Penn State backfield tandem dominates
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, pa.
Bill Belton put the Nittany Lions into scoring position, and Zach Zwinak finished the job.
With Penn State freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg struggling on a sloppy, rain-soaked afternoon, the Nittany Lions’ running back tandem was a formidable one-two punch in a 34-0 win over Kent State on Saturday.
Zwinak had 65 yards rushing and scored three times — all from within 2 yards — for the second consecutive week, but this time in a win as the Penn State (3-1) bounced back from a 34-31 loss to Central Florida.
“Scoring’s one thing, but as long as we get the win it doesn’t matter how many times you score or who scores,” said Zwinak, who upped his season total to eight touchdowns.
Zwinak felt bad for Belton, who did most of the work.
“It’s rough when we get down to the 1 or 2, because the chances are we might change our personnel,” Zwinak said. “Those are his touchdowns in the end.”
Belton’s 28-yard scamper set up Zwinak’s 2-yard plunge to put Penn State up 14-0 in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Zwinak’s 1-yard plunge came immediately after Belton’s 11-yard run.
Akeel Lynch had a career-best 123 yards rushing once the game got out of hand for a Penn State running attack that totaled 287 yards.
The defense bounced back, too. After allowing 507 yards against UCF, the Nittany Lions limited Kent State (1-3) to 190 yards offense and nine first downs.
Penn State improved to 10-3 in its past 13 games. And O’Brien is off to a better start after opening his first season last year at 2-2.
Kent State (1-3) lost its third straight game since opening the season with a 17-10 win over Liberty. The Golden Flashes’ offense lacked spark without its top threat, running back Dri Archer, who continues to be hampered by an injury to his left ankle. After playing sparingly in a 45-13 loss at LSU last week, Archer did not play against Penn State.
First-year coach Paul Haynes considered it more important to have Archer ready for Mid-American Conference opponents.
“We made the decision early he wasn’t going to play,” Haynes said of Archer, who had 1,429 yards rushing last season. “With him banged up, it’s more important that he plays in conference.”
Very little went right for Kent State from the start, which squandered an opportunity to take the lead on its first possession when kicker Anthony Melchiori pushed a 31-yard field-goal attempt wide right.
Quarterback Colin Reardon, a Poland High graduate, finished 12 of 28 for 100 yards passing and an interception as Kent State was limited to 190 yards offense and nine first downs. He was also yanked for the first possession of the second half in favor of senior David Fisher, before returning for the following series.