Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Penn State rushes over UMass football 48-7

Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian
Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – As fans milled in every direction outside of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, a local student-run radio show clamored about the Nittany Lion’s struggling rushing attack in advance of the 4 p.m. start against the Massachusetts football team.

By the end of Penn State’s 48-7 victory over UMass it was clear that, for at least one day, those concerns would cease.

The Nittany Lions bowled over the Minutemen, using a second quarter rushing onslaught to expose a woefully overmatched UMass team. Penn State scored 28 points in the second frame – all of which came via rushing touchdowns – and compiled 228 yards yards of rushing alone.

It was clear that the Minutemen were at a disadvantage in every capacity.

“It was certainly our worst day,” UMass coach Mark Whipple said. “I don’t really know what happened. We played scared, frightened. … We couldn’t have beaten their (junior varsity’s) today.”

UMass entered with aspirations of playing the role of Cinderella and for one quarter, it at least appeared to have a chance.

The Minutemen forced the Nittany Lions into a three and out to open the game and began the ensuing drive with an 18-yard end around run to receiver Alex Kenney. UMass’ next play was a nine-yard pass from quarterback Blake Frohnapfel to tight end Jean Sifrin, followed by an eight-yard run by receiver Marken Michel. But as quickly as UMass moved down the field, the drive halted.

And old troubles reared their ugly head.

Freshman kicker Matthew Wylie, who replaced former starter Blake Lucas due to Lucas’ early struggles this year, missed a 39-yard field goal attempt wide right. In a game with a miniscule margin of error, the Minutemen failed to capitalize on early opportunities.

Penn State scored on the next eight straight drives.

“We took a lot of punches to the mouth and didn’t respond,” Whipple said. “We weren’t as physical or tough as we needed to be and that was probably the biggest disappointment, that we didn’t stand up. That’s disconcerting.”

The Nittany Lions led just 6-0 after the first quarter, but a 24-yard run from running back Bill Belton put the Nittany Lions up 13-0 early in the second frame. Penn State torched UMass on toss plays designed to cut back to the inside, scoring two long touchdowns on those types of designed run plays.

UMass receiver Tajae Sharpe fumbled on the second play of the ensuing drive and Penn State took over on the 20-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Belton again raced in for a touchdown, this time taking the snap in a “wildcat” formation and rushing around left tackle for an easy 20-yard touchdown to make it 20-0.

“We have to tackle better,” Whipple said. “We didn’t tackle anybody today.”

The two scores came just 83 seconds apart. The quick, sudden attack overwhelmed the Minutemen, who couldn’t muster much of a counter-attack. Nittany Lions running back Zach Zwinak punched in two more touchdowns to end the second quarter.

“Guys kind of got down,” Frohnapfel said. “That’s something we can’t do against, really, anybody. We have to stay positive. Guys started to freak out a little bit.”

UMass averted a shutout in the fourth quarter. Trailing 48-0, Frohnapfel found Sharpe for a 77-yard touchdown. Sharpe made a leaping grab and sprinted across the middle, outracing the Penn State defense for the only score of the game. Frohnapfel finished the day with 233 yards passing and completed 17-of-33 attempts.

Minutemen receiver Marken Michel had his best game of the season, catching six passes for 104 yards. He displayed his versatility and took reps at both running back and receiver and made Nittany Lions defenders miss when getting into shape.

The loss ended UMass’ non-conference schedule, which took place against four schools from the “Power Five” conferences. Now, the Minutemen return home to McGuirk Stadium next Saturday and kick off conference play against Bowling Green.

“We were hoping to (win) one of them. That was the plan, but we didn’t,” Whipple said of the opening four games.

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.

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  • L

    lisaSep 21, 2014 at 2:01 pm

    I am sure UMASS was paid to play PSU so a profit was made. Plus it was on the B10 network.

    Reply
  • R

    RushSep 20, 2014 at 9:39 pm

    I feel bad for the real students, who are subsidizing this albatros.Whose Ego are we spending millions to feed?

    Reply