Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 3 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Best Of The Best As evidenced by its 5-0 record and No. 6 national ranking through the first six weeks of the 2023 season, there have been a lot more highs than lows for the Penn State football team lately. Here's a recap of the season's top plays to date. BEST PASS: The Nittany Lions could hardly have scripted a more dra- matic way for sophomore Drew Allar to announce his arrival as their starting quarterback. On just the fourth offensive play of Penn State's season, Allar escaped a collapsing pocket, stepped up with eyes down- field and found KeAndre Lambert-Smith streaking right to left in a one- on-one matchup. Allar delivered the pass with a flick of his wrist, then Lambert-Smith did the rest. Shedding a would-be tackler, the junior receiver trotted un- touched for the rest of his 72-yard trip into the end zone, sending Beaver Stadium into hysterics. BEST RUN: The offense was struggling, and Penn State was trailing Northwestern 10-3 late in the second quarter when third-team running back Trey Potts entered the game in place of sophomore Nicholas Single- ton. The redshirt senior turned right, slipped out of an attempted ankle tackle and darted into the end zone on his first carry. Potts' 13-yard score helped PSU wake up from a sluggish start. It was the start of a 38-3 run over the game's final 31 minutes. BEST CATCH: Penn State was trying to maneuver into scoring position from the Illinois 44-yard line with only a few seconds left in the first half. That's when Allar threw to redshirt sophomore wideout Liam Clifford rac- ing down the right sideline. Clifford made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch in traffic and dragged his right foot across the turf just before tum- bling out of bounds at the 11-yard line with 11 seconds left. His artful 32- yard reception set up a short field goal and a 16-7 halftime lead. BEST SACK: Penn State's defensive ends got close but couldn't seal the deal for most of the first half against Iowa. Until the final minute, that is. With redshirt senior Adisa Isaac closing on the edge and junior Chop Robinson barreling upfield, Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara was over- whelmed for a 9-yard loss to force a punt. BEST HIT: Northwestern was facing third-and-goal at Penn State's 1-yard line when sophomore defensive tackle Zane Durant dashed its hopes of climbing back into the game in the fourth quarter. Durant came crashing though the line and dropped quarterback Ben Bryant for a 9-yard loss. The Wildcats had to settle for a field goal, and Penn State coasted to a 41-13 victory. BEST KICK: Penn State had taken possession at the Northwestern 31-yard line after the Wildcats came up short on fourth-and-1 midway through the third quarter. The Lions held a precarious seven-point lead at the time and were hoping to double it, but they managed only 2 yards on their first three plays. The coaches didn't want to squander a golden opportunity, but they were left with two risky options: try to convert on fourth-and-8 on a day when the offense was struggling or attempt the season's longest field goal. They chose the latter, and senior Alex Felkins rewarded their confidence by sending home a 47-yarder. — Nate Bauer Drew Allar threw for 325 yards against West Virginia in his debut as Penn State's starting quarterback. Of that total, 72 yards came on his second completion of the game, a long touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL are rare. Most years, if you find someone who can field the ball cleanly, you're doing OK. Redshirt freshman Kaden Saunders has fielded the ball cleanly. He did lose control of a punt in the rain against Iowa, but he got a fortuitous bounce and quickly fell on the ball to prevent a turnover. Otherwise, he's been fearless and dependable. Saunders didn't break off any big re- turns in the team's first five games. His longest in that span was a 19-yarder against Illinois, and he went into the Mas- sachusetts game averaging 4.1 yards per attempt to rank seventh in the Big Ten. Grade: B- KICKOFF RETURN: When you don't give up many points, you don't get to field many kickoffs. Through five games, Singleton had brought back only 6 kicks for an average of 17.7 yards. He ranked eighth in the conference in that category heading into the Massachu- setts game, and he also had a fumble at Northwestern that put Penn State in an early 3-0 hole. Singleton has shown game-breaking potential as a return specialist during his short tenure at Penn State. He had a 100-yard touchdown on a return at Rutgers last season, but he's been quiet so far this year. Grade: C BWI staff writers Nate Bauer, Matt Herb and Greg Pickel contributed to this report.