TEAM
- Penn State improved to 7-3-1 all-time against Villanova.
- Head Coach James Franklin earned his 104th win at Penn State, tying Rip Engle (104; 1950-65) for second all-time at Penn State.
- Since 2014, Penn State is 56-1 when leading by 10+ points at halftime.
- S King Mack made his first career start. He is the sixth Nittany Lion to make their first collegiate start this season.
- OL Eagan Boyer, DE Cortez Harris and LB Alex Tatsch all made their collegiate debuts. They are three of 20 Nittany Lions who have seen their first collegiate action this season.
- Harris and Tatsch are two of 10 true freshmen who have played this season.
STREAKS
- Penn State has not allowed a special teams touchdown in 80-straight games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
- Penn State has won 25 consecutive games over non-conference opponents during the regular season, dating back to a win over Temple in 2016.
- Penn State has won 31-straight non-conference home games, dating back to a win over Kent State in 2013.
- Penn State has won 34-straight games against teams unranked in the AP Poll.
OFFENSE
Team
- With 52 points on Saturday, Penn State has scored 50+ points on 18 occasions and 40+ points on 36 occasions since 2016.
- The Nittany Lions tallied 465 total yards. Since 2014, Penn State has recorded 400+ total yards on 81 occasions. Penn State is 67-14 in those games.
- PSU notched 228 passing yards. Penn State has collected 200+ passing yards on 95 occasions since 2014. PSU is 73-22 in those games.
- Penn State rushed for 237 yards, marking the 55th time reaching 200 rushing yards in a game since 2014. PSU is 48-7 in those games.
- Penn State is 10-0 when Allen and Singleton both score a rushing touchdown.
- QB Ethan Grunkemeyer and TE Joey Schlaffer (19-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter) are the first Penn State teammates to combine on their first career touchdown pass and first career reception as a touchdown reception since Drew Allar and Omari Evans against Ohio in 2022.
- QB Drew Allar completed 16 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown.
- Allar completed a 23-yard touchdown to Trebor Peña in the second quarter. It was his 57th career passing touchdown.
- Allar earned his 26th career win as Penn State’s starting quarterback. He is tied for sixth all-time at Penn State with John Hufnagel (26; 1970-72).
- The senior posted his 19th career 200-yard passing game, moving into sole possession of fourth all-time at Penn State. He broke a tie with Matt McGloin (18; 2009-12).
- With 18 rushing yards on Saturday, Allar now has 587 for his career. He moved into eighth among Penn State quarterbacks, jumping Zack Mills (584; 2001-04).
- QB Ethan Grunkemeyer threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Joey Schlaffer in the fourth quarter. It was Grunkemeyer’s first career touchdown pass.
- RB Kaytron Allen rushed for a team-high 86 yards on 10 carries.
- Allen scored on an 18-yard rush in the fourth quarter. It was his 27th career rushing touchdown, moving him into sole possession of 11th all-time at Penn State. On the day, he broke a tie with Matt Suhey (26; 1976-79) and Larry Johnson (26; 1999-02).
- RB Nicholas Singleton tallied 84 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
- Singleton scored on a 4-yard rush to cap Penn State’s opening drive.
- He added a 3-yard rushing score in the third quarter.
- With 37 career rushing touchdowns, Singleton moved into third all-time at Penn State. On the day, he jumped Curtis Enis (36; 1995-97).
- Singleton now has 46 career total touchdowns (37 rushing, 8 receiving, 1 kick return), sitting seven behind Saquon Barkley (53; 2015-17) for the all-time record at Penn State.
- Singleton earned his 10th career game with multiple rushing touchdowns.
- WR Trebor Peña caught four passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.
- Peña hauled in a 23-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It was his 11th career receiving touchdown.
- Peña owns 21 career catches of 20+ yards.
- With a 12-yard grab in the first quarter, WR Devonte Ross has a catch in 22-straight games, dating back to October 28, 2023 at Texas State (while at Troy).
- TE Luke Reynolds had a career-high 73 receiving yards on four catches. His previous career high was 58 yards against FIU last week.
- Reynolds hauled in a 22-yard reception in the second quarter.
- He added a 21-yard grab in the third quarter.
- TE Joey Schlaffer hauled in a 19-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. It was his first career catch and receiving touchdown.
- Schlaffer is the first Nittany Lion to record a touchdown on his first career reception since Omari Evans (32 yards) against Ohio in 2022.
DEFENSE
Team
- Penn State held opponents scoreless for seven-straight quarters until Villanova’s touchdown as time expired. This marked the first time since 2019 that the Nittany Lions have shut out an opponent for seven consecutive quarters.
- CB Elliot Washington II recorded an interception in the third quarter.
- CB Jahmir Joseph picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. He is the first Nittany Lion with an interception return for a touchdown this season and the first Nittany Lion with an interception return for a touchdown since Dominic DeLuca (23 yards) and Tony Rojas (59 yards) against SMU in 2024.
- On a Villanova missed field goal in the second quarter, Penn State recorded its third red-zone stop this season.
- Penn State has seven takeaways this season (3 fumbles, 4 interceptions).
- Since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has held 30 opponents under 100 rushing yards, most in the FBS.
- Since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has held opponents under a 50-completion percentage in 12 games.
- Since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has forced 83 turnovers (50 interceptions, 33 fumbles).
- Penn State is 23-2 when forcing multiple takeaways in a game since 2022.
- Since 2014, Penn State has held opponents to 7 or less points 36 times.
- Since 2014, Penn State has held opponents under 300 total yards 71 times.
- Since 2014, Penn State has allowed under 200 passing yards 84 times; under 100 passing yards 24 times.
- Since 2014, Penn State has allowed under 100 rushing yards 69 times.
- Since 2014, Penn State has registered 10 or more tackles for loss 36 times.
- Since 2014, Penn State has forced multiple takeaways 67 times.
- LB Tony Rojas tallied a career-high two sacks and tied a career high with two tackles for loss. He also had two tackles for loss against Nevada. His previous sack career high was one at Minnesota in 2024.
- Rojas recorded a solo sack in the first quarter.
- He added a solo sack in the second quarter. Rojas owns 14 career tackles for loss and three career sacks.
- Rojas earned his second career game with multiple tackles for loss and first career game with multiple sacks.
- LB Amare Campbell tallied a career-high three tackles for loss. His previous high was 1.5 tackles for loss at NC State in 2024 (while playing at North Carolina).
- Campbell secured a solo tackle for loss in the first quarter.
- He added a solo sack in the third quarter.
- He recorded a solo tackle for loss in the fourth quarter. He owns 15.5 career tackles for loss and 8.5 career sacks.
- CB Zion Tracy notched a solo tackle for loss in the first quarter. It was his third career tackle for loss.
- CB Elliot Washington II grabbed his second career interception in the third quarter and returned it 12 yards.
- S Dejuan Lane recorded a solo tackle for loss in the fourth quarter. He owns two career tackles for loss.
- CB Jahmir Joseph had his first career interception and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. He is the first Nittany Lion to return a pick for a touchdown since Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas each had a pick-6 against SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff game against SMU.
SPECIAL TEAMS
- K Ryan Barker was 3-for-3 on field goals today to improve to 24-of-28 for his career.
- Barker nailed a 45-yard field goal in the second quarter.
- Barker added a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter.
- Barker hit a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter. He improved to 9-of-11 from 40+ yards in his career.
- Barker is 60-of-61 on career extra points.
- P Gabriel Nwosu landed a punt at the Villanova 8 in the first quarter.
- Nwosu hit a 47-yard punt to the Villanova 18 in the second quarter.
- Nwosu had two punts inside the 20 and one inside the 10.
- All five of Nwosu’s punts this season have landed inside the 20.
- KR King Mack had one kickoff return for 17 yards.
- PR Devonte Ross had a 34-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.
- Ross finished the night with four punt returns for 52 yards.
- CB Kolin Dinkins forced a fumble on a Villanova kick return. It was Dinkins’ first career forced fumble.