By ,
Published November 20, 2014
Joe Paterno tied Eddie Robinson for the most 24 at Ryan Field and remain unbeaten in Big Ten Conference action.
Matthew McGloin took over full duty of the quarterback position for Penn State (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) after splitting time with Rob Bolden in recent weeks. McGloin took advantage of the opportunity by completing 17-of-26 attempts for 192 yards with two TDs. Tailback Silas Redd dominated on the ground, as he charged for 164 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Devon Smith gave the NU defense problems as well, racking up 110 receiving yards on six catches with a touchdown.
Paterno will try to move past Robinson next week when the Nittany Lions host Illinois.
Northwestern (2-5, 0-4) was led by quarterback Dan Persa, who completed 26- of-34 passes, for 294 yards and a TD before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injury. Kain Colter, who started the first three games of the season at quarterback for the injured Persa, was used in a variety of ways as he had a rushing and a receiving touchdown while racking up 112 all purpose yards. Jeremy Every caught six passes for the Wildcats for 109 yards.
Northwestern opened up a high-scoring first half as Persa ran it in from a yard out to give the Wildcats a 7-0 less than three minutes after kickoff.
McGloin answered with a pair of touchdown passes for Penn State. First the junior quarterback completed a four-yard pass to Justin Brown that evened the score and then followed it a few minutes later with a 45-touchdown pass to Smith to give the Nittany Lions a 14-7 lead with 5:51 remaining in the opening quarter.
Persa tied the game back up at 14 when he completed a 12 yard touchdown pass to Colter with just under two minutes remaining in the opening frame.
Placekicker Anthony Fera gave Penn State a 17-14 lead at the second quarter's 12:26 mark with a 37-yard field goal.
Colter then scored his second touchdown of the day on a four-yard dash to the end zone that put the home team back up, 21-17. Penn State answered with a 33- yard field goal from Fera to make the Northwestern advantage 21-20 with 4:01 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats extended their lead by three with under a minute remaining in the half thanks to a 25-yard Jeff Budzien field goal, but Penn State put together a seven play 63-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Stephfon Green that gave the visitors a 27-24 lead going into the half.
The offensive shootout in the first half turned into a defensive struggle after the break. The only score of second half came courtesy of Redd, as the tailback ran 19 yards for a touchdown with 11:39 remaining in the third quarter that extended the Nittany Lion's lead to 34-24 where it would remain.
Despite losing, Northwestern outgained Penn State with 406 yards of total offense to the Nittany Lions' 381.
Penn State has now won six games in a row. The loss is Northwestern's fifth straight, as Pat Fitzgerald's Wildcats are still winless in conference play.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/paterno-ties-robinsons-wins-record