While Penn State was sitting at home preparing for its next game, its next opponent was busy getting absolutely torched on the road in Week 3. Kent State, who will make a trip to Beaver Stadium in Week 4, was shredded on the road by Tennessee. After trailing 65-0 at halftime, the Golden Flashes were sent home with a 71-0 setback.
Penn State may not be about to drop 70 points on their visitors next weekend, but it does look promising for a big offensive performance from the Nittany Lions.
Tennessee wasted no time taking care of Kent State by scoring a school-record 37 points in the first quarter, and a program-record 65 points in the first half. The Vols took their foot off the gas pedal and took some mercy on Kent State in the second half by scoring just a pair of field goals on long drives consisting of mostly runs to keep the clock running. Tennessee could have tacked on more from the Kent State 7-yard line but ran the ball for a 2-yard gain on a 4th & 5 for a turnover on downs.
If Penn State mimics the success of Tennessee, then expect plenty of rushing yardage to go around for the Nittany Lions. Tennessee rushed for 456 yards and six touchdowns as a team, with DeSean Bishop and Dylan Sampson each rushing for at least 100 yards and combining for all six touchdowns. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen should each be licking their chops watching the game film this week. There should be a good number of carries to spread around to others as well as long as Penn State establishes some dominance early enough.
Penn State’s defense will also likely be in a good spot to have a rebound game. After a shaky start against Bowling Green in Week 2, the defense made adjustments and controlled things much better in the second half. Kent State managed just 112 yards of total offense in their road trip to Tennessee, with 58 passing yards and 58 rushing yards.
Penn State will host Kent State this week in a 3:30 p.m. ET game on Big Ten Network.
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