STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — — Nicholas Singleton ran for two touchdowns, Penn State forced three turnovers and the No. 2 Nittany Lions pulled away to beat Nevada 46-11 on Saturday in the opener for both teams.
Singleton capped Penn State’s opening possession with a 1-yard run then scored on another short plunge early in the third quarter. Kayton Allen cut around the defense for a 13-yard score in the second.
Nevada had already self-destructed by then.
Penn State cornerback AJ Harris recovered Ky Woods’ fumble to spoil the Wolf Pack’s opening drive. Their next possession ended when defensive tackle Zane Durant intercepted Chubba Purdy’s pass deep in his own end.
“You see a ton of sloppy football early in the season,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “I didn’t see any of that. We didn’t have stupid penalties. We didn’t put the ball on the ground. We didn’t turn it over. We didn’t burn timeouts. That was big.”
Ryan Barker kicked four field goals for the Nittany Lions, who led 27-3 at halftime after Kyron Hudson hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Drew Allar with 23 seconds left in the second quarter.
Hudson caught six passes for 89 yards, and Trebor Peña added seven for 74.
Penn State outgained Nevada 436-203 and held the Wolf Pack to 78 rushing yards. Fifty of Nevada’s yards came on its final possession.
Joe McFadden kicked a 28-yard field goal for Nevada, but the offense only managed two more trips into the red zone. Purdy misfired over the middle on fourth down with 14:47 to play, but backup AJ Bianco connected with Marcus Bellon for a 9-yard score with 25 seconds left.
Nevada coach Jeff Choate knew Dani Dennis-Sutton would be a handful.
The Penn State defensive end lived up to the hype. He forced both Nevada fumbles, added a sack and broke up a pass.
“That No. 33 is as advertised,” Choate said.
Durant knows he likely won’t lead Penn State in interceptions this year, but he’s content being at the top of the picks board for now.
He knew he had a chance at his first interception since high school when he saw teammate Xavier Gilliam bearing down on Purdy’s blindside.
“I knew it was a screen,” Durant said. “My initial reaction was I didn’t want to fumble the ball and let my teammates down.”
Allar completed 22 of 26 passes for 217 yards and yielded the offense to backup Ethan Grunkemeyer in the third quarter.
“I think overall for the offense, we had a really good first game,” Allar said. “The only thing for me that I want to get corrected or fixed is when we have opportunities to get into the red zone right away.”
Nevada: The Wolf Pack moved the ball early, they just couldn’t stop giving it back to the Nittany Lions. Nevada’s first three possessions ended with a fumble, an interception and a punt. The offense crossed midfield just twice more.
Penn State: Beating up on a team that has won just seven games combined over the last three seasons likely won’t do much for the Nittany Lions, with No. 3 Ohio State beating top-ranked Texas.
Nevada: Hosts Sacramento State on Saturday.
Penn State: Hosts Florida International on Saturday.
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