Penn State football had its final game against a non-Big Ten opponent of the 2024 regular season on Saturday, as Kent State came to town. As expected, the Nittany Lions dominated, winning 56-0.

The Nittany Lions put up a program-high 718 offensive yards, with good quarterback and tight end play standing out. Meanwhile, another wide receiver had an impressive day, and the defense did its job against one of the weakest offenses in the country.

Quarterbacks: A

Drew Allar looked the part of a star quarterback, just like he did the first two games of the season. The junior completed 17-of-21 pass attempts while throwing 309 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also had 26 yards and a touchdown over five rushing attempts.

Beau Pribula took several snaps in the first half, but he fully took over for Allar in the third quarter. Pribula wasn’t as good, going 6-for-9 with a touchdown and an interception for 83 passing yards. He moved around a lot, with 45 rushing yards and a touchdown for five attempts.

The offense doesn’t put up 718 yards if the quarterbacks aren’t dominant. Pribula throwing an interception against the worst team in college football isn’t good, but it’s forgivable given his otherwise solid performance.

Running Backs: B+

Surprisingly, Penn State’s running backs only scored two touchdowns, and one was in the air. Cam Wallace ran it in during the second half, while Nick Singleton caught a touchdown pass from Tyler Warren in the first half.

The running backs combined for 210 rushing yards, but nobody amassed over 100. Singleton led the way with 81, while Kaytron Allen had 66. Wallace and Quinton Martin Jr. were the other two running backs used, but Wallace’s status is unknown after he suffered an apparent injury late in the fourth quarter.

Although it was underwhelming compared to other games, the running backs did their jobs well.

Wide Receivers: B-

This was the kind of game people needed to see from the wide receivers to have some confidence about the group heading into Big Ten play. Omari Evans, who has shown promise as a potential deep threat, led the way with 116 receiving yards and a touchdown. Liam Clifford had 64 yards and a touchdown, and Julian Fleming had 60 yards through the air.

Trey Wallace was underwhelming with only 29 receiving yards. Tyseer Denmark and Anthony Ivey got involved towards the end of the game with a combined 28 receiving yards.

It was a good performance against a very bad team. If Evans becomes a reliable deep threat more often and Wallace is more consistent, this could be a dangerous group by the end of the season.

Tight Ends: A+

Tyler Warren did Tyler Warren things again, with 50 receiving yards and a touchdown. His performance was more exotic this time, as he threw a touchdown to Singleton and rushed 16 yards after taking a snap under center.

Luke Reynolds and Khalil Dinkins also saw action. Reynolds had 27 yards over two receptions, while Dinkins’ lone catch was for a 13-yard touchdown. It was another good day for the group highlighted by Warren’s performance.

Offensive Line: B

The offensive line allowed a sack and three tackles for loss. It also had two penalties, which are starting to become a major issue for the Nittany Lions. However, it also deserves credit for allowing the run game to thrive and the passing game to excel. It’s a mixed bag, but the penalties need to be cleaned up.

Defensive Line: B

Staying on penalties, the defensive line had another three. Again, clean those up now before it’s too late. However, Penn State allowed just 67 total yards, with 49 coming on the ground. Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton were dominant in particular, as they each had a sack and combined for 2.5 tackles for loss. The penalties are hard to ignore because they’re a recurring issue, but one can’t look at the 49 rushing yards allowed and think badly of the overall performance.

Linebackers: A-

Anthony Speca led all of Penn State with five tackles, which says a lot about how many players were used. A total of 28 players saw the field, and the linebackers continued to play well. The wealth was spread out, as Speca, Tony Rojas, Kobe King, and others didn’t play the whole game.

Cornerbacks: B

The cornerbacks didn’t have to do much of anything, as J.D. Sherrod, who played the majority of the game, went 2-for-6 with 18 passing yards.

Safeties: B

Like the cornerbacks, the safeties didn’t have a huge impact on the game, for better or worse. They existed but largely did their jobs when called upon. Jaylen Reed led the group with three tackles and half a tackle for loss.

Special Teams: A-

Everyone from Sander Sahaydak to Riley Thompson did their jobs.