STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Rocco Becht threw for 212 yards with two touchdowns, Koby Howard scored twice and No. 14 Penn State cruised past Buffalo 55-13 on Saturday.
asserted
State → throw → Saturday
Becht secured his Bowl Subdivision-leading 29th win and the Nittany Lions (3-0) capped their nonconference schedule in relatively easy fashion against an outmatched Mid-American Conference opponent that was outgained 305-80 in the first half.
asserted
that → secure → half
Despite the lopsided stats and score, Penn State coach Matt Campbell was hoping for a cleaner performance.
asserted
Campbell → hop → performance
“Not where we need to be,” Campbell said.
asserted
Campbell → need → ?
“But I think a team that has certainly grown in different entities each week and still a team that in my opinion’s got so much ability and growth to go.”
asserted
that → think → ability
Penn State’s defense forced three punts and a turnover in the first quarter while its offense scored on its first three drives to put the game out of reach before halftime.
asserted
offense → force → halftime
Overall, D’Anton Lynn’s defense forced 10 punts and two turnovers and only allowed Buffalo’s Oliver Hautanen to kick a pair of field goals.
asserted
Hautanen → force → goals
The Bulls (1-2) crossed midfield just three times.
asserted
Bulls → cross → midfield
“Our standard is we’re going to run to the ball, we’re going to be physical,” Penn State linebacker Kooper Ebel said.
asserted
Ebel → go → ball
Howard, who was one of three Nittany Lions players to eclipse 100 all-purpose yards, ran for a 20-yard touchdown on a reverse and caught a 70-yard pass from Becht in the second quarter.
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who → eclipse → quarter
“It’s definitely awesome to have a guy like that out wide,” Becht said.
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Becht → ’ → that
“We have a lot of guys like that in the room, but Koby’s a little different.
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Koby → have → room
He’s able to go out there and make plays when they’re not probably supposed to be made, so I have all the trust in him.”
asserted
I → ’ → him
Ryan Barker opened the scoring for Penn State with a 48-yard field goal before James Peoples capped the team’s next drive with a 16-yard scamper around the right edge of Buffalo’s out-of-order defense to put Penn State up for good.
asserted
Peoples → open → State
The Bulls helped the Nittany Lions pile on immediately, however.
asserted
Lions → help → ?
Caleb Bacon’s edge pressure forced a Buffalo fumble after three Bulls players collided on a handoff try in their backfield.
asserted
players → force → backfield
Ikenna Ezeogu recovered at the Buffalo 20 and Becht needed just four plays and a quick slant to Andrew Rappleyea to make it 17-0.
asserted
it → recover → Rappleyea
Hautanen kicked a 38-yard field goal to cut Penn State’s lead to 34-6 at halftime.
asserted
Hautanen → kick → halftime
Peoples ran for another score in the third and Carson Hansen and Cam Wallace added rushing touchdowns late for Penn State.
asserted
Hansen → run → State
James McNeil Jr. scored on a 1-yard rush for Buffalo with 5:01 left to play.
Special teams speed
Zay Robinson and Quinton Martin Jr. added 133 and 100 all-purpose yards, respectively.
Martin ripped off a 61-yard run while Robinson did most of his damage on punt return, where he’s been hard to tackle.
asserted
he → score → return
Through three games he has returned 13 punts for 172 yards.
asserted
he → return → yards
On Saturday he set up a pair of short fields for his offense, with both possessions ending in scores.
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possessions → set → scores
Out of action
Rappleyea, one of the Nittany Lions’ most versatile players, suffered what appeared to be a shoulder injury in the second quarter and did not return.
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what → suffer → quarter
The 6-foot-4, 242-pounder hauled in a short pass over the middle and was crunched by a pair of Buffalo defenders.
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pounder → haul → defenders
He jogged off the field favoring his right arm, was checked out on the sideline and taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
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He → jog → evaluation
The Nittany Lions are deep at tight end with 6-foot-7 Benjamin Brahmer and 6-foot-6 Gabe Burkle featuring heavily in the offense but would miss Rappleyea’s blocking ability should he miss any time.
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he → feature → time
Penn State center Brock Riker also didn’t finish the game.
asserted
Riker → finish → game
Afterward, Campbell said both players were “dinged up” and that Rappleyea likely could’ve returned had the game been close.
uncertain
game → say → ?
The takeaway
Buffalo: The Bulls couldn’t get anything going.
asserted
anything → get → takeaway
Quarterback Jason Wright completed just 10 of 25 passes for 60 yards.
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Wright → complete → yards
He was sacked once, hit five other times and hurried all afternoon.
asserted
He → sack → ?
Buffalo fell to 1-14 against the Big Ten Conference and 2-19 against AP Top 25 teams.
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Buffalo → fall → teams
Save for the five first-half penalties, the Nittany Lions played another relatively clean nonconference game.
asserted
Lions → play → game
Lynn’s defense has been smothering and the Becht-led offense has no shortage of talented playmakers that have all factored into the offense over the first three weeks.
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that → smother → weeks
Up next
Buffalo: Hosts Robert Morris on Saturday.
asserted
Buffalo → host → Saturday
Penn State: Hosts Wisconsin on Saturday.
asserted
State → host → Saturday
The Aporia
