Tag: Dominic Deluca

Top 10 moments from Penn State’s 2024 season: Winning College Football Playoff debut at home (No. 2)

Penn State’s College Football Playoff debut in Beaver Stadium was one of the top moments of the 2024 season.

With Penn State’s football season now officially in the books, now is a good time to start putting the whole season into perspective. Although the season ended with the Nittany Lions coming up just short of playing for a national championship, there were a lot of good moments to reflect on positively from the 2024 season that ended with a final record of 13-3. The shortcomings are well documented, but the highlights of the year should not be forgotten.

The expansion of the College Football Playoff came at a great time for Penn State. Ironically, the Nittany Lions had stumbled on a quest to be one of the four playoff teams in the previous four-team model but entered the first postseason with a 12-team College Football Playoff as the no. 4 team ranked by the selection committee. Without a conference title, however, Penn State was bumped down in the seeding process as the top four seeds were reserved exclusively for conference champions. That bumped Penn State down to the no. 6 seed overall but was still more than good enough to secure a home game in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Penn State would have loved to take the Big Ten championship and secure a first-round bye, of course, but its loss to Oregon in the Big Ten championship game dropped Penn State into perhaps the most favorable draw in the playoff field. It all started with the first postseason game in Beaver Stadium history with a first-round matchup against ACC runner-up SMU.

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Penn State’s defense set the tone and got the scoring started with not one, but TWO interceptions returned for touchdowns. Veteran linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] had a 23-yard return for a score midway through the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, it was rising star linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] who picked off SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings. Rojas then took off for a 59-yard return for a touchdown to put Penn State up 14-0 before the offense found its groove in the chilly December temperatures.

Before the first half came to a close, [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] each took the ball into the end zone for a touchdown and Penn State was in full command with a 28-0 lead at halftime.

A capacity cro3d of 106,013 filled Beaver Stadium with a whiteout energy taking over Happy Valley for the long-awaited playoff debut for the program. They were treated to a dominant performance fueled by the defense, which forced three turnovers and turned each of those takeaways into a touchdown. The win moved Penn State onto the second round of the expanded playoff to face No. 3 seed and Mountain West Conference champion Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Home teams went 4-0 in the first-round matchups in the playoff with Penn State joining Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Texas as teams advancing to the second round. All four would eventually go on to play in the semifinal round.

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Dominic DeLuca has two words for Penn State in 2025; ‘I’m back’

Penn State team captain channels his inner Michael Jordan in sharing his 2025 decision.

There may be no other player who has worked and ground as hard to leave his mark on the Penn State program the way linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] has. From walking on and earning a scholarship at the Rose Bowl to becoming a true team leader, DeLuca has more than earned the respect of his coaches and teammates these past few years. But he is not done just yet playing football in Happy Valley.

Perhaps channeling his inner Michael Jordan, DeLuca posted a short and sweet message on his social media profiles on Wednesday confirming his status for the 2025 season.

“I’m back,” the graphic on DeLuca’s Instagram account read in big, bold letters. “I will return to Penn State for the 2025 season.”

DeLuca, a redshirt junior in 2024, had a career-best 40 tackles in the 2024 season and he appeared in 15 of Penn State’s 16 games played, which included the Big Ten championship game and a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal. DeLuca helped Penn State’s playoff run get started with a pick-six against SMU in the first round of the playoff. It was one of three interceptions by DeLuca this past season.

DeLuca’s return next season will provide some needed stability at the linebacker position. He will join rising star Tony Rojas as a leader in the linebacker group, but the group will be losing Kobe King. King announced this week he is declaring for the NFL draft, leaving some big shoes to fill in the middle of the defense. But having DeLuca and Rojas return is a big plus for the defense, which will be under the leadership of a new defensive coordinator following the departure of Tom Allen to Clemson.

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Best photos from Penn State’s College Football Playoff win over SMU

Check out some of the best images from Penn State’s first-round win over SMU in the College Football Playoff.

Penn State made its College Football Playoff debut with a laugher in front of a packed Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The frigid temperatures couldn’t keep the defense from heating up with a pair of defensive touchdowns in the first half to set the tone for a 38-10 victory over SMU in the first round of the playoff.

Noon kickoffs in Happy Valley tend to have mixed reviews, but the crowd was fired up for the historic first College Football Playoff game in Beaver Stadium history. And despite the cold weather, the scene looked fantastic.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s dominating victory over SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff from Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

Penn State will take on Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, which will be the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff. The Fiesta Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 31 in Glendale, Arizona.

