Penn State tames Bobcats, 46-10, in home-opener

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. – Penn State Football defeated Ohio, 46-10, in its 2022 home opener at Beaver Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Nicholas Singleton had a breakout-performance with 10 carries for 179 yards, including 70 and 44-yard touchdowns and a 48-yard run. Singleton’s first career touchdown was the longest run since Journey Brown’s 85-yard run versus Pitt in 2019. His 179 yards are a school record for a Beaver Stadium debut.

Singleton became the first Nittany Lion with multiple 40+ yard touchdown runs in a game since Larry Johnson at Indiana on Nov. 16, 2002 (touchdown runs of 41, 43 and 69 yards). He is the first Nittany Lion with three 40+ yard runs in a game since Johnson’s performance against Indiana (runs of 41, 41, 43 and 69).

Penn State produced 572 net total yards, 234 on the ground and 338 in the air. Sean Clifford was 19-for-27 passing for 213 yards and a touchdown along with a carry for 12 yards. Seventeen Nittany Lions registered at least one catch, led by Parker Washington with four for 60 yards.

The Nittany Lions limited the Bobcats to just 264 yards, 16 first downs and just one play over 20 yards, a 25-yard run. Tyler Elsdon had a team-high six tackles, and Dominic DeLuca collected a team-high five solo tackles.

The Nittany Lions got on the board first as a 12-play, 77-yard drive finished with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Clifford. The redshirt senior completed all six passes attempted on the drive, tallying 62 yards. The drive included a 38-yard reception by Washington and a 15-yard grab by Tyler Warren. Clifford had a 15-yard run to setup his touchdown rush. Penn State led 7-0 with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter.

Penn State needed just one play to score on its next drive as Singleton ran 70 yards for his first career touchdown. A 15-yard face mask penalty on a Singleton rush attempt set up his long run that doubled the Nittany Lions’ lead with 2:28 left in the opening quarter.

Unable to score on a third-straight possession, Penn State responded with a safety on Ohio’s first play of its drive, the Nittany Lions’ first safety since 2018 at Pitt. Pinned at the one-yard line after a 45-yard punt by Barney Amor, the Bobcats botched a handoff in the endzone and were able to jump on the ball before a Nittany Lions’ defender could.

Penn State added a field goal with 5:14 remaining in the second quarter. Starting at its own 43-yard line after forcing a turnover on downs, the Nittany Lions moved the ball down to the redzone on 10 plays before Jake Pinegar’s 25-yard kick.

Ohio got on the board in its final possession of the first half. The Bobcats turned in an eight-play, 75-yard drive capitalized by a one-yard rushing touchdown by Sieh Bangura. Ohio’s offensive attack was buoyed by two trick plays, a lateral to Bangura off a short catch by Sam Wiglusz for 15 yards and a 17-yard pass from wide receiver Jacoby Jones to the quarterback Kurtis Rourke to get on the one-yard line.

Starting at its own 22-yard line with 1:29 left in the first half, Penn State effectively ran its two-minute offense for a 7-yard touchdown throw from Clifford to Mitchell Tinsley with 15 seconds left. Clifford made eight competitions for all 78 yards gained on the drive, including a 34-yard catch to Washington that preceded Tinsley’s touchdown.

The Nittany Lions recorded the first score of the second half with a 32-yard pass from Drew Allar to Omari Evans for both of their first collegiate touchdowns with 9:25 left in the third quarter. Starting from their 30-yard line, the five-play drive took only two minutes and eight seconds, which was aided by a 7-yard catch by Washington and 15-yard roughing the passer penalty added to it.

Singleton’s second touchdown of 44 yards made it 40-7 with 4:33 left in the third quarter. All three plays in the 52-yard drive were Singleton rushes.

Penn’s State’s final touchdown was Allar’s second touchdown, a 28-yard pass to Khalil Dinkins for his first career touchdown a minute and 16 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions orchestrated a 55-yard drive on nine plays, and the freshman quarterback accounted for all but one yard with four rushes for 17 yards and three completions for 37 yards.

Ohio notched a 21-yard field goal to complete a 15-play, 76-yard drive with 6:50 left in the game.