Tag: KeAndre Lambert-Smith

5 reasons Penn State will beat Rutgers this Saturday

Here are five reasons to expect Penn State to get a rebound win this weekend against Rutgers.

Coming off a frustrating and disappointing loss to Michigan on Saturday, Penn State is looking for a bounce-back performance against Rutgers at Beaver Stadium this Saturday. The offense, especially the passing game, was the major disappointment against the Wolverines, as Drew Allar and company could only muster 70 yards through the air. Mike Yurcich’s firing last Sunday makes this weekend even more intriguing for the Nittany Lions’ offense and how they look with new play callers.

The Scarlett Knights are no slouches when it comes to pass defense, ranking 9th in the nation in yards per game (166.2). Rutgers doesn’t present a considerable challenge to offensively ranking in the bottom four of the Big Ten in yards per game (310.5). The Scarlett Knights are also coming off a defeat after getting shutout by Iowa last weekend.

With FanDuel listing Penn State as a 20.5-point favorite against Rutgers, we look at five reasons the Nittany Lions get back into the win column.

5 reasons Penn State will upset Michigan

Breaking down five reasons why Penn State football will pull off an upset against Michigan.

Saturday at noon represents the most significant and arguably most demanding challenge Penn State has faced all football season.

The Michigan Wolverines, ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, are heading into Happy Valley on a mission to put aside the noise and beat a ranked team for the first time this season. No. 10 Penn State, coming off its most complete game of the season against Maryland, has a different idea with hopes to keep its Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff hopes alive, as a loss would end those pursuits.

After last weekend’s domination against the Terrapins, the Nittany Lions are coming into this weekend with an increased level of confidence on both sides of the ball. It will take an even more complete performance to knock off the defending Big Ten champions, and we’ll dive into five reasons why Penn State can do just that.

5 takeaways from Penn State’s dominant win against Maryland

Five takeaways from Penn State’s dominant showing against Maryland on Saturday.

After narrowly beating a Big Ten bottom-feeder in Indiana last week, Penn State came out Saturday afternoon looking to make a statement. Based on the dominant performance from the Nittany Lions, a statement was indeed made.

College Park looked almost like a smaller Beaver Stadium as tons of Nittany Lions fans made the trek. The fans that made the journey saw a rejuvenated Penn State team that seemed to have pushed the Ohio State game completely behind them after perhaps it affected last week’s narrow win against the Hoosiers.

The well-rounded performance by Penn State was on full display. Only at one point was the game ever in question, and now the Nittany Lions can look toward perhaps their biggest test next weekend when Michigan comes to Happy Valley for Big Noon Kickoff.

Below are five takeaways from Penn State’s 51-15 blowout win over Maryland.

Best photos from Penn State’s road win at Maryland in Week 10

Check out some of the best photos available from Penn State’s dominant road win at Maryland.

Penn State head coach James Franklin had plenty of reasons to be smiling after Penn State’s dominant performance at Maryland in Week 10. In a season where Penn State has had most of its offensive struggles on the road, there was nothing to worry about in a 51-15 victory against the Terrapins. Penn State put 27 points on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter alone to run away with a win that helps keep Penn State firmly in the Big Ten East Division race with just three games remaining in the regular season.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had four touchdowns, including a pair to transfer wide receiver [autotag]Dante Cephas[/autotag], and the defense brought Taulia Tagovailoa down for 6 sacks and caused multiple turnovers by one of the Big Ten’s top passing leaders. It was a terrific boost of confidence for Penn State as it now prepares for a massive game next week at home against Michigan.

But before that page can be turned, here is a look at some of the best photos from Penn State’s lopsided road win against Maryland.

James Franklin breaks down Penn State’s winning TD against Indiana

James Franklin shares the insight into the play that won Penn State the game vs. Indiana.

After weeks of being questioned about Penn State’s lack of ability to create big plays on offense, the Nittany Lions ended up pulling one out of the bag to grab a late lead on Saturday afternoon against Indiana. A 57-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] to [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] broke a 24-24 tie mere moments after Allar had thrown his first career interception, allowing the Hoosiers to tie the game at 24-24.

Naturally, after the game came to a close and Penn State celebrated a 33-24 victory over Indiana, head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] was asked to share his insight on how the play unfolded.

“You know, typically when we call a go route, it’s not just a go,” Franklin said of the play call. “So, it’s a read route. If they’re off and bailing, then we sit it down in front of them.”

Penn State has struggled a bit this season with connecting on the deep ball opportunities it attempts. Fortunately for Franklin and his team, they managed to connect in the biggest moment of the game to help avoid an upset loss to a struggling Indiana program.

Franklin made a point of explaining that this game-winning touchdown play was the same play that was called earlier in the game, which didn’t connect for a big gain.

“The one that we threw to KeAndre, earlier in the game on a crossing route that we missed, that was the same exact play call,” Franklin recalled. “They bailed their corners. And obviously, we’re not just going to throw it. Went to take the check downs… and then came to KeAndre. We missed it, then we called it again.”

Penn State’s game-winning touchdown was the third touchdown in the game that covered at least 50 yards. Indiana scored a pair of touchdowns on a 90-yard and a 69-yard pass in the first half. Earlier this season, Penn State also allowed a 66-yard touchdown run to Delaware.

Penn State will hope to connect on a few more deep balls next week when they visit Maryland. Maryland has lost three consecutive games and is hoping to pull a big upset on the Nittany Lions in College Park next Saturday, Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

 

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Penn State avoids disaster with 33-24 win over Indiana

It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. Penn State avoids the upset at home against Indiana.

It took far longer than most would have liked to see, but Penn State found a way to get past a big upset attempt from Indiana on Saturday afternoon. The fans in Beaver Stadium had plenty of reasons to be displeased by the performance they witnessed in person but still managed to leave the stadium celebrating a win. Penn State broke a stunning 24-24 tie in the final two minutes of the game with a long touchdown pass from [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] to [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and the defense added a safety to lead to a 33-24 victory.

Penn State’s offense had some improvements from their previous outing at Ohio State but the offense was clunky for much of the afternoon. Drew Allar ended his day with 210 passing yards and three touchdowns but he had some frustrating moments under pressure with an intentional grounding penalty and his first interception thrown after over 300 snaps to start a career.

But it was how Allar responded after throwing his interception deep in his own end. Indiana kicked a game-tying field goal with 2:58 to play in the fourth quarter after picking off Allar, who was being brought down by three Indiana defenders. On the following drive, Allar found a streaking KeAndre Lambert-Smith down the right sideline. Lambert-Smith caught the ball and ran away form his defender for the go-ahead, and game-winning touchdown.

Lambert-Smith caught 6 passes for 96 yards, with 31 yards coming after the catch. Running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] ended the day as Penn State’s second-leading receiver with 31 yards. Tight ends Theo Johnson and [autotag]Khalil Dinkins[/autotag] each recorded a touchdown catch from Allar in the win.

Singleton rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown in the game, while Kaytron Allen was the game’s leading rusher with 81 yards.

Penn State played a sluggish first half not just on offense, but on defense too. Indiana opened the scoring in the game with a stunning 90-yard pass play as Dequece Carter managed to stay inbounds down the right sideline and sped enough to keep Penn State’s defense behind him. It was the longest play from scrimmage given up by Penn State since at least 2010. Indiana later added a 69-yard touchdown on a breakdown in coverage.

The 21 points given up by Penn State is the most allowed in a game this season.

Penn State will be back on the road next week for a game at Maryland. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on Fox. Indiana will host Wisconsin next week.

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Know your foe, Penn State: Which Nittany Lions could give Ohio State problems

Which Nittany Lions are you concerned about? #GoBucks

Although this is [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s second top-10 matchup of the year, this weekend’s game against Penn State has a different feel.

Notre Dame is a great team, but this game has more implications, specifically conference ones. The winner of this game will be viewed as one of the best in the country, as their body of work will have a very impressive win and look very favorably to the College Football Playoff committee.

The Nittany Lions enter this game with a great team, one that his talented on both sides of the ball. Let’s take a look at which PSU players Ohio State will need to contain in order to get a victory on Saturday afternoon.

Penn State’s offensive keys to victory vs. UMass

What to watch with Penn State’s offense against UMass.

Nobody is going to try and convince anyone that UMass has a legitimate shot to upset Penn State on Saturday.

So, this won’t be about what the offense of the Nittany Lions needs to do in order to secure a victory. This will be about what they need to work on before their looming matchups with Ohio State next weekend and Michigan in mid-November.

