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Like all things in 2020, it wasn’t pretty, but Penn State improved to 2-5 on Saturday, knocking out Rutgers 23-7.
The story of the day was that Penn State controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Nittany Lions hit the rock continuously, running the ball 57 times from a height of 248 yards. True rookie Keyvone Lee, once again, was the Nittany Lions’ top rusher, totaling 95 yards on 17 carries. Meanwhile, Devyn Ford came back from an injury and looked the best of the season, adding 65 yards on just 11 carries.
And of course, Penn State offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca leaned heavily on the Will Levis package, as the 6-3, 222-pound substitute quarterback ran the ball 17 times for 65 yards. While Levis collected quite a few early tries in short-range situations, it looked like Penn State’s offense was a little too dependent on it. Make no mistake, Levis is a punishing runner, but you’d think the goal of the Levis pack would be to have defense on his toes without expecting a run or pass. At least today, Penn State didn’t even try to get Lévis throwing a pass, which seems to be one of the perks of having Lévis there.
Perhaps most frustratingly, Penn State took a 17-0 lead in the first 23 minutes of play – only to come up completely the rest of the day, managing just six points. That being said, it might have been for the right reasons: it was very windy in Piscataway, and if there’s anything we know about Penn State quarterbacks this year, it’s their penchant for return the ball. As frustrating as it can be, perhaps that is how the Nittany Lions should play.
Here’s the key though: if you play that way you need a really good defense performance, which is exactly what Penn State got today. Brent Pry’s unit dominated Rutgers early in the game, forcing 7 punts and allowing only one touchdown after – you guessed it – a Penn State turnover.
Yes, that Rutgers offense is not going to be confused for Alabama or Clemson. But they’re not as pathetic as they have been in the past. Going into that game, Rutgers had scored at least 20 points against each opponent and was ranked 5th in the Big Ten with 30.8 points per game. Credit to a fast-playing, hard-hitting Penn State defense and didn’t give up the big game of the day.
Like I said last week, a win is a win is a win. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t sexy, but it was a victory for a program that Needs their. Anyway, the goal is clear: get to 4-5 and try to regain the momentum possible.
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