four touchdowns in a 7:36 span, while covering 319 yards.
  • Penn State had three different players (QB Drew Allar, QB Beau Pribula, TE Tyler Warren) throw a passing touchdown in the same game since 2008 in a 55-13 win over Syracuse (QB Daryll Clark, QB Pat Devlin, QB Paul Cianciolo).
  • Warren threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Singleton in the second quarter. It was Warren’s first career touchdown pass.
  • Warren is the first non-quarterback to throw a touchdown pass since Trey Potts completed a touchdown pass to Warren at Illinois in 2023.
  • Warren is the first non-PSU quarterback with a passing and receiving touchdown in the same game since WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith against Michigan State in 2022.
  • Penn State tallied 409 passing yards. It marked Penn State’s 85th game with 200+ passing yards since 2014. Penn State is 64-21 in those games.
  • Penn State gained 309 rushing yards. Since 2014, Penn State has recorded 200+ rushing yards on 46 occasions and is 41-5 in those games.
  • The Nittany Lions totaled 396 yards in the first half with 267 passing and 129 rushing and finished the game with 718 total yards, 409 passing and 309 rushing.
  • Since 2014, Penn State has notched 400+ total yards on 72 occasions. PSU is 59-13 in those games.
  • Penn State has 19 plays of 20+ yards this season (13 passes, 6 rushes)

 

Drew Allar

  • QB Drew Allar completed 17-of-21 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a rushing score.
  • Allar connected with Tyler Warren on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
  • The junior threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Liam Clifford in the second quarter.
  • He added a 59-yard touchdown pass to Omari Evans in the third quarter.
  • Allar scored on a 5-yard rush in the second quarter.
  • He tallied his 10th career game with 200+ passing yards and second career game with 300+ passing yards.
  • Allar earned his 12th career game with multiple touchdown passes and seventh game with 3+ passing touchdowns.
  • Allar now owns six career games with both a passing and rushing touchdown.
  • With five completions of 20+ yards on the day, Allar now has 13 for the season.
  • Allar now has 3,704 career passing yards, ranking 14th all-time at Penn State. On the day, he surpassed John Schaffer (3,469; 1983-86), Michael Robinson (3,531; 2002-05) and John Hufnagel (3,545; 1970-72). He is six yards behind Kevin Thompson (3,710; 1996-99) for 13th.
  • Allar owns 37 career touchdown passes, tying Chuck Fusina (37; 1975-78) for 10th all-time at Penn State. He is two passing touchdowns behind Kerry Collins (39; 1991-94) for ninth.
  • With 26 rushing yards on the day, Allar now has 335 career rushing yards, ranking 12th all-time among Penn State quarterbacks. He is 76 yards behind Beau Pribula (411 career rushing yards) for 11th.
  • With 21 passing attempts on the day, Allar owns 507 for his career, good for 14th at Penn State. On the day, he moved past Kevin Thompson (495; 1996-99) and Michael Robinson (505; 2002-05).
  • Allar tallied 335 yards of total offense, raising his career total to 4,039 (3,704 pass; 335 rush). He ranks 15th all-time at Penn State. On the day, he leapt Rashard Casey (3,716; 1997-2000), Saquon Barkley (3,879; 2015-17) and Evan Royster (3,932; 2007-10) and became the 15th Penn State player to reach the 4,000-career total offense mark.
  • With four touchdowns responsible for on the day, he now has 44 for his career, good for 11th all-time at PSU. Allar moved past Lydell Mitchell (41; 1969-71) and Chuck Fusina (43; 1975-78).

 

Beau Pribula

  • QB Beau Pribula threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Dinkins in the third quarter and had a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. It is his third career game with both a passing and rushing touchdown.
  • Pribula had 45 rushing yards, giving him 411 for his career which is good for 11th all-time among PSU QBs. Pribula is 62 yards behind Will Levis (473; 2019-20) for 10th
  • Pribula’s touchdown pass was the 6th of his career.

 

Kaytron Allen

  • RB Kaytron Allen rushed for 66 yards on 11 carries, averaging six yards per rush.

 

Nicholas Singleton

  • RB Nicholas Singleton rushed for 81 yards on 11 carries and added two catches for 22 yards and a touchdown.
  • Singleton hauled in a 17-yard touchdown reception from TE Tyler Warren in the second quarter. It was his fifth career receiving touchdown.
  • With 81 yards on the day, Singleton now has 2,127 rushing yards in his career, good for 16th all-time at Penn State. On the day, he moved past Booker Moore (2,072; 1977-80) and Zach Zwinak (2,108; 2011-14).
  • Singleton tallied 103 all-purpose yards on the day, giving him 3,287 for his career, ranking 17th all-time at Penn State. On the day, he surpassed Ki-Jana Carter (3,229; 1992-94).

 

Cam Wallace

  • RB Cam Wallace scored on a 1-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter. It was his first career rushing touchdown.

