Penn State football puts away Auburn, 28-20, in front of a White Out Beaver Stadium crowd
Penn State football held off the visiting No. 22 Auburn Tigers on Saturday to win, 28-20, and defend its No. 10 ranking.
The Nittany Lions struggled out of the gate, giving up three points on Auburn’s first offensive drive, but settled in for the rest of the first half after that point to put themselves in an advantageous position. They were able to put together long drives and get the ball to their playmakers on the outside to take a 14-10 lead at the half.
Redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford was calm and composed on multiple drives as he led the offense down the field. He spread the ball around to his receivers and tight ends in the half to lead to the two scoring drives. The team’s defense held up, as well, containing the Auburn offense for the most part after Auburn running back Tank Bigsby broke an 18-yard run on the team’s first offensive play of the game.
The two teams traded drives in the second half until it was 21-20 and Penn State punched it in from three yards out with running back Noah Cain to make the game 28-20.
The defense came up big and prevented the Auburn offense from tying the game late when it only had 38 seconds to get down the field and tie the game down eight points.
That proved to be enough for the Nittany Lions as they closed out a 28-20 victory to get to 3-0 on the season.
Player of the game
WR Jahan Dotson: Dotson is clearly one of the best receivers in the country at this point and put that ability on display Saturday night against a good Auburn defense. The senior receiver finished with 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown in the game, along with a completed pass for 22 yards, and was a consistent option for redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford. Clifford consistently found his top option, targeting him 12 times, and was even bailed out by Dotson when his throws weren’t perfect.
There were a few throws by Clifford that did not make life easy for Dotson, but the senior receiver used his long arms and strong hands to haul in multiple difficult passes, including the game’s first touchdown. He’s been dominant all season and continued to open up the Penn State offense Saturday night.
Turning point
Penn State recovers a Kobe Hudson fumble: The game looked like it could be on the seesaw with both teams trading scores, until Auburn coughed the ball up on the first play of the third quarter. Wide receiver Kobe Hudson took an end around to the right edge, where multiple Penn State defenders forced him back to the middle of the field. After he cut back, Hudson lost control of the ball and dropped it, untouched.
Penn State defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo jumped on the loose ball to give his offense the ball in the red zone. The unit scored a few plays later to take a 21-10 lead and put Penn State on top, creating enough distance between the two teams to earn the victory.
Stat of the game
302: That’s how many yards Penn State threw for in the game. The running game had a difficult time getting going against a strong Auburn defense, tallying only 89 yards on 33 carries in the game, including 19 carries for 45 yards for lead back Noah Cain. Instead, Clifford found his best receivers and gave them an opportunity to carry the offense. He was able to get Dotson, Parker Washington, Theo Johnson and a mess of others the ball to get the offense going.
The passing game showed up when it needed most Saturday night in a big way for the Nittany Lions.
Up next
vs. Villanova: Penn State gets a reprieve next week as it continues to navigate the most difficult part of its schedule. The Nittany Lions will take on the Villanova Wildcasts next week, an FCS opponent, which is as easy of a victory as the team will have on the schedule. The Wildcats are a quality FCS team, entering the matchup with a 3-0 record. They’re coming off a 34-27 win over the Richmond Spiders.
The Nittany Lions should be able to play plenty of backups next week and get meaningful reps for young players like backup quarterback Ta’Quon Roberson. They will likely coast to a victory over the Wildcats on their way to a 4-0 record.
This story was originally published September 18, 2021 at 11:16 PM.
