Penn State had no answers for Northwestern’s running game on Friday as Joseph Himon II (6) and Caleb Komolafe both went over 100 yards in a lopsided win.
Melissa Tamez | AP photo
Northwestern played its first game at new Ryan Field, which was built on the site of the team’s old stadium in Evanston.
Melissa Tamez | AP photo
Last October, Northwestern formally ended the James Franklin era at Penn State. Not a full year later, the Wildcats firmly wiped the Nittany Lions off the list of College Football Playoff contenders.
No, there won’t be a coach firing after Penn State’s embarrassing 34-13 loss at Northwestern on Friday night. But the Lions are now facing a second straight season that feels over before the halfway point.
Franklin was fired as Lions coach the day after last October’s 22-21 home loss to the Wildcats. Friday’s game under new boss Matt Campbell in Evanston wasn’t nearly that close.
Penn State’s offense has ground to a halt since opening Big Ten play, starting with a shocking 24-20 home loss to Wisconsin six days earlier in which the Lions were outscored 24-3 after going up 17-0 in the second quarter.
They weren’t especially close to holding a lead against the Wildcats, who were in the mood to party by opening up their new $800 million stadium. Northwestern’s misdirection-fueled ground game led by former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly at offensive coordinator, racked up 412 yards compared to just 48 for Penn State. The Wildcats topped 500 yards of total offense for the game.
Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon both went over 150 yards rushing in the game, the first time two Northwestern rushers accomplished that in a game since 2012.
The Lions haven’t had much room to run because both Wisconsin and Northwestern had little to fear from fifth-year quarterback Rocco Becht, who struggled with accuracy for the second straight game, finishing 26-for-41 for 243 yards and two interceptions.
Deep balls remained an issue for Becht, who had Zay Robinson open behind the defense for a score in the third quarter but overthrew him. He also had multiple balls deflected at the line of scrimmage, including one at the start of the fourth quarter that floated into the air for an easy interception.
Things were hardly better on defense, as D’Anton Lynn’s unit, which looked gassed late against the Badgers, looked to be playing on skates against Northwestern’s run game, which topped 200 yards before halftime.
Penn State trailed 24-7 at halftime, with the lone score, a Carson Hansen touchdown run on third down, coming after a Josiah Zayas fumble recovery near midfield. Even usually reliable kicker Ryan Barker missed a 45-yard kick before the half.
Though the Lions defense managed a fourth-and-1 stop in the third quarter to try and keep hopes alive, the offense couldn’t turn it into points, and the Wildcats coasted to the victory.
Becht hit Chase Sowell for a fourth-quarter touchdown with the outcome all but decided.
Last season Penn State opened with national championship hopes that were quickly dashed with losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern in consecutive weeks to fall to 3-3 and trigger Franklin’s firing.
The Lions lost three more to Iowa, Ohio State and Indiana before winning the last three and a bowl game under interim coach Terry Smith.
Penn State (3-2, 0-2) might have to hope for a similar late-season surge this fall as the Lions’ next two games are against USC and Michigan before hitting the bye.
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