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Trace McSorley helps Penn State overcome early mistakes in 63-10 rout of Kent State

The 11th-ranked Nittany Lions saw three touchdown passes called back because of penalties, but rolled up 643 yards in their final nonconference game.

Penn State's Daniel George ran a school-record 95 yards to score against Kent State in Saturday's win over the Golden Flashes in State College.
Penn State's Daniel George ran a school-record 95 yards to score against Kent State in Saturday's win over the Golden Flashes in State College.Read moreChris Knight / AP

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Trace McSorley doesn't flinch, whether he flings touchdown passes that are called back because of penalties, or his receivers drop his throws, or he needs to make a tackle on an interception, or he's diving to recover a teammate's fumble.

The Penn State quarterback had that type of day on a muggy, overcast Saturday at Beaver Stadium, but nothing could slow him down. He ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more in leading the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions to a 63-10 victory over Kent State before a crowd of 106,528.

The Lions (3-0) made some mistakes that won't be tolerable when they begin Big Ten play Friday night at Illinois. They were penalized nine times for 109 yards, with three of their penalties nullifying touchdown passes thrown by McSorley.

Penn State receivers dropped four passes. McSorley threw his first interception of the season on a ball that went through the hands of Miles Sanders and into the hands of Kent State's Elvis Hines, but he made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 7 and the Golden Flashes (1-2) had to settle for a field goal just before halftime.

But McSorley, who also recovered a third-quarter fumble by Sanders, passed on the cussin' and fussin' and just went on to the next play every time.

"At that point, there's nothing you can do about it," the fifth-year senior said. "Obviously you want to get those cleaned up. That's something we'll be able to get cleaned up watching film and continue to get better. That's something that's kind of plagued us a little bit the last two weeks, penalties taking back big plays. But in the moment, it's just moving on to the next play."

Head coach James Franklin said the way McSorley conducts himself is as important as anything he does as a quarterback.

"You watch that guy and his body language and demeanor doesn't change," Franklin said. "A lot of times, you see guys like that and their body language and their demeanor are all over their teammates and they're sulking, and that doesn't help. If you're a young quarterback, watch Trace McSorley. All he does is win and it's because of all those things that he doesn't get enough credit for."

On two of the drives on which a McSorley touchdown pass was called back because of holding penalties, he ended both possessions with TD throws that counted — 40 yards to DeAndre Thompkins and 41 yards to Brandon Polk.

McSorley also scored on runs of 1, 2 and 13 yards. In three quarters, he completed 11 of 22 passes for 229 yards and rushed nine times for 54.

The Nittany Lions rolled up 643 yards of total offense, including 297 yards on the ground. Sean Clifford took over at quarterback in the fourth quarter and threw a 95-yard touchdown pass to Daniel George, breaking the school record for longest completion, 92 yards, set in 1919.

Backup running backs Mark Allen, Ricky Slade, and Johnathan Thomas rushed for second-half touchdowns. Sanders, a starter, had another strong game with 86 yards on 14 carries.

The defense posted seven sacks and limited Kent State to 221 total yards. The Golden Flashes scored their only touchdown on their initial possession, then recovered an onside kick — the second time that's happened to Penn State in three games — but went three plays and out.

The Lions now face a short week and a trip to Illinois. Franklin acknowledges that work needs to be done to eliminate the mistakes while still enjoying the win.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff that's on that (game) tape that's ugly and smells bad," he said. "Winning sometimes is like the deodorant that covers it up, the funk — perfume, cologne, whatever you want to spray over it. But that's the win. It doesn't mean that you still can't correct the issues and the problems because they're there."