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Penn State clobbers SMU in College Football Playoff, 38-10

Penn State will face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl after a blowing out SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Penn State’s defense set the tone with a pair of pick-sixes against SMU and the offense eventually got things rolling in a one-sided affair in the first College Football Playoff game in Penn State and Beaver Stadium history. Penn State dominated SMU to advance to the quarterfinal round with a 38-10 victory on Saturday afternoon in chilly Happy Valley.

[autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] will be the answer to a new Penn State football trivia question. It was DeLuca who scored the first touchdown in Penn State playoff history when he jumped in front of a pass from SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings and returned it nearly uncontested for a 23-yard pick-six in the first quarter. With the Penn State offense still working on thawing out, linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] gave Penn State a second defensive touchdown in the second quarter with 59-yard pick-six as Jennings was under pressure once again by the defensive front of Penn State.

The offense did eventually get things moving with the running game starting to pick up some steam. Touchdown runs by [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] in the second quarter helped give Penn State a commanding 28-0 lead at halftime. The two running backs ended the day with three combined touchdowns (Allen had a second touchdown run in the fourth quarter to push the Penn State lead to 38-3).

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] was not particularly sharp but did complete 13 of 22 passes for 127 yards before getting an early rest in the fourth quarter with things comfortably in hand for the Nittany Lions. [autotag]Ethan Grunkemeyer[/autotag] finished the game under center for Penn State, taking advantage of the opportunity to get some live experience following the departure of Beau Pribula by way of the transfer portal earlier in the week.

It was a relatively quiet afternoon for Penn State’s star tight end Tyler Warren. Warren caught four passes for 33 yards and ran once for six yards. Warren also attempted a pass, but it fell incomplete. Expect Warren to have a bigger role in the next round.

Penn State will now head to the Fiesta Bowl for a quarterfinal round matchup with Boise State, champions of the Mountain West Conference. Penn State has never faced Boise State but has enjoyed some storied success in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State faces Boise State on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner of that game will face the winner of the quarterfinal-round matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame.

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Best photos from Penn State’s one-point win at Minnesota

Check out the best images from Penn State’s thriller of a victory over Minnesota.

No win in college football is ever to be considered easy, but this latest one for Penn State was one of the more nerve-racking games of the season for the Nittany Lions. Penn State did manage to come out on top of the Gophers with a 26-25 win that truly tested the mental strength of the program when faced with some adversity.

From injuries left and right on the turf to having to overcome special teams meltdowns and the inability to convert in short-yardage situations, Penn State dug deep to climb back from a 10-0 deficit and a small halftime deficit to improve to 10-1 on the year, and keeping Big Ten title hopes alive and well going into the final week of the regular season.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s one-point victory at Minnesota.

Penn State will close out the regular season at home next week against Maryland. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Penn State can clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship game with a win over the Terrapins if Ohio State is upset by Michigan next Saturday.

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Penn State escapes Minnesota’s upset bid, remains in Big Ten title contention

Penn State avoids massive upset at Minnesota and remains in the Big Ten title hunt going into next week.

It’s OK to breathe a sigh of relief, Penn State fans. The Nittany Lions are 10-1, but it certainly was not pretty on Saturday in a 26-25 victory over Minnesota. But a win is a win, and Penn State has 10 of them in 11 games.

Penn State came out sleeping its way to an early 10-0 deficit in the first half, and it was a constant battle to climb its way to a 23-22 lead in the third quarter. Penn State held a 26-25 lead after the Gophers kicked a field goal on its final possession of the game, and a fake punt and a fourth-and-short conversion on helped Penn State run the remainder of the game’s five minutes and change for a hard-fought victory. The win keeps Penn State in the mix for a spot in the Big Ten championship game and should keep the Nittany Lions for a potential first-round College Football Playoff game in Beaver Stadium.

And it was a roller coaster of emotions to get there.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] completed 20 of 27 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, a 45-yard strike to a wide-open [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] in the second quarter. Allar also picked up a short touchdown run in a game where he was under some good pressure throughout the game and let his emotions boil over a bit on the sideline in the heat of the moment. But Allar delivered another gritty performance on the road like he did at USC earlier in the season.

Not surprisingly, tight end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] was a big reason why Penn State came away with the Governor’s Victory Bell. Warren caught eight passes for 102 yards, including the big fourth-down conversion in the final minute to help Penn State run the clock out for good. Warren was without a touchdown in the game, but he was the game’s leading receiver.

[autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] rushed for a game-high 63 yards and a touchdown and he added six catches for 37 yards. [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] had a quiet day in the box score with three tackles, but he did bring some good pressure off the edge. Minnesota just found ways to avoid letting that pressure bring them down. Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer did throw an interception to [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] and had a costly fumble when he just dropped the ball in the backfield, with Carter battling him for the fumble recovery.

