The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
No. 11 Penn State takes step forward
Nittany Lions dismantle Pitt, score game’s final 45 points
Penn State head coach James Franklin expected a response from his players after dodging an upset in its opener against Appalachian State.
He got one. Just a half later than he would have liked.
The Nittany Lions pummeled Pittsburgh 51-6 in the slop at Heinz Field on Saturday night, scoring the game’s final 45 points and pouring it on in the pouring rain. Still, Franklin found himself as focused on his team’s uneven first 29 minutes as he was on its dominant final 31.
“I’m pleased with where we’re at, but we’ve got to take another step,” Franklin said after beating the Panthers decisively for a second straight season. “We have to play better in the first half. Because depending on how things go, you might not be able to come back. You might not be able to recover.”
Penn State (2-0) recovered in time to post the third-largest margin by either team in a series that dates back 125 years. Still, the blowout seemed unlikely for most of the opening two quarters. Pitt (1-1) pushed the Nittany Lions around at times behind running back Qadree Ollison and only trailed thanks to a series of penalties, special teams gaffes and some curious playcalling.
Things turned late in the first half when the Nittany Lions stuffed Pitt on a fourth-and-3 at the Penn State 4 to preserve a one-point lead. Minutes later Pitt punter Kirk Christodoulou botched a snap, dropped the ball and the Nittany Lions recovered. It took three snaps for Trace McSorley hit KJ Hamler for a 14-yard score to put Penn State up 14-6.
Still, Franklin felt there should have been more. Mile Sanders ran for a career-high 118 yards in his return to his hometown but also had about 40 yards chopped off a long gain in the first half thanks to an illegal block behind the play. Sanders then had a 64-yard touchdown reception wiped out early in the second half when Ju