Penn St. rebounds against Kent St.

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

Penn State’s offense had a quick start, a fourth-quarter burst — and some harrowing moments in between.

Luckily for coach Joe Paterno, the defense smothered Kent State and gave freshman quarterback Rob Bolden time to regroup.

Bolden ran for his first career touchdown and threw for another, tailback Evan Royster also ran for a score and Stephfon Green settled the shaky offense with tough second-half runs in the 22nd-ranked Nittany Lions 24-0 win Saturday over the Golden Flashes.

Penn State (2-1) regained some confidence after last week’s 21-point loss to Alabama, but it often wasn’t pretty.

“We gained in some spots and went a little backwards in other spots,” Paterno said. “They keep working on it, we’ll end up being decent football team, but we got a ways to go yet.”

It was Penn State’s 500th win since Paterno joined the coaching staff as an assistant in 1950, and the 396th victory since Paterno was promoted in 1966 — the most wins for a major college head coach.

The defense regained some swagger after getting roughed by the Crimson Tide, getting its first two interceptions of the year and improving the pass rush against Spencer Keith. He was 20 of 36 for 170 yards, hitting short passes but otherwise looking lost against Penn State’s pressure.

The Nittany Lions, though, gave the Golden Flashes plenty of chances to get back into the game.

After scoring on its first two drives for a 14-0 lead, Penn State’s offense played uninspiring stretches. Bolden threw for 217 yards and a touchdown but had two interceptions, and Royster fumbled on the first play of the second half.

Kent State (1-2) couldn’t capitalize. Keith often looked shaky, with some wobbly passes and the Golden Flashes were mired in mistakes when they drove into Penn State territory.

“They were getting a lot of pressure on him, there’s not a lot of space out there with the speed they have in the secondary,” Kent State coach Doug Martin said. “But Spencer can certainly play better than that.”