Northwestern shocks Penn State in Happy Valley, 22-21

Northwestern went on the road as three-touchdown underdogs and beat reeling Penn State, 22-21.

The Wildcats got an upset-worthy performance from several players to pull off this upset.

Quarterback Preston Stone was 17-for-26 for 163 yards and a touchdown. Not an eye-grabbing stat line but the eye test will tell you he was superb against this Penn State defense.

His top target, Griffin Wilde, was un-guardable with seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown despite no other wide receiver on the team having more than 10 yards in the game. The dynamic duo of Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II ran all over the Nittany Lions; Komolafe had 19 carries for 72 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, while Himon had 13 carries for 65 yards. 

Behind those performances, they overcame struggles on special teams and their first three red-zone drives ending in field goals. Their opening drive of the game stalled out at their own 40 with a chance to push the Nittany Lions deep into their own territory. Instead, the punt was blocked, and Penn State took over at the NU 31.

Penn State was rolling for a score until veteran cornerback Ore Adeyi found a perfect time for his first career interception and picked off Drew Allar in the end zone. The Wildcats then sustained a 12-play, 58-yard drive to set up a 27-yard Jack Olsen field goal and take the first lead of the game, 3-0.

Penn State found their footing, though, even after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty started them on their own 13. They marched 87 yards for a touchdown, featuring Kaytron Allen heavily, including the 11-yard rush for a score.

The Wildcats were unfazed and Stone architected an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 29-yard dime from to Wilde. Stone was 3-for-3 for 42 yards and a TD on that drive alone.

The Wildcats were poised to press the advantage when Penn State appeared to go three-and-out on the following possession, but Evan Smith was blocked back into the leg of Drew Wagner on a punt, and Wagner muffed it, giving Penn State the ball at the NU 26-yard line. Nine plays later, they hit the end zone with a two-yard toss to Nicholas Singleton on fourth-and-goal.

The Wildcats took over with 1:19 left in the second quarter and no timeouts, all signs pointing to running out the clock and heading into half down four. But an early facemask penalty shifted the offense into gear, and they pressed their advantage. Stone was judicious with his ball security, unafraid to test the defense or throw the ball away for a de facto timeout.

They marched 59 yards, aided by another 15-yard penalty, this one for roughing the passer, to set up Olsen for a 34-yard field goal to cut Penn State’s lead down to just a point, 14-13, at the break.

The defense got a big stop on the opening drive of the second half, but special teams hamstrung them again when Wagner elected to let a punt bounce, and it was downed at the 1.

The teams traded three fruitless drives and it seemed Penn State would suffocate Northwestern via field position until something snapped. But then the special teams fortunes swung back in the Wildcats’ favor. The Nittany Lions muffed an excellent punt by Luke Akers at their own 9-yard line, and Dashun Reeder leapt on it.

The Nittany Lion defense locked in, forcing a one-yard rush, an incompletion, and a 15-yard sack of Stone, but Olsen delivered his third field goal of the day from 41 yards and Northwestern retook the lead, 16-14, within the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Penn State broke through on their next drive with a 67-yard reception to Devonte Ross, who shed a Damon Walters tackle and was off to the races. It was one of the few times in the game where the Nittany Lions looked like they had an overwhelming talent advantage. With Northwestern’s offense struggling, the Lions looked like they may have sealed the game with a 21-16 lead. Not so.

Despite compiling just 34 yards on their previous three drives of the second half, the Wildcats got up off the mat. Stone completed three straight passes of 10+ yards to Wilde, and Komolafe did the honors for the team’s first red-zone touchdown in the game with a nine-yard touchdown run with 4:51 left. Komolafe’s two-point conversion try was stuffed short, but the Wildcats had retaken a 22-21 lead, and retaken it for good.

The defense was exceptional all game and turned up when it mattered the most. Braden Turner tackled Singleton for a loss of three, though he bounced back with a nine-yard catch to set up third-and-4. That’s when Penn State made a puzzling decision.

Allar set up in the shotgun with five receivers out wide. Northwestern blanketed them in coverage, Allar tried to scramble but only got a yard and suffered an ankle injury that led to him being carted off. He finished the day with 13-for-20 passing, no touchdowns and an interception. After the game, ESPN reported that he would be out for the rest of the season.

With fourth-and-3 at their own 32 and all three timeouts left and 3:26 remaining, all signs pointed to a punt. But instead, the Nittany Lions went for it. Backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was brought down for no gain and suddenly it was Northwestern ball.

The ground game closed it out, with Komolafe carrying four straight plays for 13 yards, including an incredibly clutch five-yard run on third-and-3, dodging a defender in the backfield and beating another to the edge to convert.

By that point just 1:14 remained. Northwestern had the ball on the PSU 19 and Penn State finally used one of their timeouts. To no avail. Himon broke through the line and unselfishly slid a couple yards short of paydirt so the Wildcats could run the clock out and secure the win.

It was Northwestern’s first win at Penn State since 2014, and the first time they’ve won as 20+ point underdogs with David Braun as head coach.