Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
2 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M J ames Franklin's concluding remark was prescient. Penn State had just averted an upset bid by Bowling Green on Sept. 7, winning 34-27 at Beaver Stadium. Franklin knew the Nit- tany Lions had some pressing concerns to address, but unlike some other ranked teams that would go on to lose that day, his squad would get back to work while sporting a 2-0 record. "It's nice doing that work with a win," he said. "There are a ton of teams across the country that will be trying to make corrections after a loss. We get to make a bunch of corrections after a win." Within a few hours, No. 5 Notre Dame dropped a 16-14 decision to Mid-Amer- ican Conference opponent Northern Il- linois at home. No. 7 Oregon needed a last-second field goal to avoid a home loss to Boise State. No. 15 Oklahoma escaped a Houston upset bid, 16-12. Elsewhere, No. 19 Kansas fell at Illinois, No. 21 Iowa lost to Iowa State, and No. 23 Georgia Tech dropped its game against Syracuse. Penn State, by contrast, survived its scare, and it did so because the offense was able to produce yards and points on a day when the defense was uncharacter- istically porous. The Lions notched their second 34-point scoring outburst in as many weeks, setting a foundation upon which new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki can build. Here's a look at what we learned about the offense in the season's opening weeks: Quarterback Junior Drew Allar built on his Week 1 performance at West Virginia with an- other solid showing on the stat page against Bowling Green, completing 13 of 20 passes for 204 yards and 2 touch- downs. He also threw a costly intercep- tion in the second half, but there is reason to believe the responsibility for that pick should have been shared by his receivers. In his first two games of 2024, Allar hit 24 of 37 pass attempts for 420 yards, with 5 touchdowns and an interception. His completion rate of 64.9 percent is up five points from last year, and he's averaged nearly 5 yards more per completion (17.5) than he did in 2023. But more than the numbers, what stands out about his performance thus far is how he's met the eye test. Allar is making plays he didn't make last year. He is elevating the play of his teammates and taking it upon himself to do more than just avoid mistakes. That showed up in his running at West Virginia. Allar extended possessions by converting third downs on 3 of his 6 car- ries, opening the door to 14 second-half points. Against Bowling Green, he ex- tended plays that could easily have ended in the backfield. Twice, he escaped a col- lapsing pocket and made accurate throws, only to have the receiver drop the pass. Later, he unloaded a dime deep downfield to Evans that was negated due to an of- fensive pass interference penalty. Franklin said before the start of the sea- son that Penn State needed to elevate its play against the best opponents on the schedule. Through two games, Allar has provided evidence of that possibility. Running Back Kotelnicki spent the offseason high- lighting the potential of junior running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Though Allen had spent time "bouncing back" from injury, it was Sin- gleton, in particular, who stood out as a player Kotelnicki believed was poised to "explode." Through two games, the first-year of- fensive coordinator has been proven right on both counts. Case In Points Case In Points Penn State's offense flashes big-play capability in early-season victories NAT E BAU E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M Running back Kaytron Allen rushed for 101 yards on 14 carries in the Nittany Lions' win over Bowling Green in Week 2 after notching just 20 yards on 10 carries in the season opener at West Virginia. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT