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STATE COLLEGE – Penn State football coach James Franklin asked the fans for White Out energy Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
The sellout crowd of 109,911 delivered, and so did running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton and a swarming defense.
Allen and Singleton combined to rush for 196 yards and two touchdowns as No. 9 Penn State opened Big Ten play with a hard-fought 21-7 victory over No. 19 Illinois.
“I don’t know if there’s a better combination of running backs in the country,” Franklin said. “There were physical runs out there tonight. I couldn’t be prouder of that group and how they’re playing.”
The Nittany Lions (1-0, 4-0) finally put away the gritty Illini after cornerback A.J. Harris intercepted Luke Altmyer’s pass in Illinois territory. Harris sprinted into the end zone, but the touchdown was wiped out when Zion Tracy was penalized for blocking in the back.
After Penn State took over at the Illinois 41, Allen sealed it with a 5-yard scoring burst through the middle with 1:55 to go. He finished with 18 carries for 102 yards.
Nick Singleton, Allen’s backfield mate, carried 16 times for 94 yards and a third-quarter TD when he took a handoff from tight end Tyler Warren. He also caught two passes for 25 yards and returned a kickoff for 20 yards.
“When you’re able to run the ball like that on offense and stop the run on defense,” Franklin said, “good things are gonna happen for you.”
Penn State outgained Illinois 239-34 on the ground and limited the Illini to 1.1 yards per carry. The Lions sacked Altmyer seven times, including five in the second half. Defensive end Abdul Carter had two sacks and four tackles for loss.
“Everybody’s going to game-plan for him,” safety Jaylen Reed said, “but he’s doing a great job of finding a way to make plays for the team.”
After allowing…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/no-9-penn-state-turns-104700408.html
Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.
Publish date : 2024-09-29 10:47:00
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