Special teams disasters by Penn State have been rare this season, but they cost Penn State 9 points in the first half. A blocked punt out of the end zone led to a quick Minnesota touchdown to go up 17-10, and a blocked extra point just before halftime was returned by Minnesota for two points. Confusion on the field also led to a rushed shanked pooch punt by Warren as Drew Allar appeared to want to call timeout.

But it was the special teams that helped deliver a win in the biggest way. Kicker [autotag]Ryan Barker[/autotag] hit a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to put Penn State up 26-22. After the Gophers had to settle for a field goal to cut the lead to one, Penn State picked up a 32-yard gain on a fake punt run by [autotag]Luke Reynolds[/autotag] from the Penn State 34-yard line to keep the drive moving. Penn State looked like it was going three-and-out on the drive after Minnesota cut the lead to one, so the fake punt was what ended up being the play of the game. But Allar picked up another fourth down conversion with a two-yard run with 2:10 remaining, and Allar’s pass to Warren for an 11-yard gain on 4th and 1 from the Minnesota 14-yard line and 26 seconds remaining was the icing on the cake.

With the win, and with Ohio State beating Indiana earlier in the day, Penn State is still in the running for a spot in the Big Ten championship game going into next week. Penn State will know when it takes the field next week if there is a chance to play for the Big Ten championship for the first time since 2016. If Ohio State loses to Michigan next week in the early kickoff window, then a Penn State win would send the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship game to face Oregon.

Penn State will close out the regular season next week at home against Maryland. Next week’s game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff and will air on Big Ten Network.

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Penn State names team captains for 2024

Penn State will have these six players serve as team captains for this season.

As the days inch closer to the start of a brand new Penn State football season, team captains for the 2024 season have been officially annoucned. Penn State will have six team captains for the upcoming college football season with two offensive players, three defensive players, and a special teams player.

Penn State head coach James Franklin annoucned his team captains for 2024 will be quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag], offensive lineman [autotag]Nick Dawkins[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] and [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag], safety [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag], and punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag].

Of the six team captains, DeLuca is the only player who served as a team captain in 2023. DeLuca is a former walk-on player who has worked his way up the ranks within the program from special teams contributor to starting linebacker.

Penn State will open the 2024 season with a road game at West Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 31. You can see the full Penn State schedule here and download a schedule wallpaper for your smartphone.

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Penn State defense forces 5 turnovers in 30-13 win at Illinois

Penn State 30, Illinois 13: Penn State defense carries Nittany Lions to Big Ten-opening win at Illinois

Taking the road for the first time this season proved to be a bit of a challenge for the Penn State offense. Fortunately, the offense didn’t make the trip to Illinois alone this weekend. The Penn State defense was dominant in a 30-13 victory over the Illini with five forced turnovers in the game. Although Penn State struggled to gain control on offense, the Nittany Lions scored 20 points off the five Illini turnovers.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had a rough outing in his first road start for Penn State, but he had some big moments to help lead the team to a win. The biggest moment of the game came late in the first half for Allar as he ran for a first down, hurried to the line, and delivered a dime down the field to [autotag]Liam Clifford[/autotag] for a big gain to set up a late field goal just before halftime. That gave Penn State a 16-7 lead but the offense could not carry over any momentum at the start of the second half.

Penn State’s quarterback ended his afternoon completing 16 of 33 pass attempts for 208 yards without a touchdown, but he also did not turn the football over despite being under consistent pressure by an aggressive and well-schemed Illinois defense.

Allar also did not get some help from his wide receivers. Allar made some good throws that simply were dropped by his intended targets, including a pair to receiver Malik McClain. But Allar did miss a few open looks and couldn’t quite connect with a couple of his passes. Overall though, Allar seemed to handle the pressure of his first start out of Beaver Stadium well enough to pick up the win, and there is clearly room to improve.

But this game was all about the defense. Penn State allowed just seven points for the second straight game and has yet to allow an opponent to score more than 15 points. On a day when Penn State’s offense needed an assist, it was the defense that set the tone and shut down nearly every threat by the Illini. It started right from the start with three interceptions of Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. Penn State managed just 13 points off of those early turnovers, but the defense made plays when it was needed the most.

[autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] came up with a massive interception in the second half immediately after a big passing play by the Illini with the game still very much in question. Or so it seemed. [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag], and [autotag]Cam Miller[/autotag] also got their hands on an Illinois pass attempt. Linebacker [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag] also recovered a fumble forced by [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag].

