UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 2/3 Penn State (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) downed Nevada (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West), 46-11, in its 2025 season opener in front of 106,915 fans at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Penn State improved to 115-22-2 all-time in season openers and 122-13-1 in home openers, winning its most recent six consecutively.
The Nittany Lions never relinquished their lead over the Wolf Pack, holding Nevada scoreless in the first and third quarters and allowing just three and eight points in the second and fourth stanzas respectively.
Penn State’s offense totaled 438 yards throughout the opener. Through the air, senior quarterback Drew Allar competed 22 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt senior+ transfer Trebor Peña and redshirt senior transfer Kyron Hudson were his top targets, combining for 163 receiving yards. Allar and Hudson connected on a 31-yard touch down in the second frame as the Duarte, California native totaled a career best 89 receiving yards. The dynamic senior running back duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen each contributed to the Penn State tally, Singleton recording two rushing scores and Allen leading the pack with 43 rushing yards and one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Barker was effective in the kicking game, meeting his career high of four field goals made, including a 39-yard make for his longest of the day. Redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer recorded his first career touchdown, a 6-yard rush in the fourth stanza. The Lewis Center, Ohio native completed 7-of-9 pass attempts for 86 yards.
Defensively, senior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton recorded a career-best two forced fumbles while totaling five tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one pass breakup. Senior defensive tackle Zane Durant also produced his first career pass interception. Junior linebacker Amare Campbell led the squad with six total tackles on the afternoon. The Nittany Lion defense limited Nevada to 203 total yards. The backfield held the Wolf Pack to a completion percentage of 52%, while holding Nevada to 78 net rushing yards on the ground.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Nevada gained ground on its opening drive but was halted by Dennis-Sutton, who forced a fumble on a rush attempt up the middle for the Wolf Pack. A.J. Harris recovered the ball, allowing Penn State to go on offense for its first drive of the game at its own 31-yard line. The Nittany Lions capitalized with their first score of the day on a 13-play, 69-yard drive, capped off by a 1-yard rush from Singleton.
On the second Nevada drive of the day, Durant intercepted the ball to set the PSU offense up at the opposing 6-yard line, marking Durant’s first career interception. The Nittany Lions managed to put another three points on the scoreboard using a 28-yard field goal of the foot of Barker to complete the drive and extend to a 10-0 edge.
The Penn State defense earned another stop, forcing the Wolf Pack to punt on their third offensive drive of the contest. The Nittany Lions delivered on their third trip down the field with a 12-yard run on the ground for Allen to finish off an eight-play, 72-yard sequence, allowing the the home team to pull ahead 17-0.
Nevada got on the scoreboard with a field goal following a 9 play 59-yrd drive. Joe McFadden sent the ball through the uprights to inch the score to 17-3 with 4:52 remaining the second stanza.
King Mack made a statement in his first kick return as a Nittany Lion on the ensuing kickoff, returning the ball 73 yards to the Nevada 18-yard line. Barker knocked in his second field goal of the day, another 28-yard attempt, extending the margin to 20-3 with just over two minutes to play in the half.
The Nittany Lions forced Nevada to punt for the second time in the half as time wound down in the opening half. The Penn State offense moved quickly, adding another touchdown, encompassing an eight-play, 64-yard drive over 1:15. Allar collected his first passing score of the season, connecting with Devonte Ross for a 31-yard touchdown to push the advantage to 27-3, marking Penn State's largest first-half lead in a season opener since leading Idaho 24-0 in 2019.
Penn State opened the second frame with an offensive drive, stretching over 5:32, which was capped off with a 32-yard field goal for Barker, his third of the contest.
The PSU defense forced their second fumble of the contest on the ensuing Nevada drive. Dennis-Sutton was responsible for the forced turnover marking a career-best two fumbles forced in a contest. Zakee Wheatley recovered the ball at the Nevada 16-yard line where the PSU offense set up to begin their drive. Two plays in 21 seconds was all it took for Penn State to put another touchdown on the board with Singleton running for his second score of the day. The Nittany Lions attempted a two-point conversion which was broken up by the Wolf Pack defense to hang the score at 36-3.
After forcing a Wolf Pack punt and a 10-yard return from Peña, Penn State added three points to the board. Barker sent the ball through the posts for the fourth time with a 39-yard field goal, pushing the Nittany Lions to a 39-3 edge to close the third frame.
Despite its most threatening opportunity of the contest, making it down to the PSU 6-yard line, Nevada was unable to convert. The Penn State defense forced a turnvover on downs while withstanding a score from the Wolf Pack in the red zone.
The Nittany Lions picked up on their own 6-yard line with Ethan Grunkemeyer who made his season debut at quarterback. In his first drive of the season, Grunkemeyer completed 4-of-6 pass attempts for 73 yards and capped the sequence off with his first career rushing touchdown, a 6-yard run. Penn State extended to a 46-3 lead with 7:37 to play in the contest.
Neither team converted on their next possessions until Nevada secured its only touchdown of the day on a 9-yard pass from AJ Bianco to Marcus Bellon and added a two-point conversion. The Nittany Lions retained the ball on the following drive to conclude the game with a 46-11 final score.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and ticket information for the 2025 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.GoPSUsports.com, or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.