Penn State will get in extra work over a weekend off. With the Big Ten expanding to 16 teams this offseason, every team in the conference has been granted a second bye week, and the Nittany Lions will take their first on Saturday with injuries aplenty and a handful of mistakes needing to be cleaned up.
James Franklin consistently deemed this team one of his most balanced on offense and defense in recent years, but through two games, it hasn’t always shown. Sure, the dominant season-opening win at West Virginia was great. But there were obvious miscues in Penn State’s narrow 34-27 win against Bowling Green last weekend.
What are five things we learned about the Nittany Lions through two weeks?
Drew Allar fits well in new system
The program’s offseason question marks surrounded no player more than quarterback Drew Allar. And so far, Allar’s second season as a starter and first under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has gone well. He hasn’t thrown a ton, partially due to extended defensive series, but has been more accurate and explosive than he was for most of 2023.
Allar has thrown for 420 yards, five touchdowns and one interception through two games, and has also established himself as a true threat on the ground. NFL scouts should be impressed with Allar’s poise in the pocket and booming arm talent, but would likely want to see him connect with a diversity of wide receivers, a position that tallied just three catches on Saturday.
Singleton, Allen are offense’s heart and soul
It didn’t make much sense last season. Penn State running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen generated historic years as freshmen in 2023, but were underutilized and potentially used in ways that didn’t benefit their skill sets. That’s changed under Kotelnicki.
Singleton has already established himself as one of the nation’s top running backs, taking just 26 carries for 233 rushing yards and two touchdowns through two games. Allen struggled against West Virginia, but eclipsed 100 rushing yards alongside Singleton last weekend and appears to be finding a similar stride.
Warren one of the nation’s top tight ends
Franklin said in the preseason that Tyler Warren may be the “most complete tight end in the country.” And through a pair of games, that very well may be the case. Against the Falcons, Warren tallied eight receptions for 146 yards, the most in a game by a tight end in school history.
It was wide receiver Harrison Wallace III who led the way in the pass game against the Mountaineers, but Warren also scored in that game and has only continued to define himself as a staunch run blocker and the offense’s most consistent receiving target.
Tom Allen’s defense isn’t perfect
Let this past Saturday serve as an indication: defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s system isn’t perfect. Maybe it will be, as it nearly was at West Virginia, but the unit’s struggles were too obvious to go unnoticed against Bowling Green. In that game, the Nittany Lions allowed the most points in a regular season affair in two years. Not good.
With future NFL talent across the board, it’s difficult not to point the finger at Allen for the recent miscues. Nonetheless, it’s only been two games, and Allen will likely need more time to fully transition from head coaching the past seven years to coordinating this season.
Edge pressure lacking
Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton were projected to be one of the most dynamic defensive end duos Penn State has had under Franklin. But so far, they’ve hardly shown up on tape or in the box score. Neither have a sack to this point, a consistent problem for the Nittany Lions, who have just two total on the season.
Carter has one tackle for loss while Dennis-Sutton awaits his first impact play.
