Drew Allar threw for one touchdown and ran for another as No. 6 Penn State overcame a slow start to bolt past Northwestern 41-13 in a Big Ten game Saturday at Evanston, Ill.
Trey Potts and Nicholas Singleton each scored rushing and receiving TDs, while Singleton ran the ball 21 times for 80 yards as Penn State (5-0, 3-0) tallied at least 30 points for the 12th consecutive game going back to last season.
The Wildcats (2-3, 1-2) led 10-3 late in the first half before Nittany Lions ripped off 24 straight points to take command.
Penn State, which entered ranked No. 1 in the nation in total defense, limited Northwestern to 175 yards and 12 first downs.
The Nittany Lions had seven sacks and stifled the Wildcats on 11 of their 16 attempts on third down. They also turned back two fourth-down tries by Northwestern in the third quarter.
Penn State’s Zane Durant had three tackles for losses, including a sack in the fourth quarter which thwarted a Northwestern drive. The Wildcats reached the Penn State 1-yard line but instead were forced to settle for a 28-yard field goal from Jack Olsen.
The sack also knocked Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant out of the game after he had completed 14 of 25 passes for 122 yards.
In the second quarter, Bryant directed a 59-yard drive, which he capped with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to give the Wildcats their 10-3 lead.
Late in the half, the Nittany Lions countered with a game-tying 13-yard touchdown run by Potts. Penn State then took the lead for good, going 68 yards with its first possession of the second half. Allar capped the 12-play march with a fourth-down touchdown run from the 1-yard line.
A 47-yard Alex Felkins field goal upped the Nittany Lions’ lead to 20-10 with 6:03 left in the third.
After the Penn State defense made its second straight fourth-down stop, Allar threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Singleton.
Allar was 18-of-33 passing for 189 yards.
–Field Level Media
