Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
8 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 OPENING SHOT LOUD AND PROUD Penn State needed to show resilience after dropping its first game of the season, a 20-13 decision against fourth-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 2 in which the offense managed only a pair of field goals. It was up to veteran leaders such as redshirt senior center Nick Dawkins (right) to help the Nittany Lions bounce back in their matchup against Washington the following week. They succeeded. Penn State scored touch- downs on all four of its first-half drives against Washington, building a 28-0 lead. While the of- fensive pace slowed in the second half, the de- fense was ferocious throughout, and the Nittany Lions coasted to a 35-6 win, their most lopsided Big Ten victory to that point in the season. "We've got a ton to be proud of, and we focus on that," coach James Franklin said. "We focus on making corrections. I'm proud of my guys. I'm proud of my staff and how we go about our busi- ness. We value winning, and if you watch college football all over the country, it's hard to win on a consistent basis." Dawkins and his fellow offensive linemen played a key role in the victory. Against the Buck- eyes a week earlier, the Nittany Lions had been held to 120 yards rushing and were stifled on three running plays inside the 5-yard line in a crucial sequence late in the fourth quarter. In stark contrast, Penn State rushed for 266 yards and 4 touchdowns versus the Huskies. Ju- nior running back Kaytron Allen had 98 yards and a score on 20 carries, while classmate Nicholas Singleton added 45 yards. True freshman Corey Smith totaled 95 yards, nearly all coming on a 78-yard dash down the left sideline in the final minutes. "It's a huge confidence booster for us," red- shirt freshman offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh said. "I feel like in weeks past, we didn't do as good a job as we wanted because we had a few technique issues as an offensive line. Today we cleaned it up, and we saw the results of that. Be- ing able to run for as much as we did, and doing it efficiently, having some explosive runs, too — it's just a big, big confidence boost." It helped that the clash with the Huskies hap- pened to be Penn State's annual White Out game, an occasion that frequently brings out the Nittany Lions' best. There were 110,233 fans on hand at Beaver Stadium, and the atmosphere was electric, even with the team coming off a loss. "It's one of the best sporting events — not just football — that there is," Franklin said. "The White Out is always fantastic." — Matt Herb PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS