Penn State makes light work of Washington in front of a sold-out Beaver Stadium
In front of 110,233 in attendance, it was clear through their performance that the Nittany Lions shrugged off last weekend's loss to Ohio State.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — White Out conditions were in full effect as Penn State routed Washington, 35-6.
The Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) assuredly used last week’s loss to Ohio State as motivation, taking a 28-point lead into halftime. With 110,233 in attendance, the game drew the ninth-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.
While the run game, red zone and receivers were issues against the Buckeyes, none of those woes were apparent against Washington (5-5, 3-4).
Another record for Tyler Warren
Penn State tight end Tyler Warren is a record-holder again. Following the Washington game, Warren now has the most catches and yards in a single season by a Nittany Lions tight end in program history. And he still has three more regular-season games — not to mention the postseason — to improve on that record.
Setting a new record was just a small portion of a dominant game for Warren, who gave up a fumble but otherwise had another all-time performance, finishing with eight catches for 75 yards. While the Huskies had no answers for Warren through air, his biggest impact Saturday came on the ground, where he dominated in the first half with two direct snaps at the goal line, scoring on both attempts.
After last week’s red-zone blunders, it seemed head coach James Franklin got the message.
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Defense gets back to ‘the standard’
Starting with junior defensive end Abdul Carter, Washington had no answers for Penn State’s defensive attack. Carter entered his draft season with questions about his motor. He answered.
The La Salle College High School grad hit a different level, fighting through would-be holding penalties to accumulate four tackles for loss and two sacks.
Senior safety Jaylen Reed piggybacked off Carter’s efforts with his third pick of the year.
It was another dominant showing from defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s defense as it held Huskies starting back Jonah Coleman to 2.2 yards per carry and held quarterback Will Rogers to 59 yards in the air.
» READ MORE: Penn State coach James Franklin was confident of a fix to his wide receiver room ahead of Washington
Fast start
Penn State struggled to start fast throughout the season. On Saturday, that stopped.
Despite Washington nearing the red zone on the opening possession, it missed a costly field goal and could not score the rest of the half.
On the other end, Penn State’s offense scored on each of its four first-half possessions, starting with a rushing touchdown from junior quarterback Beau Pribula. Speaking of quarterbacks, Nittany Lions starting quarterback Drew Allar finished with 220 yards and a touchdown pass.
Wide receivers answer the call
Franklin hoped Saturday would be the day his receiving corps showed up — and it did.
Headlined by Julian Fleming’s first touchdown as a Nittany Lions, Penn State’s receivers were open early and often, getting tons of love in Franklin’s game plan.
Redshirt junior Trey Wallace lll led the way with five catches for 84 yards. Junior Omari Evans had a hand in Penn State’s success, drawing a targeting call on an end around that got Washington cornerback Thaddeus Dixon ejected early.
Up next ...
Penn State starts a two-game road trip, kicking off first against Purdue next Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS).