3 & Out Rapid Reaction: Penn State football handles Northwestern 41-13

Evanston, Illinois –  The Penn State football team game in as a heavy favorite over the Northwestern Wildcats and took care of business on the road. In a game where the Nittany Lions football team had to bring their own juice, they started off with a very slow first half.  But Drew Allar, Manny Diaz, and the rest of this team found a way. Although Penn State outgained the Wildcats 158-59 in terms of total yards they were tied at 10 at halftime. But at the end of the day, the Nittany Lions found a way to win the game and continue their streak of scoring more than 30 points in a game. As they improve to 5-0 on the season.

Drew Allar had a slow start but a strong second half

It wasn’t pretty to start the game. Another road game where Drew Allar looked very uncomfortable in the pocket. He struggled to find a rhythm. In the first half, Allar was 8-16 for only 91 yards. The offensive line was unable to exploit the poor run defense of Northwestern. Entering this game the Wildcats were allowing 184.5 rushing yards per game. Today on the ground the Nittany Lions gained 134 yards many of them coming in the second half.

Allar finished the day completing 14-25 passes for 189 yards and 1 touchdown. It’s only his second career road start, but the sophomore needs to find a way to be more consistent on the road. The next test will be against Ohio State and the Nittany Lions cannot afford a slow start that day.

Manny Diaz had the defense ready to go

The Penn State defense was ready to roll today. After a Nick Singleton fumble on the opening kickoff, the defense was forced to go to work. They held the Wildcats to just a field goal. The defensive line overwhelmed Northwestern during this game. It was Kevin Winston Jr. who racked up 5 tackles to lead the way.

Sophomore Dani Dennis-Sutton had an impressive afternoon as well. He finished with 1.5 tackles for loss, including 1 sack and 3 tackles on the day. The Nittany Lions collectively picked up 7 sacks on the day. The defense also only allowed 130 yards to Northwestern. A dominant performance to say the least.

Alex Felkins shows continued consistency

The kicking game needed to be more consistent after the West Virginia game and Alex Felkins has stepped up. Once again today he was very efficient. He made two field goals one from 20 yards and another from 47 yards. He also made all of his extra-point attempts going 5 for 5 in that area. Penn State needed a kicker to emerge and he has done just that.

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