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PSU passes first test, dominates Vandals

By Kenny Varner

UNIVERSITY PARK – The test results our in for the new look Penn State football team Saturday and the future looks bright as they cleared the benches and had many shine in a 79-7 thumping of Idaho Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

The Penn State defense took center stage as they held the Vandals running game to negative yardage for almost the entire game.

It held the Idaho offense to only one first down in the first half.

Quarterback Sean Clifford went 14-23 for 280 yards through the air and rushed 65 yards. For a first year starter he seemed to settle in after a shaky start.

KJ Hamler had 115 yards receiving.

After kicking off to start the game, Penn State forced Idaho to give up on the ball on the first possession and gave its team great field position to start as the Vandals gambled on a fourth on one deep in the Vandals end.

The result was a Penn State 28-yard field goal Jake Pinegar.

During the second Idaho possession, the Nittany Lions’ defense again stood strong and got the ball in Idaho end.

Long kicker Jordan Stout muscled out a 53-yard field goal, putting Penn State up 6-0.

From there, the Nittany Lions and it’s offense took over.

On the Lions third possession, running back Journey Brown capped a third scoring drive with a 23-yard run, making it 13-0.

Still in the first quarter, Ricky Slade capped a 20-point quarter with a 1-yard run.

Things continued to sizzle for the Nits in the second as they would post 21 more points on the scoreboard.

The first was a Clifford hook up to Hamler on a 36-yard TD pass at the 10:28 mark.

Penn State got its longest run of the day at 4:27. Devyn Ford broke out around the end and blazed his way to a 81-yard run, making it 34-0.

As time ran out in the half, Pinegar ended the eventful first half with a 38-yard field goal, giving the Nittany Lions a 44-0 lead.

Penn State picked up where they left off in the third as they added 14 more points on touchdowns by Noah Cain and Brown, putting the team up 58-0.

In the final stanza, the Lions added 21-more points en route to the 79-7.

The only score by Idaho was a result of a PSU special team miscue in the final stanza.

But in the end, some of the wisest ions about this year’s team have been answered.

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