Story by
Reading Eagle, Pa.
Penn State crushes overmatched Buffalo behind Koby Howard, Quinton Martin Jr.
- Story byReading Eagle, Pa.
- Penn State crushes overmatched Buffalo behind Koby Howard, Quinton Martin Jr.
STATE COLLEGE – Two players who saw limited action last season for Penn State showed why the new coaching staff has high hopes for them this season.
Koby Howard accounted for 135 yards and two touchdowns and Quinton Martin Jr. rushed for 100 yards, sending the 14th-ranked Nittany Lions past overmatched Buffalo 55-13 Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
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Howard played sparingly in the first half of last season before emerging as a deep threat in the final seven games. Against the Bulls (1-2), he caught three passes for 115 yards, including a 70-yard score, and rushed for a 20-yard TD. He leads Penn State (3-0) with 12 catches for 344 yards and two scores.
"I don't know if anybody could catch the ball as well as that guy can," Lions coach Matt Campbell said. "Nothing surprises me about Koby because of how I've watched him work. Even after today, he'll be the first guy in the facility tomorrow morning and will probably beat three-fourths of the coaching staff.
"He's that kind of football player. He has this conviction to be great."
Martin saw extensive action one week after not getting a carry against Temple and broke off a 61-yard run before he tripped over his own feet at the Buffalo 7-yard line. He didn't have one rushing attempt last year in the regular season before he starred in the Pinstripe Bowl with 103 yards.
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"It was great to see Quinton have a great moment," Campbell said. "If you asked Q, he would tell you that it was maybe one of his best weeks of practice. He took that and turned it into the ability of executing at a very high rate."
Martin, Cam Wallace, James Peoples and Carson Hansen combined 273 of Penn State's 304 rushing yards and had five TDs on the ground. The Lions began the day ranked 80th on the ground, averaging less than 4 yards per carry. They averaged 7.4 against Buffalo.
"All four guys did some great things with the ball in critical moments," Campbell said. "I thought there was growth and I also thought there was growth because there was some really good blocking on the perimeter."
The Lions outgained Buffalo by 573-173. Rocco Becht completed 11-of-19 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns for Penn State, which opens Big Ten play next week against Wisconsin at home.
Zay Robinson gained 133 all-purpose yards, including 109 on eight punt returns. On defense, safety Marcus Neal Jr. forced two fumbles and recovered one.
