Penn State Proves Too Much to Handle for Scarlet Knights
Rutgers suffered its fourth consecutive loss on Saturday, falling to a very good Penn State team 27-6 in Happy Valley to drop to 6-5 on the season.
The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but couldn’t muster enough offense against the Nittany Lions, who held RU to just 229 yards of offense and forced three Rutgers’ turnovers.
Penn State grabbed a 7-3 lead when Kaytron Allen plowed into the end zone from two yards out in the early stages of the second quarter to cap an impressive 15-play, 75 yard drive.
On Rutgers next possession, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt fumbled the ball into the hands of PSU’s Dani Dennis-Sutton. Rutgers was able to hold Penn State to a field goal, making it a 10-3 contest.
Give Rutgers defense credit. With the Nittany Lions in a transition offensively after the stunning firing of Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich, they kept the Scarlet Knights in the game. Penn State struggled to get going offensively as Rutgers defense held them to two punts, a turnover on downs and a fumble in the middle of the ballgame.
By the late stages of the third quarter, Rutgers was still in the mix trailing only 13-6 with 5:32 to go in the third quarter.
However, on a second and six at the Penn State 47-yard line, Wimsatt was strip sacked in a play that turned out to be the game deciding moment. The Nittany Lions responded by turning to Kaytron Allen who gashed Rutgers for 31 yards on five carries, including a three-yard score that make it 20-6 with 14:14 to go in the game.
With the loss Rutgers falls to 6-5 on the year. The regular season comes to a conclusion next Saturday at 3:30 when Rutgers hosts Maryland.