Tag: UMass Minutemen

James Franklin believes Drew Allar is ready for big challenges ahead

James Franklin believes Penn State has prepared Drew Allar for the challenges to come on the schedule.

Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has many reasons to be satisfied with his team’s performance after the first half of the season. Penn State improved to 6-0 with an easy win on cruise control at home against UMass for homecoming. With big games still to come, games that will define Penn State’s 2023 season, the head coach of the Nittany Lions believes his quarterback, [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag], is in as solid a position as possible to face the challenges to come.

“I think it’s been an ideal situation. We’ve been able to get a first-time starter a ton of experience with normal downs, two-minute situations, and third down situations,” Franklin said in his postgame press conference on Saturday following Penn State’s 63-0 victory over UMass. “It’s an ideal situation with how the offensive linemen and left tackle that’s playing well with a running game that’s effective.”

Allar has started all six games Penn State has played this season. That has included a pair of primetime showcase games on NBC and CBS against West Virginia and Iowa and a couple of road games against Illinois and Northwestern. But Allar also got some good playing time last season as a backup to Sean Clifford. Frnaklin believes Allar has benefitted and continues to grow with all of the experience he has been and continues to get on the field.

“He’s been in a ton of different situations last year as a true freshman, but still got into almost every game,” Franklin said. “The thing that makes me feel good about Drew is that he’s very humble and his approach is consistent.”

Allar has yet to turn the football over this season, which is remarkable on its own regardless of the competition faced. He continues to be among the Big Ten’s top passers heading into the second half of Penn State’s schedule. But he is about to face his biggest challenge yet.

A road game at Ohio State.

Games against the Buckeyes have rarely gone well for Penn State over the years, especially when played in Ohio Stadium. Allar will face his stiffest test in the most raucous road environment yet. Is he ready for the challenge?

He better be. Penn State’s playoff hopes will rely on it.

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What James Franklin said about Daequan Hardy’s big game returning punts

James Franklin pleased with big special teams change that had big impact vs. UMass

Despite having an undefeated record, Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] was looking for ways to get a few more explosive plays out of his roster as they came out of the bye week. Penn State’s 63-0 victory over UMass didn’t have quite the impact with explosive plays most want to see out of the offense, but there was a bit of a roster change that led to pair of touchdowns on special teams.

[autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag] had been the primary punt returner this season. But the athletic and speedy Saunders has not been able to turn a big return for Penn State this season. Against UMass, Penn State gave a new player a few opportunities to return punts. That was the veteran [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag], a respected team leader who has spent most of his time on defense with some kickoff return duty on the side. But he had never returned a punt for Penn State until Saturday.

The move paid off in a big way as Hardy returned not one but TWO punts for touchdowns in Penn State’s 63-0 lead. That included the first score of the game in the first quarter as Penn State’s offense was a bit sluggish to start the game.

“Him and Kaden (Saunders) kind of went into a competition all summer camp with catching punts and returning punts. They battled back and forth,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said in his postgame press conference when asked about using Hardy as a punt returner.

“Kaden had done a nice job of catching the ball all year long. But we weren’t, we weren’t very explosive or making a ton of yardage,” Franklin went on to explain. “That’s no knock on Kaden, he was doing a nice job, but we’re looking to try to create some more big plays not just on offense, but special teams as well.”

Hardy delivered. He became the first Penn State player in school history with two punt returns for a touchdown in the same game.

“So, we wanted to get [Hardy] some opportunities and some reps and obviously he did a did a phenomenal job,” Franklin explained. “So, we got two guys we feel like we can win with but he obviously showed tonight that he could be special.”

When Penn State heads to Ohio State next week, don’t be surprised if we see Hardy get a few more opportunities to make some plays with a punt return.

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Big Ten Week 7 roundup: Setting the stage for the B1G East race

Iowa winsa defensive battle with Wisconsin, Illinois stuns Maryland, and Rutgers pulls off a big comeback in Week 7.

The middle of October was a good opportunity to refresh the Big Ten outlook a bit. A handful of teams had a bye week and the three heavyweight contenders in the Big Ten East all took care of business on the field and on the scoreboard without much of a problem. That helps set the stage for a division race that is expected to be in the spotlight for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, int he West, Iowa and Wisconsin battled for the top spot and inside track to a division crown. And it resulted in everything you would expect from an Iowa vs. Wisconsin matchup in the division.

Here is a look at everything that went down around the Big Ten in Week 7.

Best social media reactions to Penn State’s win over UMass

Check out some of these social media reactions to Penn State’s homecoming win over the Minutemen

Penn State’s 63-0 homecoming victory over UMass was easily overshadowed on the national landscape by a thriller on the west coast between future Big Ten members Oregon and Washington, but Penn State diehards were still staying plugged into their Nittany Lions on Saturday. And Penn State gave those watching plenty to smile about despite the first batch of cold and damp fall weather conditions arriving in State College and around the Big Ten footprint.

I once again spent the game sharing my live in-game thoughts with my weekly game thread on Threads (see you next week, I hope), but Twitter is still a great place to get the pulse of the fans during a game for now. So I kept an eye on what was being said on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter.

Here are some of the best social media highlights from Penn State’s victory over UMass on Saturday.

Penn State report card: High marks after the UMass win

Penn State’s report card was easy to fill out after this win against UMass.

When a team blows out an opponent the way Penn State did against UMass in Week 7, filling out the postgame report card is one of the easiest things to do. There are high marks to go all around for Penn State after a 63-0 victory over the Minutemen. Of course, perhaps you want to grade this one on a curve given the level of competition presented by an overmatched UMass program. That’s fair. But even if you did that, Penn State would likely ruin the curve anyway.