Head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] will be able to look at many self-inflicted wounds by his team in the coming week as well. Poor penalties on took Penn State’s offense out of favorable positions, including a poor unsportsmanlike penalty on receiver [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] in the first half that turned a 3rd-and-2 into a 3rd-and-17. Allar smacked his hand on a defender’s helmet on the following play and [autotag]Alex Felkins[/autotag] had a 52-yard field goal blocked. Illinois followed up with its first touchdown of the game on the ensuing possession to cut the Penn State lead to 13-7. Penn State was flagged for six penalties in the game, costing Penn State 65 yards.

Penn State will be home next weekend for a primetime matchup with Iowa. It will be the official whiteout game for the Nittany Lions.

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s dominant Week 2 win vs. Delaware

Grading Penn State’s performance against Delaware in Week 2

There are some weeks in the course of a college football season where you can probably fill out the postgame report card ahead of time and not have to worry about it. Penn State’s Week 2 matchup against Delaware was one of those games where you hoped things would go as planned and you wouldn’t have to worry about too many issues against an FCS program.

And they did.

Penn State’s offense and defense each took care of business against the Blue Hens in the first all-time meeting between the two schools. Delaware may go on to have a solid season in the FCS championship hunt, but they were overmatched in every facet of the game against Penn State, which is also hoping to set the tone for what they hope will be a playoff push of their own this season.

It may have been a home game against an FCS program collecting a solid check, but Penn State did just about everything you would expect a top-10 team to do in this situation. Here are the grades for Penn State’s performance following its 63-7 victory over Delaware.

Quarterback

Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: A

After being named the Big Ten offensive player of the week, [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] picked up right where he left off a week ago. The touchdown pass count was down but Allar completed 22 of 26 pass attempts for 204 yards with a touchdown pass (and a touchdown run) for a fine outing before getting an early rest in the second half.

Allar showed great vision and patience and just made smart throws that were taking advantage of the holes Delaware’s defense was giving him.

Backup quarterback Beau Pribula played for most of the second half in relief of Allar. Pribula attempted five attempts with three completions for 22 yards and a short touchdown in the fourth quarter. Pribula added to the ground attack with

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Instant Reaction: Penn State offense overpowers Delaware, 63-7

Instant reaction as Penn State football overpowers Delaware in Week 2 blowout win

After a comfortable primetime victory in Week 1 against West Virginia, there was no noon kickoff hangover against an FCS opponent for Penn State in Week 2. Penn State (2-0) overpowered Delaware (1-1) in the first all-time meeting between the two schools on Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. Penn State’s 63-7 victory over the Blue Hens was powered by a running game that saw [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] rush for three touchdowns and a 100-yard afternoon from [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag].

Singleton rushed for all three of his rushing touchdowns in the first half of the game, and he ended up getting a nice early rest after halftime following a brief appearance with the offense.  Singleton ended the day with just 47 rushing yards on 12 carries. Singleton also added an 18-yard reception and a 26-yard kickoff return. Allen rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The running back duo scored each of the first four of five touchdowns for Penn State before halftime.

Quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had a fine performance in his second career start for the Nittany Lions as well. Allar was smooth and used good field vision and patience to take whatever the Delaware defense was willing to give him. Allar completed 22-of-26 pass attempts for 204 yards with a touchdown pass and 27 rushing yards on five carries with one rushing touchdown. It may not be enough to receive a second-straight Big Ten offensive player of the week award from the conference, but it was more positive results from Penn State’s maturing starting quarterback.

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A 56-7 result was not without some miscues sure to be enforced by James Franklin in the coming week. The defense allowed just one touchdown, a 66-yard touchdown run by Marcus Yarns, on a 3rd-and-1 play. Penn State’s defense left too big a hole on the left side for a back like Yarns, not to mention some of the backs Penn State will be facing later this season.

Penn State’s special teams also gave Delaware a free first down with an offside penalty when the Blue Hens were punting on 4th-and-1. Franklin will have some teaching moments on film for the offense as well, although it was difficult to complain too much about what Penn State put on display against one of the better FCS programs.

The defense allowed just 110 yards of total offense going into the fourth quarter, and 66 of those came on the Delaware touchdown run in the first quarter. Linebacker and team captain [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] was unable to come up with an interception in the first half deep in Delaware’s end, but he made up for it in the third quarter with a pick-six.

 

Penn State will play its Big Ten opener next week with a road trip to Illinois. Penn State lost the most recent meeting in the series with the Illini with a 20-18 loss in a 9 overtime game in 2021 in Beaver Stadium. Penn State beat Illinois in a 63-24 rout the last time the Nittany Lions visited Champaign in 2018.

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