Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca upends Ohio State quarterback Will Howard for a 2-yard loss on Saturday. The Wyoming Area alum finished with four tackles and 1.5 for loss.
Barry Reeger | AP photo
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STATE COLLEGE — Now in his second year as a captain, Dominic DeLuca has some added responsibility over the next week as Penn State deals with its first loss of the season.
“Just keep everyone’s head up,” said DeLuca, a fourth-year linebacker and former Wyoming Area standout after Saturday’s 20-13 loss to Ohio State. “Telling everyone how it is and being straight with them. Telling them we gotta look at ourselves in the mirror and do our job tomorrow. Come out tomorrow and be ready to get better.”
The new landscape of a 12-team College Football Playoff means that any one loss isn’t as punishing as it was in past years. But for DeLuca and the other leaders on the team, the key is to prevent one emotional loss from turning into two or three.
“Can’t let that drag us down,” DeLuca said. “We gotta come out next week ready to play. … The best thing you can do is put it behind you.”
After missing nearly two full games in September with an injury, DeLuca has been back on the field for the last four sporting a cast on his right hand that immobilizes his thumb.
“Just gotta adapt,” DeLuca said. “I’ve gotta have better hand placement when I strike and stuff like that. Make sure I’m wrapping up on my tackles, that’s the biggest thing. Not being able to grip is the hardest part. But you’ve gotta learn to adapt.”
Against the Buckeyes he was still able to finish with four tackles with 1.5 for loss, highlighted by a textbook takedown of Ohio State quarterback Will Howard on an option keeper in the third quarter. The Buckeyes had hurt the Nittany Lions on option plays a few times earlier in the game, pitching it out to running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson for big gains.
DeLuca’s play was a 2-yard loss that led to a rare three-and-out for the Bucks.
“Injuries are part of the game and I’ve gotta do my job at a high level,” DeLuca said. “That’s all I’m asked for, so that’s what I’m gonna try to do.”
INFIRMARY REPORT
After all of the scrutiny since last Saturday, quarterback Drew Allar wasn’t even listed on Penn State’s pregame availability report.
The bigger issues were with defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and right tackle Anthony Donkoh, both of whom were labeled as questionable after suffering injuries in the second quarter against Wisconsin.
Though both players were in uniform and went through warm-ups, neither started.
Amin Vanover started at defensive end in place of Dennis-Sutton while Nolan Rucci got his first start for the Lions after transferring in from Wisconsin in the offseason.
Dennis-Sutton was used in a few obvious passing situations to rush the quarterback. Donkoh made his first appearance in the second quarter and rotated with Rucci.
LIONS LAND RECRUIT
Penn State got some good news before kickoff as Pittsburgh-area junior Matt Sieg gave a verbal commitment to Franklin and the Lions in person as he was in attendance for the game.
Sieg, who projects as a safety at the next level, is a four-star prospect for the 2026 cycle in the On3 Industry Rankings, checking in as the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania, the No. 20 safety in the country and the No. 233 recruit overall among juniors.
The 6-foot, 170-pounder is best known for his historic stats on offense at Class A Fort Cherry, where he had more than 4,000 total yards playing quarterback and accounted for 63 touchdowns in 2023.
Sieg chose the Lions over offers from Pitt, Wisconsin, USC and West Virginia, among others. He becomes the seventh member of Penn State’s 2026 class, which already features three of the top five Pennsylvania prospects in Sieg and two Harrisburg teammates in offensive lineman Kevin Brown (No. 1) and running back Messiah Mickens (No. 3).
Penn State hosted a horde of recruits for the game and one in particular raised an eyebrow. Spring-Ford’s Matt Zollers, one of the top-rated senior quarterbacks in the country, was in attendance.
Before the season started, Zollers committed to Missouri over Penn State. His senior season was cut short by an injury, as he was on crutches while moving around Beaver Stadium.
UP NEXT
The White-Out is on tap for next Saturday, but as of Saturday evening, Penn State’s annual spectacle didn’t have a kickoff time.
Penn State hosts Washington with the TV networks asking for a six-day hold on the details, waiting to see how the Lions fared against the Buckeyes. The game will be at either 3:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.
With Lions-Buckeyes games seemingly ticketed for FOX’s noon slot for the foreseeable future, Penn State officials have lobbied the Big Ten for consideration to keep the White-Out as a night game.
Washington reached the national title game a year ago, but the Huskies were hit hard by graduation and the transfer portal, particulalry after coach Kalen DeBoer left to take the Alabama job.
The Huskies brought in Jedd Fisch from fellow Pac-12 refugee Arizona and Washington entered Saturday 4-4 and 2-3 in its first season in the Big Ten. They were set to play USC at home on Saturday night.