Here is a look at this week’s report card following Penn State’s win over the Minutemen.

Best photos from Penn State’s blowout of UMass

Best photos from Penn State’s homecoming win over UMass.

The weather may not have been fantastic, but just about everything else about Penn State’s victory over UMass was. From big special teams returns, a monster defensive performance, and steady offensive production against an overmatched opponent, Penn State was ready to send the fans and alums home with a win to smile about.

Penn State dominated UMass, 63-0, in front of a homecoming crowd willing to sit through the first batch of cold and damp fall weather to his State College for a football Saturday this season. And it did lead to some memorable photos to look back on as well.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s latest win against the UMass Minutemen in Week 7 of the college football season.

Penn State obliterates UMass, 63-0, in final warmup before Ohio State

Penn State took care of UMass, as expected. Now it’s on to Ohio State.

A cold and dreary day in State College coupled with an expected blowout against an overmatched opponent meant this week’s game for Penn State lacked a certain energy. But [autotag]Daquan Hardy[/autotag] was ready to light a spark that catapulted Penn State to a 63-0 victory over UMass in its final tuneup before traveling to Ohio State next week. Hardy made school history, the defense continued to dominate its opponent, and Penn State’s offense chewed up yards on the ground in a solid showing despite less-than-pleasant weather conditions.

Hardy became the first player in Penn State history to score two touchdowns on punt returns. Hardy scored the game’s first touchdown with a 56-yard punt return in the first quarter. It was his first punt return for Penn State this season. But Hardy wasn’t done showing what he can do on punt duty. Hardy returned his second punt return for a touchdown with a 68-yard return in the third quarter, building Penn State’s lead to 49-0 at the time.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] completed 16-of-23 passes for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns in another interception-free outing as Penn State’s starting quarterback. Some passes missed the marks at times, but a slippery football could be part of the cause for that. Allar relied on his tight ends, [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag], consistently in the game. Two of Alalr’s touchdowns were hauled in by Johnson, who also led all players with 66 receiving yards.

Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen continued to split the primary rushing duties. Singleton was featured on the first offensive series from Penn State and he ended his day with 79 rushing yards on 15 carries. Allen, who left Penn State’s last game against Northwestern, looked good as he rushed for 68 yards on 9 carries with a touchdown.

Penn State’s defense was once again in full control. Granted, UMass was not expected to be any threat on offense, but the Nittany Lions didn’t sleep on their opponent this week. UMass had just 61 yards of total offense midway through the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions had 7 sacks in the game with [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag] leading the team with 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Penn State’s defense also pitched its second shutout of the season, and second in a row at home in Beaver Stadium. Penn State blanked Iowa in its last home game, 31-0, in Week 4. Penn State has outscored its opponents at home 195-22. This is also the second time Penn State has scored 63 points in a game this season. Penn State also scored 63 points against Delaware in Week 2.

But now things are about to get much more challenging for Penn State.

Penn State will now prepare for the biggest game of the year coming up in Week 8. Penn State will put its undefeated record to the test next Saturday with a game at Ohio State. First place and a possible inside track to the division crown and a spot in the Big Ten championship game will be on the line. And, of course, the weight of College Football Playoff hopes will also be on the line in Columbus. Penn State has had its struggles against the Buckeyes over the course of the James Franklin era, but these Nittany Lions could be ready to change the outlook.

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Penn State’s defensive keys to victory vs. UMass

Penn State’s defense will be dominant against UMass.

This is clearly a mismatch on paper and it should play out that way on the field when Penn State faces UMass on Saturday.

Still, there’s always things to work and opportunities to improve as an overall unit.

Like the article highlighting the offensive keys, this one will also look at what the Penn State defense can build on to secure victories going forward.

The first key is to continue dominating.

Even though it’s against a lesser opponent, keeping the same dominating mindset that the Nittany Lions have shown all season long is important. Coming off a bye and moving into this game, it would be easy for the defense to let up. It’s much easier to keep the flip switched on before the Ohio State game next weekend if they come into Saturday with the goal of shutting down their opponent.

The second key is to stay healthy.

Picking up injuries during this time of season would be devastating. Of course, there’s always a risk of injury every time a game is played, but Penn State has done a good job of rotating players to limit the exposure that their top guys get in live action. Expect to see a lot of the younger guys in action on Saturday, which is good for the future of the program.

The third is to not show too much.

Don’t put a lot of exotic things on tape this week. Penn State can beat UMass playing a vanilla defense and not expose too much of what they want to do against Ohio State and Michigan. This is certainly forward thinking, but it’s important to manage these games in a manner that best puts the team in a position to succeed.

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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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Penn State vs. UMass football: How to watch on TV or stream for Saturday

What time and channel is the Penn State-UMass football game on?

After having last week off from football action, Penn State is back on the field this weekend for homecoming in State College. Penn State looks to keep its undefeated record in play with a favorable matchup at home against UMass, one of the worst teams in the nation.

Penn State is a massive favorite this weekend against the Minutemen and there is a great chance to pile up some big stats before giving key players an early rest. Penn State could also play this game extremely simple and still feel good about securing a win. Penn State has a big game next week at Ohio State, so the most important thing this week is just getting out of the weekend without taking any hits on the injury report.

Here is how to watch Penn State’s game on Saturday afternoon.

  • Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
  • Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: Big Ten Network
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)