The first key is explosives, explosives, explosives.

Since the first deep touchdown pass from [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] to [autotag]Keandre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] in Week 1 against West Virginia, this offense has seemingly not had a big play in an important moment. That’s a concern going forward when facing elevated competition.

They’re still averaging 40.6 points per game this season and have scored over 30 points in every game, but will the offense be good enough to win those two big games how it’s currently operating?

Explosive plays would go a long way in helping the cause.

The second key to victory is establishing a secondary option in the wide receiver room.

It’s clear that Lambert-Smith has become the No. 1 receiver in this offense and who Allar trusts the most, but they need to find another one who they can go to quickly. When [autotag]Harrison Wallace[/autotag] comes back from injury he’s expected to step into that role. This week, receivers should be auditioning for that secondary spot in the offense.

The third is to get the running game going.

It seems like there is very little confidence amongst the running backs so far this season. [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] haven’t had those big runs like last year and it’s affecting how they’re running the ball. Using this game against UMass to get the confidence back is a must for Penn State going forward.

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Top 10 Big Ten receiving yardage leaders through Week 5

KeAndre Lambert-Smith is third in the Big Ten in receiving yards, but Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. will likely jump him this week.

Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson may have had the catch of the weekend in the Big Ten when he pinned a football against a Nebraska defender’s helmet to come down with a touchdown catch in the endzone. But it should not be surprising how Wilson scores anymore, as he leads the Big Ten with 8 receiving touchdowns this fall, which is twice as many as the next receiving touchdown leader in the conference after one month of football. Three players in the Big Ten are tied for second with four receiving touchdowns, so Wilson has a nice cushion when it comes to leading the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns.

But Wilson is still working his way up the top 10 receiving yardage leaderboard in the conference. That top spot is still held by Illinois receiver Isaiah Williams, who has zero touchdowns this season.

Penn State’s [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] sits third among Big Ten receiving leaders after passing the idle Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State this past weekend. Harrison will get a chance to climb back up the Big Ten receiving yardage leaderboard this week when Ohio State returns to action and Penn State and Lambert-Smith get the week off.

Here is a look at the top 10 receiving yardage leaders in the Big Ten through Week 5, the end of September. Here is a look at the top 10 passing yardage leaders in the Big Ten.

Penn State defense leads the way in 41-13 win at Northwestern

Penn State’s defense leads the way as Nittany Lions improve to 5-0 with 41-13 win at Northwestern.

Penn State improved to 5-0 on the year and 3-0 in Big Ten play with a road win at Northwestern that was, as they say, closer than the experts expected. Penn State overcame a solid fight from Northwestern on Saturday afternoon in Evanston and returned home with a 41-13 win fueled by another strong defensive showing.

Penn State’s defense turned in another fine outing for the Nittany Lions. It was the defense that bailed Penn State out right from the start of the game. After [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] fumbled the opening kickoff away to the Wildcats, the defense came on the field, drive the Northwestern offense a couple of yards, and forced the home team to settle for a field goal. While it was the first deficit of the season for Penn State, the defense answered the call.

Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant was knocked out of the game following a sack by [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag] on a third down deep in Penn State territory in the fourth quarter. The sack by Durant knocked Northwestern out of position to consider going for a touchdown and forced the Wildcats to settle for a field goal. But any threat of a comeback by Northwestern for a second week in a row may have been put to rest with the loss of Bryant for the remainder of the game.

Penn State’s defense racked up a total of 7 sacks for a loss of 47 yards for the Northwestern offense.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had a tough outing, similar to his last road test at Illinois two weeks ago. Allar did not turn the football over and he did pass for 152 yards and a touchdown, but the passing game was out of sync for the majority of the afternoon. Singleton led the team with 5 receptions and [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] had 3 catches despite being targeted 7 times by Allar.

Penn State also dealt with some injury concerns during the game. [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] left the game in the first half and did not return to the field. [autotag]Trey Potts[/autotag], who scored a game-tying touchdown in the second quarter stepped up to help the running game alongside Singleton.

Penn State will get next week off before returning to action in Week 7. Penn State will host UMass at that time for the final non-conference game of the year in the regular season. A massive road trip to Ohio State is on deck after the home game with the Minutemen.

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