Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-19 · by Travis Johnson The Associated Press
Rocco Becht threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns as No. 14 Penn State defeated Buffalo 55-13 on Saturday. The game saw Penn State’s defense dominate, forcing three punts and a turnover in the first quarter alone, while limiting Buffalo to just 80 total yards in the first half. Despite the lopsided score, coach Matt Campbell emphasized areas for improvement as his team continues to grow.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Rocco Becht threw for 212 yards with two touchdowns, Koby Howard scored twice and No. 14 Penn State cruised past Buffalo 55-13 on Saturday.
asserted
State → throw → Saturday
Becht secured his Bowl Subdivision-leading 29th win and the Nittany Lions (3-0) capped their nonconference schedule in relatively easy fashion against an outmatched Mid-American Conference opponent that was outgained 305-80 in the first half.
asserted
that → secure → half
Despite the lopsided stats and score, Penn State coach Matt Campbell was hoping for a cleaner performance.
asserted
Campbell → hop → performance
“Not where we need to be,” Campbell said.
asserted
Campbell → need → ?
“But I think a team that has certainly grown in different entities each week and still a team that in my opinion’s got so much ability and growth to go.”
asserted
that → think → ability
Penn State’s defense forced three punts and a turnover in the first quarter while its offense scored on its first three drives to put the game out of reach before halftime.
asserted
offense → force → halftime
Overall, D’Anton Lynn’s defense forced 10 punts and two turnovers and only allowed Buffalo’s Oliver Hautanen to kick a pair of field goals.
asserted
Hautanen → force → goals
The Bulls (1-2) crossed midfield just three times.
asserted
Bulls → cross → midfield
“Our standard is we’re going to run to the ball, we’re going to be physical,” Penn State linebacker Kooper Ebel said.
asserted
Ebel → go → ball
Howard, who was one of three Nittany Lions players to eclipse 100 all-purpose yards, ran for a 20-yard touchdown on a reverse and caught a 70-yard pass from Becht in the second quarter.
asserted
who → eclipse → quarter
“It’s definitely awesome to have a guy like that out wide,” Becht said.
asserted
Becht → ’ → that
“We have a lot of guys like that in the room, but Koby’s a little different.
asserted
Koby → have → room
He’s able to go out there and make plays when they’re not probably supposed to be made, so I have all the trust in him.”
asserted
I → ’ → him
Ryan Barker opened the scoring for Penn State with a 48-yard field goal before James Peoples capped the team’s next drive with a 16-yard scamper around the right edge of Buffalo’s out-of-order defense to put Penn State up for good.
asserted
Peoples → open → State
The Bulls helped the Nittany Lions pile on immediately, however.
asserted
Lions → help → ?
Caleb Bacon’s edge pressure forced a Buffalo fumble after three Bulls players collided on a handoff try in their backfield.
asserted
players → force → backfield
Ikenna Ezeogu recovered at the Buffalo 20 and Becht needed just four plays and a quick slant to Andrew Rappleyea to make it 17-0.
asserted
it → recover → Rappleyea
Hautanen kicked a 38-yard field goal to cut Penn State’s lead to 34-6 at halftime.
asserted
Hautanen → kick → halftime
Peoples ran for another score in the third and Carson Hansen and Cam Wallace added rushing touchdowns late for Penn State.
asserted
Hansen → run → State
James McNeil Jr. scored on a 1-yard rush for Buffalo with 5:01 left to play.
Special teams speed
Zay Robinson and Quinton Martin Jr. added 133 and 100 all-purpose yards, respectively.
Martin ripped off a 61-yard run while Robinson did most of his damage on punt return, where he’s been hard to tackle.
asserted
he → score → return
Through three games he has returned 13 punts for 172 yards.
asserted
he → return → yards
On Saturday he set up a pair of short fields for his offense, with both possessions ending in scores.
asserted
possessions → set → scores
Out of action
Rappleyea, one of the Nittany Lions’ most versatile players, suffered what appeared to be a shoulder injury in the second quarter and did not return.
asserted
what → suffer → quarter
The 6-foot-4, 242-pounder hauled in a short pass over the middle and was crunched by a pair of Buffalo defenders.
asserted
pounder → haul → defenders
He jogged off the field favoring his right arm, was checked out on the sideline and taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
asserted
He → jog → evaluation
The Nittany Lions are deep at tight end with 6-foot-7 Benjamin Brahmer and 6-foot-6 Gabe Burkle featuring heavily in the offense but would miss Rappleyea’s blocking ability should he miss any time.
asserted
he → feature → time
Penn State center Brock Riker also didn’t finish the game.
asserted
Riker → finish → game
Afterward, Campbell said both players were “dinged up” and that Rappleyea likely could’ve returned had the game been close.
uncertain
game → say → ?
The takeaway
Buffalo: The Bulls couldn’t get anything going.
asserted
anything → get → takeaway
Quarterback Jason Wright completed just 10 of 25 passes for 60 yards.
asserted
Wright → complete → yards
He was sacked once, hit five other times and hurried all afternoon.
asserted
He → sack → ?
Buffalo fell to 1-14 against the Big Ten Conference and 2-19 against AP Top 25 teams.
asserted
Buffalo → fall → teams
Save for the five first-half penalties, the Nittany Lions played another relatively clean nonconference game.
asserted
Lions → play → game
Lynn’s defense has been smothering and the Becht-led offense has no shortage of talented playmakers that have all factored into the offense over the first three weeks.
asserted
that → smother → weeks
Up next
Buffalo: Hosts Robert Morris on Saturday.
asserted
Buffalo → host → Saturday
Penn State: Hosts Wisconsin on Saturday.
asserted
State → host → Saturday
The Aporia
