Komolafe scores late, leads Northwestern to 22-21 win over Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Caleb Komolafe ran for 72 yards and a touchdown and Northwestern held on to beat Penn State 22-21 on Saturday.

Preston Stone threw for 163 yards with a touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde, and Jack Olsen kicked three field goals for the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten), who won their third straight.

“I truly believe that our football team expected to win today," Northwestern coach David Braun said. "Ultimately, the message was you’ve got a football team that’s got their back up against the wall, but also a football team that may be questioning who they are.”

The Wildcats, who hadn’t won in Beaver Stadium since 2014, took the lead for good with 4:51 when Komolafe bulled his way through Penn State’s defense to cap a 75-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.

The Nittany Lions got the ball back, but lost quarterback Drew Allar to a leg injury on a third-down play. Penn State coach James Franklin said afterward that Allar, a senior, will be out for the rest of the season with an unspecified injury.

Backup Ethan Grunkemeyer replaced him and was immediately stopped on a fourth-down run and the Wildcats ran the clock out from there.

Allar finished 13 for 20 for 137 yards passing and added 25 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Allar, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen ran for touchdowns for the Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3), who lost their third straight. It was the fifth time a Franklin coached Penn State team has lost at least three consecutive games in a season.

“I take full responsibility for all of it,” Franklin said. “I hired all the staff, I recruited all the players. I believe in all of them. But we’re not getting it done right now.”

The Nittany Lions, who committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half, could never get out of their way. Meanwhile, the Wildcats played steady, almost mistake-free football in front of a flat Penn State crowd that chanted “Fire James Franklin!” early.

Allar was intercepted on Penn State’s opening drive when he threw the ball right to defensive back Ore Adeyi in the end zone. Adeyi returned it to the Northwestern 33 and the Wildcats turned it into three points 12 plays later with Jack Olsen’s a 27-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions finally got their offense moving with Allen. He carried five times on Penn State’s next possession and gave his team a 7-3 lead when he muscled in from 11 yards out early in the second.

Northwestern marched into Penn State’s territory on its next possession where Stone found a wide open Wilde for a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown pass.

The Wildcats appeared to get a stop on defense but fumbled away the ensuing punt. The Nittany Lions needed nine plays from Northwestern’s 26, but finally broke through on a fourth-and-goal when Singleton slashed around the Wildcats’ left flank for a 2-yard touchdown.

Olsen made a 34-yarder with three seconds left to cut Penn State’s lead to 14-13 at halftime.

Allar returned for his senior season to make better on the season-ending interception he threw in last season's College Football Playoff semifinal against Notre Dame. Now, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound quarterback will spend the rest of the year watching after suffering what appeared to be a left ankle injury on Penn State's final drive.

Grunkemeyer has spent the first six weeks of the season as the No. 2 quarterback. Penn State also has Jaxon Smolik on the roster.

Northwestern: The Wildcats looked quite comfortable in the usually hostile Beaver Stadium even though they hadn’t played a road game in over a month. They stymied Penn State’s struggling offense and overwhelmed Jim Knowles’ defense with a strong running game late.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions have yet to play a complete game and looked sluggish and sloppy again a week after a disastrous loss to previously winless UCLA dropped them from the Top 25. They need to find some answers with a trip to always-tough Kinnick Stadium next week. They also still have to play No. 7 Indiana and No. 1 Ohio State.

Northwestern: Hosts Purdue on Saturday.

Penn State: Visits Iowa on Saturday.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (13) celebrates with wide receiver Devonte Ross (5) after scoring a touchdown against Northwestern during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (13) runs away from Northwestern defensive back Braden Turner (9) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)