Amare Campbell returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown to lift Penn State to a 40-36 Big Ten win over Rutgers Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
The win makes the Nittany Lions (6-6) bowl eligible. Penn State has beaten the Scarlet Knights 18 straight times.
Rutgers (5-7) still had a chance to go ahead when Athan Kaliakmanis hit KJ Duff on a 42-yard pass to the Penn State 36 with 5:46 left in the game.
The drive stalled at the Penn State 28, however, and Campbell and Zion Tracy brought Kaliakmanis down on fourth-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs.
Kaytron Allen then all but put the game away with a 50-yard run to the Rutgers 28 with 2:24 left.
The Scarlet Knights were ahead 36-33 and had driven to the Penn State 32 with 7:27 left when the ball slipped out of Kaliakmanis’ hand and Campbell took it in for the winner.
The two teams combined for 1,042 yards.
Allen had 226 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. His running mate Nicholas Singleton had 86 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Antwan Raymond led Rutgers with 189 yards rushing and a touchdown. He added 62 yards and another touchdown receiving.
Kaliakmanis completed 16 of 22 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.
Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 17 of 21 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown for the Nittany Lions.
Allen and Singleton traded historic runs on the same drive in the first half.
Allen went first, as Penn State’s all-time leading rusher sprinted 55 yards in the first quarter to surpass the 4,000-yard rushing mark for his career.
Three plays later, Singleton rushed up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown to put Penn State up 14-7. It was the 54th total touchdown of the senior’s career, passing Saquon Barkley for the most in Penn State history.
After a 2-yard touchdown run by Kaliakmanis tied the score, Allen took his turn in the end zone.
The senior capped an 89-yard, 4-play drive by rushing off right tackle through a huge hole for a 15-yard touchdown and a 21-14 Penn State lead one play into the second quarter.
At that point, Singleton and Allen had combined for nine carries and 167 yards.
–Field Level Media
