Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State’s 63-0 blowout win over UMass
Penn State steamrolled UMass in a tuneup game ahead of next week’s matchup with Ohio State. The Nittany Lions dominated the Minutemen on a rain-soaked Beaver Stadium field, 63-0, on Saturday afternoon.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Nittany Lions handled situation properly
Penn State sputtered offensively to begin the game, but that quickly turned and the team took control of the game. After a 28-0 halftime lead, Penn State gave its offensive starters two drives in the third quarter before pulling them. That was paramount for a team that should have considered the opponent — and next week’s opponent — in its playing time decisions.
Head coach James Franklin pulling the starters allowed the team to get out of the matchup with its health intact and move onto the Ohio State game with its best players available.
Kaytron Allen is the team’s best running back
While Franklin will likely continue saying that Penn State boasts two starters at running back, it seems clear that the production level is not the same between Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. For all of the latter’s explosiveness and athleticism, it’s the former who has proven his consistency and his value time and time again this season. He’s been far more decisive than his classmate and has shown the ability to grind away at a defense to get extra yards. He may not be able to go for 50-plus yards with ease like Singleton, but the team needs to know it can get four yards on well-blocked plays. And he’s the one who has done that this season.
Allen should get at least 70% of the carries next week against Ohio State as long as he continues to play at this level and as long as Singleton is hesitant when he has the ball.
WR Harrison Wallace III’s return opens everything up
Penn State’s offense hasn’t exactly been high-flying early in the season, and that was especially true for the stretch of games from Illinois to Northwestern where Harrison Wallace III was either limited or did not play in every matchup. He made a return to the starting lineup Saturday and proved why he’s so valuable to the Nittany Lions. He didn’t have a massive game by any means, but Wallace’s presence clearly opened things up for the rest of the offense.
He gave quarterback Drew Allar a second option on the outside that he could trust, joining KeAndre Lambert-Smith in that group. That gave the entire offense a consistency that it lacked and, despite the team’s lack of big plays over the top, it still looked better than it has in recent weeks. There was more room in the middle of the field for Allar to throw the ball because of Wallace’s ability to separate in that area of the field. His return did not impact the result of this game, but it should give Penn State a better chance to win against the Buckeyes.
