Penn State football can’t stop run, drops Outback Bowl to Arkansas, 24-10
Penn State football was unable to close out its season with a win, losing to the No. 21 Arkansas Razorbacks 24-10 in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, Saturday afternoon.
Both teams traded interception on back-to-back plays early on, with senior safety Ji’Ayir Brown earning the first on a play that likely prevented a touchdown. Brown ran half the length of the field and broke up an open touchdown, hauling the ball in himself to get the Penn State offense the ball.
Redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford gave the ball right back, however, with an underthrown ball intended for redshirt sophomore tight end Brenton Strange. The Penn State defense held, but caved two drives later when Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders punched in a three-yard touchdown run one play after the officials appeared to miss a false start on fourth down.
Penn State had an answer a few drives later after a punt return by sophomore wide receiver Parker Washington set the Nittany Lions up on the Arkansas 42-yard line. Clifford found another sophomore wide receiver, this time KeAndre Lambert-Smith, wide open down the field for a 42-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven early in the second quarter.
The Lions had another opportunity to take a touchdown lead after driving deep into Arkansas territory, but the offense stalled out and had to settle for a 33-yard Jake Pinegar field goal to take a 10-7 lead.
Arkansas had a chance of its own to tie the game up, but a trick play went wrong when wide receiver Warren Thompson threw a pass that was intercepted by Brown and allowed Penn State to knee the ball and run out the clock.
Redshirt sophomore Smith Vilbert had three sacks in the first half as part of the team’s total of five in the game’s first 30 minutes as the team held the Razorbacks to seven points.
Arkansas was able to make up for that missed opportunity on its first drive of the second half. The Razorbacks marched down the field on a 75-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback KJ Jefferson. They then quickly added another three points on their next drive, utilizing the running game to get into range before it was stymied by the Penn State defense.
The defense couldn’t hold up the next drive, however, as the Razorbacks ran all over the Penn State defense and scored another touchdown on a Sanders run to take a 24-10 lead.
They were able to hang on from there, defeating the Nittany Lions, 24-10, to drop Penn State to 7-6 on the season.
Player of the game
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Smith Vilbert: The Nittany Lions only had one player with more than two sacks this season entering Saturday’s game, and left with one having three in the first half alone. Vilbert put together as good of a performance as any Nittany Lion defender, tallying three sacks in the game’s first 30 minutes. He used his size and speed to blow by the Arkansas offensive tackles and get into the backfield to bring down Jefferson. The redshirt sophomore was forced into a bigger role after the team’s best pass rusher, Arnold Ebiketie, opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Vilbert delivered in a way that bodes well for the production he can provide next season.
Stat of the game
176: That’s how many rushing yards Penn State gave up to the Razorbacks in the third quarter of Saturday’s game. They had success on the ground in the first half, tallying 105 yards, and continued pounding away in the second half. The rushing onslaught allowed Arkansas to take the lead on the Nittany Lions and build upon it in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Jefferson led the way with 102 yards on his own, including a 34-yard run that spurred the team’s second touchdown drive of the quarter, a drive that gave the team a 24-10 lead.
Looking ahead
at Purdue: Penn State’s 2021 season has come to an end and now it will look to 2022. The Nittany Lions’ next contest will come on the road on Sept. 3 when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. The Boilermakers finished the 2021 season with a 9-4 record and a win in the Music City Bowl.
Like Penn State, they are losing many of their best players, including wide receiver David Bell and defensive end George Karlaftis, who are entering the 2022 NFL Draft.
This story was originally published January 1, 2022 at 3:30 PM.
