Penn State football beats Rutgers, 23-7, to grab its second win of the 2020 season
For the first time all season, the Penn State Nittany Lions dominated their opponent, earning a 23-7 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey. The win is the second of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State led at halftime, 17-0, which marked its largest halftime lead of the season. The Nittany Lions had totaled 229 yards of offense at the break, compared to the Scarlet Knights’ 43. Rutgers showed signs of life midway through the third quarter after defensive back Christian Izien intercepted redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford, allowing the Scarlet Knights to score their first touchdown on the following drive with 4:56 to go until the fourth quarter.
Clifford finished 15-22 passing for 133 yards, one touchdown and an interception, while adding 21 yards on the ground on eight carries.
Penn State improves to 2-5, while Rutgers falls to 2-5.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
RB Devyn Ford and LB Jesse Luketa: Sophomore running back Devyn Ford played in a game for the first time since he left early in Penn State’s Week 5 matchup with Iowa because of an injury. He also missed last week’s game against Michigan because of a death in his family.
Ford didn’t look like he had to shake off much rust on Saturday against Rutgers, though. He was dominant, especially early. With 6:21 to go until halftime, Ford ran into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 17-0 lead before the break.
The Stafford, Virginia, native finished with 65 yards on 11 carries — averaging 5.9 yards per rush.
Junior linebacker Jesse Luketa led the way for Penn State’s defense, which didn’t give Rutgers much breathing room all afternoon.
Luketa ended the game with a team-high 10 total tackles — with one of those for a loss.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Penn State’s first touchdown of the game stands out in this one. With 3:32 left in the opening quarter, Clifford hit freshman receiver Parker Washington — who was wide-open in-stride toward the end zone — for a 29-yard touchdown to make the score 7-0.
Clifford stepped back and had plenty of time to throw on that play, while Washington gained a lot of separation from his defender to catch the ball and run into the end zone.
It was another instance when the Nittany Lions looked like they were having fun on the field — something that had been a rare occurance before last week’s win over Michigan. To build off their last two wins — their first two of 2020 — they’ll need to have more of these types of moments over the final two weeks of the regular season.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Head coach James Franklin has made it known that the Nittany Lions would use both Clifford and redshirt sophomore quarterback Will Levis in games. Still, it was a bit of a surprise to see Levis in the game early and often.
Aside from short-yardage situations on third and fourth downs, Levis also took snaps early in drives.
The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Connecticut native ran for 65 yards on 17 carries. On Penn State’s third offensive drive of the game, Levis ran three consecutive times for a total of 28 yards before Clifford checked back in.
Though using Levis on the ground often was somewhat effective, the Nittany Lions’ strategy became obvious anytime Levis behind center.
UP NEXT
vs. Michigan State: After picking up their first two wins of the season in two weeks — both on the road — Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium to take on Michigan State next Saturday.
With the Spartans sitting at 2-3 in an up-and-down year, next week should be an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to grab another win and try to finish 2020 strong.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 3:23 PM.
