STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Even though Penn State’s defense played its worst half of football in years, Tom Allen didn’t need to raise his voice at halftime on Saturday.
The new defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions knew his players could rebound; they just needed to refocus.
“You can’t take anyone for granted,” Penn State safety Jaylen Reed said. “I felt like we came out a little slow, not up to our standard.”
Then they played the second half.
Drew Allar threw for two touchdowns and ran for another TD, and Penn State’s defense clamped down after a rough first half to push the No. 8 Nittany Lions past Bowling Green 34-27.
Nick Singleton scored twice, Omari Evans caught a touchdown pass and Sander Sahaydak kicked two field goals for Penn State (2-0), which trailed at halftime after it was exposed by a gritty Bowling Green team.
The Nittany Lions allowed 24 or more points just twice in the regular season last year, but couldn’t stop the Falcons early on Saturday. Led by quarterback Connor Bazelak, Bowling Green scored on four of its six first-half possessions to take a 24-20 lead.
Home fans booed the Nittany Lions off the field.
“The last three years (Bowling Green) beat Minnesota, they beat Georgia Tech, Michigan last year was 14-6 at the half, 32 seniors,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “They played their tails off. The moment wasn’t too big for them.”
And the Falcons’ halftime lead wasn’t big enough, especially after Penn State’s defense found its rhythm in the second half.
It forced three straight punts before intercepting Bazelak to end the Falcons’ next two drives in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Penn State took the lead for good when Allar found Singleton over the middle for a 14-yard touchdown midway through the third.
Singleton scored again on a 41-yard sprint with 4:09 remaining to give the Nittany Lions some breathing room.
The Falcons, picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference, went right at the Nittany Lions. Bazelak hit Harold Fannin for a 6-yard touchdown in the first time in 29 games Penn State allowed a touchdown on an opponent’s opening possession.
It marked the start of a back-and-forth half in which the teams traded scores, with Bazelak — who completed 25 of 35 passes for 254 yards — looking every bit Allar’s equal. Allar was 13 for 20 for 204 yards for the game.
The Nittany Lions found their footing in the second half, keeping Bazelak and the Falcons out of the end zone.
“I think offensively in in the first half, we had an excellent game plan,” Bowling Green coach Scott Loeffler said. “At the end of the game, those last couple drives, we just ran out of bullets.”
RESTLESS CROWD
After Allar’s go-ahead toss to Singleton in the third, Bowling Green sputtered when a reanimated student section made life difficult for the Falcons.
As the noise swelled, multiple Falcons twitched to set up second and long. It got louder and they had to burn a timeout to avoid another penalty. A short run and incompletion later, Penn State’s punt return squad ran onto the field to the loudest cheers of the day.
BIG GAME TE
Tyler Warren set Penn State’s single-game record for receiving yards by a tight end. He finished with eight catches for 146 yards and was Allar’s favorite target all day.
“This game plan had some shots for tight ends,” Warren said. “And I was open.”
UP NEXT
Bowling Green: Travels to Texas A&M on Sept. 21.
Penn State: Off next week then hosts Kent State on Sept. 21.
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