Lions trounce UMass in the rain
STATE COLLEGE – Massachusetts coach Don Brown hoped the Minutemen, six-touchdown underdogs, could “stay in the fight for 60 minutes” against sixthranked Penn State.
Brown had to settle for almost 15 minutes.
Daequan Hardy returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter and added a 68-yarder for a second score in the third quarter as the Nittany Lions pulverized UMass 63-0 Saturday at waterlogged Beaver Stadium.
Hardy had never returned a punt in college until Saturday. He became the first Penn State player to return two punts for touchdowns in the same game and tied the season record, joining Jimmy Cefalo (1977), O.J. McDuffie (1991), Bruce Branch (1999) and Larry Johnson Jr. (2001).
Penn State (6-0) tuned up for its Big Ten showdown next week at Ohio State with a dominant performance against the overmatched Minutemen (1-7).
The Lions stretched their winning streak to 11 games, all by at least 14 points, and scored at least 30 points for the 14th consecutive game.
Hardy made his first punt return a memorable one with a touchdown before Drew Allar scored on a quarterback sneak, Kaytron Allen powered his way through the middle for a TD and Allar found Tyler Warren for another score and a 28-0 halftime lead.
.Penn State scored in the second half on Hardy’s second return score, touchdown catches of 30 and 18 yards by tight end Theo Johnson, a 2-yard run by Trey Potts and a 31-yard burst by backup quarterback Beau Pribula.
Allar completed 16-of-23 passes for 162 yards and three TDs without an interception. He has yet to commit a turnover in his 16 college games.
Penn State started slowly, the offense committing its first turnover of the season when wide receiver Trey Wallace lost a fumble at the UMass 32. The Lions stalled on their second series after backto-back negative plays before a special teams play ignited them.
Hardy fielded C.J. Kolodziey’s punt at the Penn State 44, received a block on the outside from Cam Miller and another one from Dom DeLuca and sprinted down the right sideline for a touchdown.
The Lions offense got on track in the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns: a 1-yard sneak by Allar, a 9-yard run by Allen and a 7-yard pass from Allar to Warren.
Penn State’s defense thwarted the UMass offense throughout the first half, registering six sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Isaac was a one-man wrecking crew with 2.5 sacks and another tackle for loss.
The Lions outgained the
Minutemen 210-26 in the first half and 408-109 for the game. Now they head to Ohio State and
the beginning of a season-defining stretch against six straight Big Ten East opponents.