STATE COLLEGE – When the rain began to fall about 90 minutes before kickoff Saturday at Beaver Stadium, Nick Tarburton smiled.
The steady precipitation never stopped and neither did the guys on Penn State’s defense, who played like a bunch of mudders during the soggy afternoon.
“Oh, it’s what you dream of, man,” Tarburton said. “Heck, yeah. You know what you’re going to get. It’s going to be a ground and pound game. It’s fun, man.
“It’s been a while since we played in weather like this. It was awesome.”
The 11th-ranked Nittany Lions held Northwestern to 31 rushing yards and overcame five turnovers by their offense in a 17-7 victory in their Big Ten home opener.
Remarkably, Penn State (2-0, 5-0) held the Wildcats (1-1, 1-4) to a meager 8 yards after those five giveaways.
“Sudden change doesn’t even matter,” said safety Ji’Ayir Brown, who had an interception. “We don’t even think about ‘Oh, offense turned the ball over.’ Or, ‘Oh, something happened and we gotta go rush out on the field.’
“I love getting snaps. I love playing defense.”
Hakeem Beamon, a tackle, broke up passes on third and fourth down to end one Wildcats drive in the fourth quarter. Cornerback Johnny Dixon broke up a fourth-down pass later with 5:30 left.
Defensive tackle PJ Mustipher had the biggest stop, however, stuffing quarterback Ryan Hilinski for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the 1 early in the fourth quarter. It was one of his team-high eight tackles.
“I was expecting them to run a sneak,” Mustipher said. “They were running it a little bit earlier. I just tried to get off the ball. I was trying to make sure everybody knew what was coming because I knew what was coming.
“When we needed to make a stop, we made the stop. That was an example of it right there.”
Penn State’s defense held Northwestern to just 12 first downs and Hilinski to 15-of-37 passing for 210 yards. Evan Hull, who was leading the nation in yards from scrimmage, ran 11 times for 45 yards, including a 29-yarder.
Northwestern committed three turnovers and had only 86 total yards until mounting its only scoring drive late in the third quarter
“We did a lot of good things,” Mustipher said. “We played sound football. It was a grimy game. We knew what we were getting into. We executed our defense and made the plays we were supposed to make. That’s really about it.”
The same could not be said about the offense, which treated the football like a wet bar of soap.
Freshman Nick Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, carried 21 times for 87 yards and one touchdown, but he lost two fumbles in the first half. Classmate Kaytron Allen did not play in the first half, but he finished with 86 yards on 21 rushes and lost a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Keyvone Lee, the Lions’ leading rusher the last two seasons, lost a fumble in the fourth.
Penn State committed just one turnover in its first four games.
“I think we were No. 4 in the country in turnover ratio,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “Well, we saved them all up for tonight. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that. Fortunately, for most of the game, our defense was either able to get a turnover back or they played great. They played phenomenal.”
Sean Clifford did not, going 10-of-20 passing for 140 yards and one TD with one interception. He completed just 2 of his final 9 attempts.
“It’s not up to the standard that he normally plays at,” Franklin said. “He had the one interception and there could have been a couple others. ..I don’t think this was one of Sean’s best games.
“And just like I am with the running backs, I’m not going to allow the weather to be an excuse.”
Penn State built a 14-0 lead in the first half on Clifford’s 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brenton Strange in the first quarter and Singleton’s 2-yard run in the second.
Singleton, getting his second consecutive start, carried 17 times for 76 yards in the first half, but lost two fumbles. He lost the football on the Lions’ first series, but officials ruled that his progress had been stopped.
Each team had three turnovers in the first half. Clifford missed Harrison Wallace III by a lot in the first quarter on a pass that was picked off by linebacker Bryce Gallagher at the Penn State 42.
“It’s just tough to get into a rhythm when you’re just, like, on and off,” Clifford said. “The balls are getting heavy. It’s all over the place. Now, there are throws that I need to make. I’m not making excuses like that. But at the same time, it’s tough out there, I’m not going to lie.”
The Lions defense produced three takeaways, an interception by Brown inside the Penn State 30 in the first quarter and fumble recoveries by Tarburton and Curtis Jacobs. Tarburton recovered Hilinksi’s fumbled snap at the Northwestern 45 in the second quarter. The Lions converted that turnover into a touchdown seven plays later on Singleton’s run.
In the first half, Clifford went 7-for-10 for 81 yards and one TD on a pretty call by offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. He faked a pitch to Lee and found Strange, who hurdled a defender to get to the end zone.
The Wildcats finally scored late in the third quarter. Hilinski found wide receiver Jacob Gill behind linebacker Abdul Carter for a 47-yard touchdown, which tightened things.
The Lions responded quickly, Clifford throwing perhaps his deepest pass of the season for 43 yards to Parker Washington to the Northwestern 30. Allen picked up a first down, but the offense stalled and Jake Pinegar kicked a 38-yard field goal that made it 17-7 early in the fourth.
Northwestern then drove down the field, abandoning the run and hurting Penn State’s pass defense. The Wildcats had a first down at the 9, but Mustipher stopped Hilinski on a sneak on fourth down from the 1 with 11:51 to go.
“That today was a Big Ten game,” Tarburton said. “Crappy weather. Running the rock. Being physical. Being tough. Giving it everything you got for your brothers next to you. That’s Big Ten football.”
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment