STATE COLLEGE, Pa. _ If the 104,000-plus fans enjoying a pleasant Saturday night at Beaver Stadium expected No. 15 Penn State to have an easy time of it once again, they were quickly proven wrong by Buffalo, a team that kept the Nittany Lions off the field for much of the first half.
In fact, they were so disappointed by the Bulls' advantages of 46-20 in offensive plays and 270-82 in total yards, plus nearly a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, that they showered the Lions with boos as they headed for the South tunnel trailing, 10-7.
But John Reid's 36-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter turned the frowns upside down and touched off a 28-point explosion that the Nittany Lions rode to a 45-13 victory over the Bulls.
The Lions (2-0) turned things around with the clutch pick-6 by Reid and the steady play of quarterback Sean Clifford. After not being able to do much in the first half, Clifford completed 8 of 10 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Pat Freiermuth in the third quarter.
For the game, Clifford threw for four scores, including two to Jahan Dotson, the second a 56-yard deep strike with 3 minutes, 3 seconds to play. Clifford completed 16 of 23 passes for 280 yards.
Prior to the third-quarter fireworks, Buffalo (1-1) rode the fine play of redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Myers, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 184 yards in the opening half and helped the Bulls converted 7 of 12 third-down chances. The Lions looked anything like a team that scored 79 points and rolled up 673 yards the week before against Idaho.
The Lions' only score of the first half was set up on a fumble recovery by Cam Brown at the Bulls 37 that led to a 28-yard pass from Clifford to Dotson two plays later for a first-quarter TD.
The visitors got on the board with Alex McNulty's 32-yard field goal in the second quarter, capping a drive that lasted more than 8 { minutes. Late in the half, the Bulls drove 96 yards in the final five minutes, and a 6-yard pass from Myers to Julien Bourassa with 11 seconds remaining gave then a 10-7 lead at halftime.
The crowd grew even surlier after Ricky Slade fumbled on Penn State's initial possession of the third quarter, but Reid made the fans forget that. The senior stepped in front of Antonio Nunn at the Buffalo 36, picked off Myers' pass and dashed up the right sideline for the touchdown, the Lions' first pick-6 in three years.
The interception return touched off a flurry of four touchdowns in the third quarter. The Lions didn't waste any time, scoring in one play, three plays and five plays.
KJ Hamler's 22-yard punt return followed by a 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Bulls moved the ball to the Buffalo 23, from where Clifford found Freiermuth for the TD.
The Bulls answered with McNulty's 25-yard field goal. On the second play after the ensuing kickoff, Clifford pulled off a good fake and dashed 58 yards to the Buffalo 2. From there, freshman Noah Cain went over to make it 28-13. It was Penn State's third touchdown in a span of 6:46.
After the Bulls went three and out, Clifford found Dotson for 19 yards to touch off a 55-yard drive. On fourth-and-2 from the visitors' 27, Freiermuth took a short flip from Clifford and got great blocks downfield from Hamler and Dotson for the touchdown, giving the Lions a 35-13 lead with just under 3 minutes remaining.
Clifford wasn't finished, hitting Hamler for 45 yards on the next-to-last play of the third quarter, to set up a 32-yard field goal by Jake Pinegar.
