STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Tyler Warren can feel his opponents watching him every time he walks on the football field.
They know Penn State’s do-it-all tight end is going to get the football, they just don’t ever know how.
Warren caught eight passes for 75 yards and ran for two touchdowns as No. 6 Penn State pulled away from Washington 35-6 on Saturday night.
Playing in front of a glowing White Out crowd, the Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) rode Warren to score on their first four possession to put the game out of reach and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
“Obviously you can see how many ways we got him the ball today, run-game wise, pass-game wise and even some of our option stuff,” Penn State quarterback Drew Allar said. “We just try to get him the ball in the game plan as much as we can.”
Beau Pribula opened the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run before Warren turned direct snaps into 2-yard touchdown runs on each of Penn State’s next two possessions.
Warren leaped over a crowded line of scrimmage for his first score, then bulled through Washington’s defense for his 20th career touchdown.
“I can’t see how this guy doesn’t win the Mackey Award and the Paul Hornung Award,” James Franklin said of Warren and two of the sport’s biggest honors for his position. “And they’d be proud of that guy representing their award because he does everything right, both on and off the field.”
Allar found Julian Fleming for an 8-yard touchdown pass that made it 28-0 with 23 seconds to play in the first half.
The Huskies (5-5, 3-4) couldn’t finish when they had chances.
They drove into Penn State territory on their first possession but kicker Grady Gross hit the right upright on a 45-yard field goal try. They punted on two of their next three possessions and Penn State safety Jaylen Reed ended another with an interception at midfield midway through the second quarter.
Washington finally capitalized when Warren fumbled on Penn State’s second play of the third quarter. Demond Williams Jr. replaced Will Rogers at quarterback for the Huskies, and Gross hit a 24-yard field goal eight plays later.
Huskies coach Jedd Fisch said he expects Rogers to retain his job.
“At this point in time, I’m going into the week thinking that he will be our starter for Friday night,” Fisch said.
Gross added a 35-yarder on Washington’s next possession, but Penn State running back Kaytron Allen finished a 16-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring.
Singleton’s status
Franklin didn’t have an update on running back Nick Singleton, who did not finish the game. The junior running back opened the third quarter with a kickoff return touchdown that was called back for holding. He wasn’t seen on Penn State’s sideline afterward.
Poll Implications
There could be room for Penn State to move up following No. 4 Miami’s loss to Georgia Tech and No. 2 Georgia’s loss to No. 16 Ole Miss.
The takeaway
Washington: The Huskies’ attempt to win back-to-back conference games for the first time this season was doomed by a dreadful first half. Washington’s offense managed 71 total yards with just 13 on the ground over the first two quarters. That’s not a recipe for success in the Big Ten.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions snapped out of their offensive funk that saw them fail to score a touchdown and convert only three of 11 third downs in a humbling loss to No. 3 Ohio State last week. Their defense was nearly perfect allowing just 74 rushing yards with five sacks.
Up next
Washington hosts UCLA on Friday, and Penn State visits Purdue on Saturday.
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