UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Nittany Lion football squad opened the season in style, rolling over Indiana State, 41-7, on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Penn State led throughout following a Chaz Powell (New Freedom, Pa.) 95-yard touchdown kick-off return just 13 seconds into the game. Sophomore Silas Redd (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Nittany Lion ground game with a pair of touchdowns and 104 yards. The Penn State rushing attack earned 245 yards on the day.
For photos, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157627461720927 online.
On a day where Penn State (1-0) out-gained Indiana State (0-1), 359-170, in total offense, the Nittany Lion rushing game proved lethal to the Sycamore defense. PSU earned 16 of 21 first downs on the ground. On the other hand, the defense was sterling, holding ISU to just eight first downs with two interceptions, two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Penn State wasted no time scoring as Powell took the opening kick-off 95 yards to open a quick 6-0 lead just 13 seconds into the ball game. The TD return by Powell was the second straight in a season opener after notching a score against Youngstown State in 2010.
After an Indiana State three-and-out on the Sycamores’ first possession, the Nittany Lions rattled off a long drive that resulted in a Redd nine-yard touchdown run on the 11th play of the drive, which totaled 77 yards. The march down the field was highlighted by a 16-yard run by Redd on the second play and a 14-yard scramble by Joe Suhey (Deerfield, Ill.) on the next play. The drive lasted a second shy of five minutes as PSU took a 14-0 lead with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
Newly minted captain Drew Astorino (Edinboro, Pa.) intercepted a third-down pass by ISU’s Ronnie Fouch and ran it back 33 yards to the Indiana 22-yard line. The Nittany Lion offense fizzled out, however, resulting in a missed field goal.
Penn State opened the second quarter by holding Indiana State to a missed field goal to open the frame before going on a long drive of its own. PSU chipped away with Brandon Beachum (Struthers, Ohio) runs of five, while sprinkling in rushes of seven and three yards by Mike Zordich (Canfield, Ohio). Zordich’s runs were sandwiched a 9-yard pass to Derek Moye (Rochester, Pa.) from Matt McGloin (Scranton, Pa.) who entered on the first offensive play in the second quarter.
Following a first-down, 12-yard throw to Justin Brown (Wilmington, Del.), Beachum scampered for 22 yards, which eventually led to a Zordich TD with 8:55 left in the second. Penn State took a 21-0 lead on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 5:20 effectively putting the game out of reach for Indiana State.
Penn State added another scoring drive for a 28-0 lead. This time, it was a six-play, 77-yard effort led by Redd, who rushed for 37 of those yards including a tackle-breaking 19 yarder. McGloin completed a 29-yard strike to Moye and an 11-yard gain to Suhey to sustain the drive, which reached second down just once. McGloin was perfect on his first five passes for 69 yards resulting in two touchdown drives.
The Nittany Lions continued the offensive onslaught continued into the second half as Suhey punched in his first touchdown of the year from a yard out. The PSU drive went 21 yards after a Jordan Hill (x) fumble recovery. Hill met Indiana State’s Shakir Bell at the pass and stripped the running back of the ball putting Penn State in great field position. Suhey and red combined to run for 13 yards and an eight-yard connection of McGloin to Moye set up the scoring run.
The fourth quarter was highlighted by the interception of Ronnie Fouch by true freshman Adrian Amos (Baltimore, Md.), making his Nittany Lion and Beaver Stadium debut on Saturday. Amos swiped the ball at the Penn State 42 and ran it back 46 yards to the ISU 12. There Penn State turned the ball over to walk-on quarterback Shane McGregor (Ebensburg, Pa.) in his first appearance for the Blue and White. Derek Day (Bellefonte, Pa.) rushed for nine yards on three carries before McGregor snuck into the end zone for his first career touchdown, a three-yard push with 8:17 remaining in the game. The extra point was good to push the Nittany Lion lead to 41-0.