Penn State's offense was slow to start Saturday's game against FIU, but star running back Nicholas Singleton finished the afternoon off with a bang not only as the last Nittany Lion (2-0) scorer, but for program history.
After the first week of the season on Aug. 30, Singleton tied for all-time rushing touchdowns in Penn State history. He and Ki-Jana Carter were locked together with 34. Late in the fourth quarter with less than two minutes remaining, Singleton officially claimed that No. 4 spot for himself, breaking the tie and moving Carter down to No. 5 all-time.
Penn State was put in great field position due to freshman Chaz Coleman's forced fumble and recovery. Coleman stripped the ball out of FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins' hands and stretched out to follow through and pick the ball up at the Panthers' (1-1) 44-yard line. He was just five yards away from the end zone when he was taken down by the Panthers.
Singleton finished the job as soon as the Nittany Lions' offense took the field. On first-and-goal, quarterback Drew Allar handed off the ball to the running back and he rushed up the middle and into the end zone. This capped off the afternoon for Penn State after kicker Ryan Barker tacked on the extra point. The Nittany Lions won 34-0.
Nicholas Singleton surpasses Ki-Jana Carter for all-time rushing touchdowns on Saturday
Against Nevada in Week 1, Singleton bumped his total number of touchdowns all-time to 43 (34 rushing touchdowns, eight receiving touchdowns, and one kick return score). While Saquon Barkley leads the Nittany Lions in total touchdowns all-time (53), the fourth-year running back broke his tie with Lydell Mitchell to bump into the No. 2 spot on the record books. He is now nine scores behind tying Barkley for first.
The senior broke Mitchell's all-time rushing yards record (2,934) as well on his first touch of the game for nine yards. This moved him up to the No. 9 spot in Penn State history. On 16-yard rush on his second carry surpassed Larry Johnson's all-time record (2,953) to claim the No. 8 spot. His 76-yard performance now beings his all-time rushing yards to 3,007.
His backfield partner Kaytron Allen also passed Mitchell and Johnson, but also pushed Singleton back to No. 9. Allen now holds 3,064 all-time rushing yards. The duo is slowly moving up the ranks as it hopes to take over No. 1 (Evan Royster; 3,932 yards) and No. 2 (Barkley; 3,843 yards) this season.