Defense proved the difference in No. 2 Penn State’s 46-point rout of Villanova. Here’s how

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — All week Penn State head coach James Franklin preached a desire for his team to have more “explosiveness.”

The No. 2 Nittany Lions, led by its defense stifled any hope Villanova had upon entering Beaver Stadium and left it with a 52-6 win on Saturday.

Penn State (3-0) held Villanova (1-1) to 69 yards of offense in the first half, including just six yards in the opening quarter. Tony Rojas had a pair of sacks, and King Mack, who earned his first start at strong safety, tallied four tackles as the Nittany Lions’ defense put the exclamation point on the end of non-conference play.

“I thought our defense significantly took a step this week,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Just more confidence, more command, and more control, especially from our safeties and linebackers.”

Penn State’s defense had allowed only 11 points through two games entering Saturday. That domination continued against the Wildcats. Villanova totaled just 179 yards of total offense and didn’t pick up a first down until the five-minute, nine-second mark of the second quarter.

Penn State’s secondary impressed in the first half, holding the Wildcats to 18 passing yards. Pat McQuaide, who passed for 299 yards last Saturday against Colgate, completed just seven of his 15 pass attempts and finished with 27 yards.

In the third quarter, Dani Dennis-Sutton’s pressure forced an errant throw that Elliot Washington II intercepted. Then, Dom DeLuca got in on the fun, looping around to lay a massive hit on McQuaide to force a punt.

Jahmir Joseph closed things out with a leaping fourth-quarter interception, which he returned 49 yards for a pick-six. The true freshman cornerback baited Tanner Maddocks into the throw and capitalized to give Penn State a 52-0 advantage.

It wasn’t all positive for Penn State, though, as Drew Allar again struggled to find his rhythm. The senior quarterback said his performance against FIU “wasn’t good enough” after completing just 58% of his passes.

Saturday’s showing wasn’t much different.

Allar completed 16 of his 29 pass attempts for 209 yards and a touchdown against Villanova. He tossed his first interception of the season in the third quarter when he lobbed an ill-advised throw toward Kaytron Allen, which Omari Bursey snagged for the turnover.

“I felt better about my performance,” Allar said postgame. “There are a lot of things to clean up, but I’m glad there are things to clean up.”

Trebor Peña took a handoff for 11 yards on the first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for his big day that lay ahead.

The transfer wide receiver caught four passes for 60 yards, including a 23-yard strike from Allar for his first touchdown as a Nittany Lion. Allar found Peña again on the ensuing two-point conversion to give Penn State a 21-0 halftime lead.

Peña said postgame the offense ran a similar play earlier and saw an opening, which they exploited later on by running that same play for a touchdown.

Tony Rojas entered Saturday with one career sack, a total he doubled in the first 17 minutes of game action against Villanova.

The speedy linebacker chased down McQuaide on the opening drive, knocking Villanova’s starting quarterback out for a pair of possessions. Two drives later, Rojas was in the backfield again, this time sacking Maddocks to force a punt.

Rojas hit Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “siuuu” celebration after his second sack. When Ronaldo scores, fans scream as he hits his celebration. Rojas wants Penn State fans to follow suit.

“I hope the fans will get a hang of [the celebration] and say [“siuuu”] when I get a sack,” Rojas said.

Rojas’s counterpart, Amare Campbell, played like he knew Villanova’s playcalls on Saturday. The transfer linebacker was a consistent presence in the Wildcats’ backfield, tallying three tackles for loss.

Rojas and Campbell combined for 12 tackles and three sacks as they continue to build chmesirty in their first season as teammates.

“We push each other every day,” Campbell said of his relationship with Rojas. “Before I even got here, [we were] just pushing each other to be the best.”

Penn State’s two-headed monster at running back looked unstoppable against Villanova, rushing for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

Nick Singleton got the duo started early, carrying the ball eight times on the game’s opening possession before finishing the drive with a 4-yard score. Kaytron Allen bounced a run to the outside for an 18-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Penn State will have a bye week before its White Out game against No. 4 Oregon at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27 (7:30 p.m., NBC)