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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Penn State's future appears to be in good hands.
Its present may be, too.
The Nittany Lions cruised in their home opener Saturday, blowing out Ohio University, 46-10, before 107,306 at Beaver Stadium.
The stars were a pair of freshmen -- tailback Nick Singleton and quarterback Drew Allar.
Singleton electrified the stadium by rushing for 179 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns -- a 70-yarder to put the Lions up 14-0 and a blazing 44-yarder in the third quarter that made it 40-7.
In between, he ripped off a 48-yarder to open the second half, which mercifully ended the Lions' 17-game streak of not having a 100-yard rusher, dating back to Michigan 2020.
Ironically, the last 100-yard rusher was, for now, this year's starting tailback, Keyvone Lee, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass last week at Purdue but got one carry Saturday for zero yards.
James Franklin wasn't quite ready to anoint Singleton -- "we'll watch the film,'' he said -- but he also didn't dispute the breakaway threat the Lions have lacked for several years,
"He (Nick) can go 80 (yards) at any point,'' Franklin said.
Each of Singleton's big runs came off right edge, which must have meant the blocking on that side, between Caeden Wallace, Bryce Effner, Brenton Strange and Sal Wormley, was effective.
Franklin, though, gave most of the credit to Singleton.
"He's got such good speed that maybe in years past when the read would be cloudy and you'd want to bounce it, we didn't always have the speed to get the edge like he does,'' he said.
While Singleton "flashed,'' (Sean Clifford's words), Allar once again was also quite impressive, throwing for a pair of touchdown passes -- one a gorgeous 32-yard post pattern to Omari Evans and the other after stepping out of a sack and gunning a 28-yard score to Khalil Dinkins.
Like Singleton, he made the Nittany Nation say wow.
"He's just super poised,'' Franklin said of Allar. "For a young kid, the game seems slow to him already.''
Allar completed 6-of-8 for 88 yards and the two scores. He was accurate, kept his eyes upfield, bought time and showed he can scramble.
"He's 6-5, 242 pounds -- he's bigger than half the guys chasing him,'' Franklin said. "They also have to respect him in the zone read (run) game. He ain't Trace McSorley, but he keeps people honest.''
Franklin said the plan was to play Allar a series in the second and third quarters, but it didn't work out that way.
Instead, he played four series in the second half, and Christian Veilleux got the last two.
Clifford completed 19-of-27 for 213 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a quarterback sneak.
The sixth-year senior has embraced the company line about building depth, even at the expense of his snap number.
"I know how important it is to get guys prepared, and it was awesome to get Drew and CV in there,'' Clifford said. "We all want to succeed (individually). But we want the team to win.''
He added, "2020 wasn't Penn State and 7-6 (last year) isn't our standard. We want to win every game this year.''
The Lions were embarrassed last year because of their lack of quarterback depth as Clifford's injury at Iowa sent the season into a downward spiral.
"The only thing that matters to me is winning football games,'' Clifford said. "I know how important it is to get those guys reps because if anything happens to me.''
The Lions had 17 players catch a pass Saturday -- a school record -- and 24 players showed up on the defensive stat sheet.
Franklin knows he has some decisions looming, but he isn't in a rush to make them.
The Nittany Lions are 2-0, and while that isn't the biggest surprise in college football, the way they've played so far -- getting a gutty road win at Purdue and blowing out Ohio U -- has them back on the national radar.
And if you're looking for optimism beyond this year, having a quarterback and tailback who both look like NFL talents is a starting point.
Rudel can be reached at 814-946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.