James Franklin praises running backs, defensive effort in win over Central Michigan

On3 imageby:Barkley Truax09/24/22

BarkleyTruax

A close first half turned into a second-half shutout for No. 14 Penn State over the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Nittany Lions, who won 33-14 Saturday to improve to 4-0 on the season, dominated defensively through most of the game.

After calling for his running back room to step up in the second half, running back Kaytron Allen eclipsed teammate Nick Singleton, who was the star of last week’s game, by rushing for 111 yards on 13 carries. Head coach James Franklin provided his initial thoughts on the victory, and how his team finished strong despite leading by one-score at halftime.

“We’re pleased with those two young backs, very talented, doing some really good things,” Franklin said of Allen and Singleton after the win. “I still think there’s a lot of area for improvement. We got to work on that this week, but in general, obviously, they’re doing good things.”

Elsewhere on offense, quarterback Sean Clifford starred in his role under center, throwing for three touchdowns. Tight end Brenton Strange was one the receiving end of two of those and would finish the day with five receptions for 42 yards.  Parker Washington would be the most targeted receiver with six receptions for a team-high 64 receptions.

Defensively, Penn State created three turnovers on the day, and forced turnover on downs twice in the second half. Redshirt freshman safety Zakee Wheatley notched his second interception of the season in the first quarter, setting up the second touchdown of the first half, while Johnny Dixon hauled the other in to haul the Chippewas’ effort to tie the game before halftime. Safety Kalen King caused a forced fumble as well to conclude a great day for the Nittany Lions’ secondary.

Now we’re, we’re protecting the ball on offense, we’re creating turnovers on defense. As you know, that’s a recipe for success,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to be better on third and long, that has showed up the last couple of weeks, but overall, I’ve been very pleased with our ability to attack the football.”

Now 4-0, Penn State will continue conference play against Northwestern next Saturday in Happy Valley.