No. 10 Penn State remains unbeaten following shutout win over Kent State

Penn State put together its highest scoring effort of the year Saturday to blow out Kent State 56-0 on Military Appreciation Day at Beaver Stadium.

With the win, the No. 10 Nittany Lions remain unbeaten (3-0). They also set a Penn State single-game record for total yards (718), while holding Kent State to just 67 total yards.

But even in a one-sided affair, there was plenty to talk about.

In Week 2, Warren broke the program record for receiving yards at tight end with 146. Coming off the subsequent bye week, James Franklin was sure to reaffirm his statement that “Warren is the most complete tight end in the country.”

In hindsight, it was almost a sign of what was to come. Warren, once a quarterback who was committed to Virginia Tech, took a snap at QB Saturday and immediately gutted out 16 yards on the ground.

Not long after, Warren had a one-handed, toe-tapping grab on the sideline, sending the stadium into a frenzy. He also caught a 16-yard touchdown to start the scoring.

Thought Warren was done? He went back to quarterback in the second quarter, faking the handoff and hitting Nicholas Singleton, who was wide-open, for a 17-yard touchdown.

“The tight end isn’t supposed to be about receiving yards,” Frankin said. “It’s about complete players.”

Warren finished with five catches for 55 yards. He also had a passing and receiving touchdown, marking a monster game for the big-time tight end.

Penn State almost had an interception-less game, but backup quarterback junior Beau Pribula threw one on a screen to Warren in the first quarter.

Starter Drew Allar picked up Pribula’s slack.

In just three quarters, Allar completed 17 of 21 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. He also got it done with his legs, taking five carries for 26 yards — including a 5-yard touchdown.

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki went deep into his bag of tricks, having 10 receivers get involved. Each of the receivers finished with more than 10 yards. Three of them had their best game since joining the Nittany Lions.

“We have one of the best offensive staffs in the country,” Allar said. “[Kotelnicki] is part of it, but we have a lot — like our position coaches are fantastic, and our analysts do a great job throughout the week.”

While wide receiver Omari Evans led the way with four catches for 116 yards and a touchdown, it was receiver Liam Clifford who caught his first career touchdown pass, among three catches totaling 64 yards.

“Everybody eating,” Evans said. “The hard work’s paying off.”

Kent State came into Saturday as statistically the worst team in FBS, and things only got worse as the game progressed.

On the first play, junior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton pressured and drove Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman to the ground. Kargman remained down for an extended period of time and was carted off, quickly ending his day.

JD Sherrod came in as his backup, and struggled mightily, completing two of six passes for 18 yards.

The next quarter, Sherrod took an awkward step upon catching the snap and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Though his injury was noncontact, it didn’t help that Penn State got to the backfield early and often.

Dennis-Sutton and defensive end Abdul Carter hauled their first sacks of the season.

Tommy Ulatowski took quarterback duties for the remainder of the game and went 0-for-6.