Singleton, Allar show why Penn State's future so bright in rout of Ohio

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Talk about a perfect day, or close to it. James Franklin couldn't have scripted it much better in his best-case scenario.

We saw the future of Penn State football on brilliant display Saturday. Their names are Nicholas Singleton and Drew Allar. And boy, did they ever live up to their enormous hype in the Nittany Lions' 46-10 thrashing of Ohio in the home opener at Beaver Stadium.

It's not just that Penn State won in blowout fashion. And no, this wasn't Ohio State. It was Ohio, and the Bobcats aren't real good.

But that's not the point.

This is the point: Every single thing the Lions wanted to accomplish in this game, they accomplished. And then some.

They won big. Dominated. This wasn't just "a win is a win" kind of game like last week's kooky victory at Purdue. This looked like a really good team crushing an overmatched opponent, the way it's supposed to happen on paper.

They ran the ball well, ending a 17-game streak without a 100-yard rusher as Singleton went for 179 on 10 carries.

They played a ton of players.

Their young stars not only got experience, they wowed us with big plays, such as this 70-yard TD run from Singleton:

And this 48-yard run from Singleton:

And this 44-yard TD run from Singleton, who showed why he was the Gatorade national High School Player of the Year last season:

• There's a whole bunch we can say about Singleton, but here's something for everybody to consider.

Remember how Saquon Barkley got only one carry in the 2015 opener against Temple, then came out and was terrific against Buffalo the following week, including doing his first Saquon leap?

We might have just seen the start of Saquon 2.0 in Singleton, who actually had a far better day against Ohio than Barkley did against Buffalo seven years ago. Barkley carried 12 times for 115 yards, while Singleton went for 179 yards on only 10 carries and had the two long scores.

That running back by committee thing? Sayonara.

You can only do so much with a bunch of singles hitters. Put a home run hitter in your backfield, and everything changes.

Singleton is that home run hitter. And he changes the entire dynamic of the Penn State offense.

"I think you saw today what he brings to the offense," Sean Clifford said. "He's explosive, he's fast, sees it well, and he just he just adds that dynamic of being able to get on the perimeter and then finish plays in the end zone.

"It's just a matter of time, and I'm excited for him. I think that he's gonna have a great career here."

Keyvone Lee was the last Penn State running back with 100 yards rushing in a game, going for 134 against Michigan in 2020. Lee is a solid workhorse running back, but he just doesn't have the kind of game-breaking speed to bust loose in the second level. Lee will still get opportunities to play because he can get tough yards, catch some passes and block, and freshman Kaytron Allen also will get some looks here and there.

But Singleton is a game changer, a guy who can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. Sort of like that Saquon fella.

Again, I know, this was Ohio, so maybe we shouldn't start declaring him a superstar just yet. But Singleton came to Penn State with the potential to be a star, and we saw why Saturday.

By the way, I've been calling him Nick Singleton, as have many reporters. But I did confirm with Penn State on Saturday that the preferred name is actually Nicholas. So, Nicholas it is.

• Singleton looked like he would be THE story, until Allar got a chance to play a lot. Then the freshman quarterback made his own big plays, throwing two touchdown passes and looking every bit like a poised and mature veteran as opposed to a kid in his second college game.

The plan, Franklin said, was to get Allar a series in the second quarter and another in the third quarter. More in a bit on how that was a great decision by the coach.

Allar didn't get in until the third quarter, but he was able to get a bunch of meaningful reps.

Here's what last year's No. 1 QB recruit in the nation did on his first series:

And here was Allar's second TD pass:

Allar completed 6-of-8 passes -- I was surprised it was only eight because it did seem like he threw more -- for 88 yards and the two scores. He also showed some decent running ability and that he's not afraid to get out of the pocket when necessary.

• As most Penn State fans know, the media is not allowed to talk to freshmen, so even though Singleton and Allar were the story Saturday, all we could do was ask teammates and Franklin about their stellar performances.

Franklin offered this evaluation of Allar:

"I think the biggest thing that jumps out to everybody, he's just super poised in there. For a young kid, the game seems slow to him already. I think he's doing a really good job from a preparation standpoint. ... It also helps that he's 6-foot-5, 242 because he's bigger than half the guys chasing him."

• Clifford handled the postgame interview like a pro. The sixth-year senior played well, completing 19-of-27 for 213 yards and one TD, and he also watched his heir apparent put together a very impressive performance in his home debut.

Now look, there can only be one quarterback. And there are some out there who might be wondering if Penn State somehow could have a quarterback controversy based on Clifford's uneven career and Allar's impressive start.

