No. 2 Penn State struggles early before pulling away from FIU in 34-0 victory
FIU Panthers defensive end Kenton Simmons said a few days ago that the biggest crowd he had ever played in front of prior to this year was “a few thousand.”
That truly changed Saturday as second-ranked Penn State defeated visiting FIU 34-0 in front of 103,817 fans at Beaver Stadium — aka “Happy Valley” — at University Park, Pennsylvania.
FIU coach Willie Simmons — no relation to Kenton — called Beaver Stadium “one of the most intimidating” places to play in the country.
Yet, FIU didn’t seem intimidated at all, trailing just 10-0 at halftime.
In fact, FIU had an easy chance to take the lead with 7:48 left in the first quarter. But Simmons passed up a chip-shot 30-yard field goal. Instead, FIU went for it on fourth-and-2 from Penn State’s 13 only to have Keyone Jenkins throw an incomplete pass.
Penn State (2-0) scored a touchdown on its next possession, and the Nittany Lions slowly pulled away from FIU (1-1).
However, Penn State did not cover the point spread (41½).
Here are your five takeaways:
1: KEEPING IT CLOSE: Of FIU’s six first-half possessions, four of them ended in punts, and one of those was blocked. The other two possessions ended in a Jenkins interception and FIU turning the ball over on downs.
But FIU’s defense kept things close, not allowing Penn State to score after the interception or the blocked punt.
And, on Penn State’s second-quarter field-goal drive, FIU defensive tackle Quaylen Hill came up with a sack, forcing the Lions to settle for three points. It’s a play Hill will likely remember for the rest of his life. Prior to this game, Hill had zero sacks in 25 previous games at the FBS level.
The Lions also turned the ball over on downs in the second quarter, failing to bully FIU’s defense.
2: RB MATCHUP: Coach Simmons said prior to the game that the matchup he was most looking forward to was his running backs against those of the Nittany Lions, namely Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, both of whom are regarded as potential high-round NBFL draft picks.
Simmons wanted to see how his guys matched up, and here are the results:
Allen had 16 carries for 144 yards and one touchdown; and Singleton posted 13 carries for 76 yards and one score.
For FIU, Kejon Owens rushed 15 times for 78 yards; Devonte Lyons added eight carries for 39 yards; and Anthony Carrie posted seven carries for 12 yards.
3: ALLAR WINS QB BATTLE: Penn State’s Drew Allar completed 19 of 33 passes for 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Jenkins completed 15-of-28 passes for 127 yards and one interception.
Allar is part of Penn State’s incredible Class of 2022, which included Abdul Carter, the third pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That Class of 2022 also includes at least four players who could be first-rounders in 2026: Allar; Singleton, Allen and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
4: PENN STATE TALENT: In a recent ESPN column, Mel Kiper Jr. predicted that Penn State will have the most players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Kiper said Penn State should have at least 12 players drafted and as many as 17.
The Penn State record for most players selected is 13, which happened in 1987. That was the draft that followed Penn State’s most recent national title, which was achieved with a 14-10 win over Miami.
Kiper, by the way, predicts Penn State will win this season’s national championship, ending a 39-year drought.
In addition, Lindy’s magazine ranks Penn State as having the nation’s No. 1 offensive backfield; No. 2 offensive line; No. 2 defensive line; and No. 6 defensive backs.
5: UP NEXT: The Panthers will return home to face their main rival, the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Owls lead the series 17-5. The Owls have won seven consecutive games in the so-called “Shula Bowl”, which started in 2002. FAU, by the way, is no longer part of Conference USA. However, the league put out a list this week of the 80 former C-USA players currently on NFL rosters, including 45 on the active list and 35 on practice squads or injured reserve.
The Dolphins have two players from C-USA: running back Jeff Wilson Jr. and offensive lineman Andrew Meyer.
FIU’s three NFL players are tight end Jonnu Smith; wide receiver Maurice Alexander and defensive tackle Teair Tart.
The Steelers and 49ers have the most C-USA players with six each.