It sounds silly to criticize a team that has outscored its first two opponents 80-11.
Or one that hasn’t committed a turnover or a bunch of penalties.
But for anyone who has watched games against prohibitive underdogs Nevada and FIU, it’s plain to see that Penn State’s offense is not operating at an optimal level.
The Nittany Lions’ 34-0 victory over FIU Saturday at Beaver Stadium looked and sounded better on scoreboard shows than it did in person.
Even with all the experience and all the presumed talent on offense, they haven’t fully meshed yet with one nonconference game left before they face Oregon in their Big Ten opener Sept. 27.
“I have concerns,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “They’re things we’re going to emphasize and focus on this week. We’ll get better.”
As a team, they went 3-for-12 on third downs and had just four plays 20 yards or longer, one fewer than they had against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl last season.
“We’re still not as explosive as we need to be on offense,” Franklin said. “We were not good on third down. That’s the reason why we struggled on offense and could not get into a rhythm.”
Individually, Drew Allar did not throw the football well. He completed 19 of 33 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. They’re solid numbers but not those expected from a potential first-round draft pick against a team predicted to finish in the bottom half of Conference USA.
In the first quarter, Devonte Ross was behind the defense down the sideline but Allar underthrew him on a play on which FIU was flagged for pass interference.
In the second quarter, he badly missed a swing pass to wide-open running back Nick Singleton on a third down. Allar put both hands to his head in frustration. He also threw behind a few receivers who made terrific catches.
“I just don’t think it was good enough in general,” he said when asked to assess his performance. “[I have to] go back to the drawing board.”
Someone asked what he could have done better.
“Make all the throws,” he replied. “It’s that simple.”
Then there was the veteran offensive line, which didn’t have a great afternoon. Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined to rush for 220 yards on 29 carries, but their total was helped greatly by Allen’s 67-yard TD sprint late in the fourth quarter.
The Lions returned five guys up front who started at least six games last season. They were predicted to be one of the five best offensive lines in the country.
“I think there’s a lot of meat left off on the bone,” Franklin said. “We have a chance to be a dominant front. I wouldn’t necessarily say we’ve played like that up to this point. We have to get that figured out.”
Penn State couldn’t convert on three third-and-short situations and two fourth-and-short plays in the first half against FIU. The one that stood out was when Allen was stopped for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-2 in the second quarter.
“We’re not where we need to be,” said left tackle Drew Shelton, the former Downingtown West star. “I think we’re going to continue to get better.”
Penn State has scored on all 11 of its trips inside the red zone, an opponent’s 20-yard line, but only six of those possessions ended with a touchdown.
Take a closer look at Saturday’s game. The Lions had the ball inside FIU territory on their first eight possessions and reached the end zone just twice, the second time on a spectacular 42-yard catch by Ross that made it 20-0 in the third quarter and eased the tension.
“I think we did a good job on the first two drives of the second half, putting up points,” Allar said. “I just have to be more consistent throughout the game. I kind of killed our momentum at times in the first half.”
Allar seemingly has made connections with Ross and the two other new wide receivers from the transfer portal, Kyron Hudson and Trebor Pena, which was a priority. The three combined for 10 receptions for 130 yards Saturday.
But Franklin hinted that maybe he and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki have tried too hard to get those three involved in the offense before Penn State meets Oregon.
Franklin was asked if the Lions have formed an identity, especially on offense.
“I don’t know if we’re there yet,” he said. “I still think we’re trying to figure that out. We’ve gone into the first couple weeks trying to get things done in terms of building chemistry and confidence in certain aspects of the game rather than just doing what we have to do to win games and score points.
“That really revolves around those three receivers. We need to be more balanced. We need to be more explosive.”
And soon. The Ducks visit in less than three weeks.
Source: Berkshire mont