It's all really a bunch of nonsense at this stage. There is no QB controversy because Penn State is winning and Clifford is playing well.

Still, some quarterbacks in some programs could feel pressure having to watch his backup become a fan favorite right off the bat. And then to have to sit and answer questions about the backup's enormous potential could be an issue for some guys.

But if you listen to Clifford offer glowing praise of Allar and the proper perspective after Saturday's win, it's clear that he only cares about one thing in his final college season -- doing whatever is best for the team.

First, Clifford was asked if it's tough to come out of the game for any reason.

"This is my last year, I want to be out there with my guys as much as possible," he said. "But the one thing I will say is if it means giving up some time to get guys prepared, I want to win more than anything. I have no ego in that. So the only thing that matters to me is winning football games, and I know how important it is to get those guys reps.

"Because if anything happens to me, I want to win games. That's all that matters. And I think it was awesome today to be able to get Drew in there for series after series and (Christian Veilleux) a couple of series, as well. It was a lot of fun to watch, and I'm just super proud of our (QB) room."

I followed up that response by asking Clifford if being around college football for so long and having a veteran's perspective helped shape his view on getting those younger QBs reps.

"There's a thing of competition," he said, "but at the same time we have a really good room of we all want to succeed, but we want the team to win. That's the best thing about our group, and it's just like all love across the room. Because no matter what's happening, we just need to win games."

• Clifford continued then by discussing how the last two years "wasn't Penn State," as the team went 11-11.

"2020 wasn't Penn State," he said. "2021, we started hot, but 7-6 isn't Penn State. That's not our standard. We want to win every game this year. And that's what matters. And that's why I love this room so much because of the passion for winning. It's all about the team this year. ... I'm just excited to be able to root on some guys and really cheer them on, because it's just awesome to see them make plays."

• Kudos to Franklin for how he has handled juggling personnel so far this season, particularly Saturday.

Lee started at tailback, but Singleton was in right away and remained the main guy for much of the day.

One thing I wanted to see coming into the game was for Allar to get some meaningful reps. I thought it could have happened up 16-0 in the first half, but the freshman didn't get his shot there.

Franklin did turn to Allar early in the third quarter, though, after Penn State took a 26-7 lead. It was a good move and a good time to give the kid a chance. Franklin has talked a lot about making sure to get younger guys into games, but that can be tough with a backup quarterback, again because of the whole perception of a coach creating a QB controversy.

But Franklin pulled all the right strings with his quarterbacks in this win.

• I asked Franklin if he could have scripted the game any better, and he did what most coaches would do in saying that there were still some things that could have gone better.

"It could have went better," he said. "I didn't love the second quarter. Offensively, I thought we stalled out a few times and that we could have been better on third down. But that's being critical. Besides that, obviously there's a lot of really good things to build on from."

Then Franklin gave credit to how so many guys on the team deserve a chance to play.

"One of the things I talked to the team about in there is games like that are really important, because there's so many players that work their tail off every day in season, some guys have been doing it for years, and they never get an opportunity to get on the field," the coach said. "I appreciate the fact that our starters were able to execute in a way that allowed a number of guys to get on the field and get some playing time. And for some guys that can be a memory they take with them the rest of their life."

• About the only thing that went wrong for the Lions on Saturday was that Jake Pinegar missed a 42-yard field goal and later an extra point.

Franklin said he wasn't concerned with that and added, "I got a ton of confidence in Jake and what he's going to do."

• Incredibly, Penn State had 17 different players catch a pass Saturday.

Wow.

That's an insane number.

Last season, comparatively, the Lions had 16 guys catch a pass. All season.

Mark Selders / Penn State Athletics

Note the primary player numbers shown (4-0-9) as Penn State records a safety during Saturday's win. Most Penn State fans ovbiously know the significance of 409 as Joe Paterno's win total, so this player grouping was quite a coincidence.

• What can you say about punter Barney Amor, who continues to excel. Just check out this amazing punt that landed at the 1 and just died. That led to the safety pictured above.

Good for Amor, who was just put on scholarship prior to week one.

• Since we're talking about guys who had a good day, we should give credit to offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. He did a really good job of playcalling throughout the game, mixing in the right amount of run and pass plays and drawing up some good schemes.

• Manny Diaz's defense was very good, holding Ohio to only 10 points. The Bobcats did some pretty nice things in their passing game and ran some solid sets, but they had a tough time sustaining drives.

It is clear through two games that Penn State is playing a lot more aggressively on defense than it did last year, which we all figured would happen with Diaz coming on board.