While Penn State was playing Pitt for the 100th time ever this weekend, plenty of players who left the team via the transfer portal suited up for their new squads. Their weekends were just about as unexciting as the Penn State game was, as the injury bug caught a few players and others turned in modest performances.

Brandon Polk and Zech McPhearson had perhaps the biggest weekends for James Madison and Texas Tech, respectively. Here are the highlights from this past week from Nittany Lions in new places:

Tommy Stevens, Mississippi State

Tommy Stevens went 7-for-15 with two interceptions in Mississippi State’s 31-24 loss to Kansas State Saturday. Head coach Joe Moorhead said Stevens was pulled in favor of back-up quarterback Garrett Shrader, who got absolutely helicoptered while scrambling out of the pocket, because he “stiffened up at halftime.” Despite a poor passing performance, Stevens did manage to find the back of the end zone with a rushing touchdown.

Mississippi State is now 2-1 with a game against Kentucky coming up next week. That’ll be Mississippi State’s first SEC game of the year.

Juwan Johnson, Oregon

Juwan Johnson has now been sidelined due to injury for the first three weeks of the season after he didn’t play in No. 16 Oregon’s 35-3 win over Montana this weekend. Head coach Mario Cristobal said his new wide receiver is currently “day-to-day,” so there may be hope for a return to the lineup next week as the Oregon Ducks take on Stanford to open conference play.

Brandon Polk, James Madison

Brandon Polk has become a key weapon in James Madison’s offense. He had six receptions and notched his first touchdown of the season, which also happened to be his longest reception of the game in 48 yards.

James Madison ended up beating Morgan State 63-12. The Dukes will head to Chattanooga to start a three-game road trip and try to improve upon their 2-1 record.

Jarvis Miller, UMass

Jarvis Miller had a solid outing for the Minutemen and finished his game with four tackles. He’s now made 16 total stops so far this season after playing mostly as a backup during his Penn State career.

UMass struggled against Charlotte in a 52-17 loss. The Minutemen are now 0-3 on the season, but they’ll have another chance to get their first win against Coastal Carolina.

Zech McPhearson, Texas Tech

Zech McPhearson had the breakout performance of the week. He finished the day with six tackles, one for a loss. Despite McPhearson’s strong efforts, the Red Raiders lost to Arizona this weekend and fell to 2-1 on the season. They’ll head into a bye week before preparing to take on the high-octane offense of No. 5 Oklahoma.

John Petrishen, Pitt

John Petrishen has yet to dress for Pitt this season, but he was in attendance for Saturday’s game at Beaver Stadium, on the opposite sideline. Reunited with his former teammates, he seemed to be the most popular player on the field during the postgame handshake.

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