 

Tyler Warren

  • TE Tyler Warren tallied five receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown, while adding a 17-yard touchdown pass and a 16-yard rush.
  • Warren hauled in a 16-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.
  • He threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Singleton in the second quarter. It was Warren’s first career touchdown pass.
  • Warren is the first non-quarterback to throw a touchdown pass since Trey Potts completed a touchdown pass to Warren at Illinois in 2023.
  • Warren is the first non-PSU quarterback with a passing and receiving touchdown in the same game since KeAndre Lambert-Smith against Michigan State in 2022.
  • With his 13th career touchdown reception, Warren broke a tie for 16th all-time at Penn State with Parker Washington (12; 2020-21) and Theo Johnson (12; 2020-23).
  • Warren also broke a tie with Johnson to move into third all-time among Penn State tight ends with 13 career receiving touchdowns. He is now two touchdowns behind Mike Gesicki (15; 2014-17) for second and three behind Pat Freiermuth (16; 2018-20) for first all-time at PSU.
  • With his 16-yard touchdown reception, Warren now has at least one 14+ yard catch in each of his last nine games and owns a reception in 19-straight games.
  • Warren added a career-long 16-yard rush in the first quarter.

 

Khalil Dinkins

  • TE Khalil Dinkins caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. It was his fourth career touchdown reception.

 

Julian Fleming

  • WR Julian Fleming had a 21-yard reception in the first quarter.
  • He added a 39-yard reception in the second quarter.
  • On the day, Fleming went over 1,000 career receiving yards. He now has 1,026 career receiving yards.

 

Omari Evans

  • WR Omari Evans had a career-best 116 receiving yards on a career-high four receptions. His previous highs were 60 yards at Michigan State in 2023 and two receptions on four occasions.
  • It was Evans’ first career 100-yard receiving game.
  • Evans had a 59-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter. It was his fourth career touchdown reception.
  • Evans hauled in a 38-yard reception in the second quarter.

 

Liam Clifford

  • WR Liam Clifford caught a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. It was his first career touchdown grab.
  • Clifford had a career-high 64 yards on three receptions. His previous high was 33 yards at Illinois in 2023.
  • He posted a career-long 42-yard reception in the second quarter. His previous long catch was 33 yards at Illinois in 2023.

 

DEFENSE

 

Team

  • Penn State held Kent State to 66 yards of offense (48 rushing, 18 passing), tied for the seventh-fewest since 1947. It is the fewest yards allowed by the Nittany Lions since holding Michigan State to 53 yards of total offense in 2023.
  • The Nittany Lions held Kent State to 20 total yards in the first quarter (0 pass, 20 rush) and 40 total yards in the first half (18 pass, 22 rush).
  • Penn State held Kent State to 26 yards in the second half (0 pass, 26 rush).
  • The 18 passing yards allowed are the fewest allowed by Penn State under Coach James Franklin.
  • Penn State only allowed six first downs, the fewest since allowing five at Michigan State in 2023.
  • The six first downs are the sixth fewest allowed under Coach James Franklin.
  • The two passing completions allowed are the second fewest allowed under Coach James Franklin and the lowest number of completions allowed since Army had one completion in 2015.
  • Including today’s game, since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has ...
    • Held 21 opponents under 100 rushing yards, most in the FBS.
    • Held opponents under a 50 completion percentage in ten games.
    • Held opponents under 10 completions in seven games
  • Since 2015, Penn State has recorded 12 shutouts, tied for second-most among FBS teams with Alabama.
  • The Nittany Lions have recorded 17 shutouts since 2007
  • Including today’s game, since 2014, Penn State has…
    • Held opponents to 7 or less points 31 times
    • Held opponents under 300 total yards 61 times
    • Allowed under 200 passing yards 74 times and under 100 passing yards 23 times
    • Allowed under 100 rushing yards 60 times; and under 50 rushing yards 23 times

 

Abdul Carter

  • LB Abdul Carter notched a solo sack in the second quarter.
  • He added a half-tackle for loss later in the quarter.
  • Carter now has 18.5 career tackles for loss and 12 career sacks.
  • The junior owns four career games with multiple TFL.

 

Dani Dennis-Sutton

  • DE Dani Dennis-Sutton recorded a strip-sack in the first quarter. It was his third career forced fumble.
  • Dennis-Sutton owns 7.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in his career.

 

Zane Durant

  • DT Zane Durant recorded a solo tackle for loss.
  • He owns nine career tackles for loss.

 

Ty Blanding

  • DT Ty Blanding recorded his first career tackle for loss in the fourth quarter.

 

Ta’Mere Robinson

  • LB Ta’Mere Robinson notched his first career tackle for loss in the fourth quarter.

 

Anthony Speca

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

 

Sander Sahaydak

  • K Sander Sahaydak was 7-7 on extra-point attempts today, making him 15-15 this season.

 

Kaden Saunders