Villanova Wildcats at Penn State Nittany Lions

Allar, defense lead No. 2 Penn State to 52-6 blowout of FCS Villanova

Nicholas Singleton ran for two touchdowns, Kaytron Allen added another, Trebor Peña caught a touchdown, and Ryan Barker kicked three field goals.

Linebacker Tony Rojas had two sacks for the Nittany Lions (3-0), who came one play shy of posting back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1996.

Penn State scored two first-half touchdowns against FCS Villanova, got a pair field goals from Barker and punted twice despite outgaining Villanova 252-69.

“I think we make it harder than it needs to be at times,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.

Singleton scored the game’s first points through the middle of Villanova’s defense on a 4-yard touchdown with 8:48 to play in the first quarter.

Barker turned a short field into a 45-yard field goal after a shanked Villanova punt early in the second. He added a 28-yarder two possessions later to make it 13-0.

The Wildcats (1-1) were forced to juggle quarterbacks.

Starter Pat McQuaide appeared injured when Rojas sacked him on Villanova’s opening possession. Tanner Maddocks took over, but each of Villanova’s next three chances ended in punts. McQuaide returned and went 7 for 15 for 27 yards and an interception.

Allar capped the first half with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Peña, then found him again on a 2-point conversion to push Penn State’s lead to 21-0 at halftime.

“We’ve just gotta string together a couple of more things on the offensive side of the ball,” Allar said. “Finish some drives in the end zone instead of settling for three every time.”

The second half was all Penn State. Barker kicked a 42-yard field goal before Singleton bulled into the end zone for a 3-yard score.

Allen scored a 13-yard touchdown before backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer threw to tight end Joey Schlaffer for a 19-yard score. Jahmir Joseph returned an interception 49 yards for a TD in the fourth.

Villanova broke the shutout when Brandon Binkowski made a one-handed, 3-yard touchdown catch on the final play.

“When you play a team like that, when you’re pretty much overmatched, outmatched in every position, you have to go and play near perfectly and we did not do that today,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said.

Highlight reel Villanova’s touchdown might end up as one of the best catches in college football by the end of the season. Facing heavy pressure, Maddocks rolled to his right and threw across his body to the end zone to a blanketed Binkowski. The tight end leaped and hauled in the overthrown ball with his right hand.

Not an off week Franklin noted that although the Nittany Lions are idle next Saturday, they’d get right back to work.

Penn State has a rare nighttime practice scheduled on Sunday to get an early start on preparing for Oregon. They also want to get the feel for the new lights that were installed after the old press box was torn down over the summer.

The takeaway Villanova: The Wildcats just wanted to get out of this one without any injuries and return home to begin Coastal Athletic Association play. They played as hard as they could against a bigger, stronger and faster opponent.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions have blown out their first three opponents, but have struggled with offensive consistency. They’ll have plenty to improve during their off week before a rematch of last season’s Big Ten championship game against No. 4 Oregon on Sept. 27.

Up next Villanova: Visits Monmouth on Saturday.

Penn State: Hosts No. 4 Oregon on Sept. 27.