NCAAF Game Recap - Idaho at Penn State
Sat Aug 31, 2019 3:30 PM EDT

GATec
14
Clem
52
F
Duke
3
Bama
42
F
UGA
30
Vand
6
F
Hou
31
Okla
49
F
FlAtl
21
OSU
45
F
GaSo
3
LSU
55
F
MidTN
21
Mich
40
F
ND
35
Lou
17
F
LT
14
Tex
45
F
Oreg
21
Aub
27
F
TxSt
7
TxAM
41
F
EWa
14
Wash
47
F
Utah
30
BYU
12
F
Idaho
7
PSU
79
F
FlaAM
0
UCF
62
F
Tuls
7
MSU
28
F
Wisc
49
SoFL
0
F
MiaOH
14
Iowa
38
F
NoIa
26
IASt
29
F(2OT)
Syr
24
Lib
0
F
NMS
7
WaSt
58
F
SoAl
21
Neb
35
F
NW
7
Stan
17
F
Alb
21
C Mi
38
F
UCLA
14
Cin
24
F
RMor
10
Buff
38
F
Wagn
21
UConn
24
F
Mor
3
BGSU
46
F
C Ark
35
W Ky
28
F
GWebb
28
UNCC
49
F
JacSt
14
SouLA
35
F
AlaSt
19
UAB
24
F
FLInt
14
Tul
42
F
SDSU
21
MIN
28
F
NoCol
18
SJSU
35
F
Kent
7
AzSt
30
F
Rice
7
Army
14
F
UMass
21
Rut
48
F
UtSt
35
Wake
38
F
Purd
31
NEV
34
F
ColSt
31
Colo
52
F
OkSt
52
OreSt
36
F
Miss
10
Mem
15
F
MissSt
38
ULLaf
28
F
InSt
17
Kans
24
F
Akr
3
Ill
42
F
ECU
6
NCSt
34
F
How
0
MD
79
F
Toled
24
KY
38
F
Ind
34
Ball
24
F
Boise
36
FlaSt
31
F
JMU
13
WVU
20
F
URI
20
Ohio
41
F
Buck
12
Temp
56
F
HolyC
7
Navy
45
F
Colg
7
AF
48
F
GASt
38
Tenn
30
F
SCar
20
UNC
24
F
E Mi
30
CoCar
23
F
ETenn
7
App
42
F
MonSt
10
TxTch
45
F
PorSt
13
Ark
20
F
VaTec
28
BC
35
F
SamHu
31
NM
39
F
(N/A)
7
UTSA
35
F
Camp
14
Troy
43
F
UCDav
13
Cal
27
F
VMI
17
Marsh
56
F
IllSt
10
NIU
24
F
Monm
13
WestMI
48
F
AlcSt
10
SMiss
38
F
Nich
14
K St
49
F
SFA
17
Bayl
56
F
SMU
37
ArkSt
30
F
Norf
21
OD
24
F
MIZ
31
Wyo
37
F
Abil
31
NorTx
51
F
UVA
30
Pitt
14
F
Gram
9
ULMon
31
F
HBU
34
UTEP
36
F
ArkPB
7
TCU
39
F
Web
0
SDSU
6
F
SoUt
23
UNLV
56
F
Fres
23
USC
31
F

Penn State 79, Idaho 7

Aug 31, 2019, 3:30 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Idaho (0-1)

0

0

0

7

7

(15) Penn State (1-0)

20

24

14

21

79

Clifford stars, No. 15 Penn State's defense hammers Idaho
Sat Aug 31, 2019 8:35 PM

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Sean Clifford's first game as Penn State's starting quarterback was a short one.

A near flawless first-half performance backed by a dominant effort from the defense allowed Clifford to take the second half off as the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions hammered FCS foe Idaho 72-7.

Clifford left the game early in the third after his 14-for-23, 280-yard, two-touchdown effort helped spot Penn State a comfortable lead in his first career start. He chipped in 57 rushing yards on seven carries and hooked up with receiver KJ Hamler for scoring strikes of 36 and 21 yards.

"I need to watch the tape to really give an evaluation," Clifford said, "But when you score 79 points, it's not a bad day at the office."

Hamler, who beat the Idaho secondary clean for both of his touchdown receptions, said afterward he realized Clifford was nervous.

"I just pulled him aside and just said, `Calm down,"' Hamler said. "And he went on a little rampage after that."

Journey Brown and Noah Cain both added a pair of touchdown runs while Ricky Slade, Devyn Ford and Nick Eury each ran for scores. Jake Pinegar kicked two field goals and Jordan Stout made another for Penn State (1-0). Will Levis threw a touchdown pass to tight end Brenton Strange in the fourth quarter.

The Nittany Lions overcame early sloppiness before coasting the rest of the way to their biggest point total since an 81-0 win against Cincinnati in 1991.

A botched handoff and a misfire from Clifford forced them to settle for a pair of field goals on their first two possessions. But Penn State scored touchdowns on five of its next eight drives and went into halftime leading 44-0.

"The first two drives, he missed some throws," Franklin said. "Not because of a lack of arm strength, was just inaccurate, his feet were probably a little antsy. After those first two drives, he admitted to me he really settled down and got comfortable."

Idaho didn't cross midfield until halfway through the second quarter, managed just one first down in the first half, went 1 for 15 on third down and finished with just 145 yards, compared with Penn State's 673.

Mason Petrino got the Vandals on the board with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Logan Kendall in the fourth quarter.

SPEEDY D

Clifford offered a warning to opposing offenses on Wednesday, one that appeared legit against Idaho. The Nittany Lions have speed on defense.

Defenders gang tackled all afternoon, often got pressure with four-man fronts and finished with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Cornerback John Reid picked off a pass while standout defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos finished with 2 1/2 sacks.

"I thought we played shutout football on defense even though the scoreboard doesn't necessarily show that," Penn State coach James Franklin said.

HEAVY CONTACT

Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth, the team's top red zone target last season, left the game after a helmet-to-helmet collision at the goal line with Idaho's Lloyd Hightower in the second quarter.

He did not return and Franklin, per his own policy on reporting injuries, did not update the tight end's status.

THE TAKEAWAY

Idaho: The Vandals didn't have much success with either Petrino or Colton Richardson at quarterback as their offensive line was outmatched and manhandled by what is expected to be one of the Big Ten's best front sevens. Idaho will get a better look at what it has when it hosts Division II opponent Central Washington in a week.

Penn State: Although the Nittany Lions were shaky in the red zone early, their defense was anything but. With the game out of hand as early as the first quarter, defensive coordinator Brent Pry used the opportunity to get some of his younger players - most of whom he expects to play big roles this year - into action. In total, the Nittany Lions played nearly every player listed on their three-deep depth chart.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Beating up on an FCS opponent probably won't propel Penn State much higher this early.

UP NEXT

Idaho hosts Central Washington on Sept. 7.

Buffalo visits Penn State on Sept. 7.

---

For more AP college football coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Idaho Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
M. Petrino 17 11 64.7 1 91 24 1 73.4
C. Richardson 9 5 55.6 0 50 38 0 71.5
PSU Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
S. Clifford 23 14 60.9 2 280 36 0 132.5
W. Levis 14 11 78.6 1 62 11 0 108.9

Rushing

Idaho Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
A. Carter 14 32 2.3 14 0
K. Martinez 3 16 5.3 8 0
PSU Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
D. Ford 6 107 17.8 81 1
S. Clifford 7 57 8.1 25 0

Receiving

Idaho Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Cotton 6 83 13.8 38 0
N. Romano 3 28 9.3 24 0
PSU Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
K. Hamler 4 115 28.8 36 2
J. Shorter 3 36 12.0 17 0

Fumbles

PSU F FL
S. Clifford 1 0

Returning

PSU KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
K. Hamler 0 0 0 4 7.0 0 25
M. Hippenhammer 0 0 0 2 6.5 0 7

Punting

Idaho Punt Yds Avg LgPu
C. Coffey 10 338 33.8 44
PSU Punt Yds Avg LgPu
B. Gillikin 1 32 32.0 32

Takeaways

PSU Int Yds InTD
J. Reid 1 25 0

Team Stats Comparison

Idaho PSU
Points For 7 79
Total Yards 168 673
Rushing Yards 27 331
Passing Yards 141 342
Passing Completions / Attempts 16/26 25/37
Turnovers 1 1
Interceptions Thrown 1 0
Fumbles - Lost 0/0 3/1
First Downs 7 35
Penalties - Yards 10/67 3/30
Time Of Possession 04:04 56:56
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 1/14 1/8
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/2 2/3
Punts - Average Yards 12/35 2/22

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Idaho PSU
PSU 03:30 FG Jake Pinegar 28 yd FG 0 3
PSU 06:25 FG Jordan Stout 53 yd FG 0 6
PSU 09:57 TD Journey Brown 23 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 13
PSU 13:10 TD Ricky Slade 1 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 20
2nd Quarter Idaho PSU
PSU 04:32 TD KJ Hamler 36 yd pass from Sean Clifford (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 27
PSU 10:33 TD Devyn Ford 81 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 34
PSU 13:21 TD KJ Hamler 21 yd pass from Sean Clifford (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 41
PSU 15:00 FG Jake Pinegar 38 yd FG 0 44
3rd Quarter Idaho PSU
PSU 01:49 TD Journey Brown 2 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 51
PSU 03:32 TD Noah Cain 3 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 58
4th Quarter Idaho PSU
PSU 00:09 TD Brenton Strange 4 yd pass from Will Levis (Jake Pinegar kick) 0 65
Idaho 02:25 TD Logan Kendall 1 yd pass from Mason Petrino (Cade Coffey kick) 7 65
PSU 07:12 TD Noah Cain 9 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 7 72
PSU 12:43 TD Nick Eury 8 yd run (Jake Pinegar kick) 7 79

Game Information

Stadium: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 104,527
Game Time:
Weather: