Blue White Illustrated

October 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

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6 6 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State is 4-0. It survived two true road tests in the season's first month and earned a Big Ten victory prior to the start of full-on conference play in October. To some, the Lions have exceeded expectations. Others believe head coach James Franklin's team is exactly where it should be after being favored in each contest to start the year. Then, there is a group that thought the Central Michi- gan game exposed too many flaws to get too excited about a Penn State team that started the year outside of the Associ- ated Press Top 25 but is now inside the top 15 at the first-quarter pole. There is no wrong segment to be in at this point. All are fair takes. And yet, two of the three will be proven wrong soon. After hosting Northwestern on Oct. 1 and then a bye, PSU embarks upon the meat of its Big Ten schedule. October includes a potential top-10 showdown at Michigan and home dates with Minnesota for the White Out and also top-five Ohio State. There are two road games in November to navigate, as well. In other words, the tune-up time is over, and there are clear strengths and also apparent areas for growth moving forward. "Defensively, we must be better on third-and-long," head coach James Franklin said after Penn State's 33-14 victory over Central Michigan. "We've done a good job of getting people into third-and-long situations, but we're letting them out of it or giving up too many yards to create manageable fourth-down situations. That's an area that we clearly have to get better on. "Offensively … we must be more effi- cient and effective on third down. That has to be a strength for us. And then we have to be able to consistently run the ball. That's through scheme, that's through development, that's through all of it. We're going to need to do that, and when we've been at our best so far this season, we've been able to do both. We've been able to throw the ball and run the ball effectively. So, we'll con- tinue to emphasize it, continue to coach it and continue to develop it." Franklin acknowledged that the Li- ons showed some positive signs against Central Michigan. They weren't able to spring freshman sensation Nicho- las Singleton for any big gains, but his classmate Kaytron Allen finished with 111 yards on just 13 carries. "We had a running back rush for 100 yards. We have multiple guys who have the ability to do that, and we have guys who can make big plays," Franklin said. "There will be a bunch of things off of this tape that we will feel good about, and there will be a decent amount that we need to correct." Penn State has special teams concerns to focus on. Senior Jake Pinegar hit just 3 of 5 field goal tries in PSU's first four games. Against Central Michigan, he missed a 38-yard boot and had an extra point blocked. Protection issues seem to be at the root of the problem, but what- ever the cause, it must be solved soon. So, which boat do you find yourself in? The majority of preseason predic- tions had Penn State at 3-1 coming out of the first month of the season. By that measuring stick, the Lions have ex- ceeded expectations. Yet, as noted above, we have seen troubling trends in some areas that pop up week in and week out. If those aren't shored up soon, the perfect record won't last for long. All told, though, we've seen enough to feel comfortable in saying that Penn State fans should be confident and hopeful about this team. It showed through four weeks that it can win at home, on the road, in the Big Ten, and against a middle-of-the-pack SEC team on its turf. Few other programs can boast the same. So, as October begins, our take is that optimism is the boat to be in. Things are going better than anticipated so far. That will only matter, however, if the team is able to build on its early-season accomplishments. "I think that we're right where we need to be," super senior quarterback Sean Clifford said. "We've had a lot of success. We've seen now what hampers that. And, at the same time, I think that we're in the position, and with the right guys, to make the push to make those corrections." ■ O P I N I O N GREG PICKEL gpic92@gmail.com PSU Raises Hopes, And Concerns, In The Season's First Month THE LAST WORD Freshman running back Kaytron Allen rushed for 111 yards against Central Michigan. It was the third consecutive game in which a Penn State ball carrier surpassed 100 yards. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE

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