Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
3 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M J ames Franklin had just finished watching Penn State defeat another opponent by a lopsided score. This time, it was a 52-6 victory over Vil- lanova in the Nittany Lions' nonconfer- ence finale. The win came on the heels of a 34-0 decision over Florida International the week prior and a 46-11 romp over Ne- vada on opening day. Through three games, the Nittany Li- ons were tied for 19th in the FBS with a scoring average of 44 points per game. Paired with a defense that was making weekly progress under the direction of new coordinator Jim Knowles, Penn State was headed into Big Ten play having every appearance of a team ready to compete at the highest level. Offensively, however, Franklin was forced to acknowledged otherwise. Despite the big numbers on the score- board, the Nittany Lions' average of 437.3 yards per game was ninth in the Big Ten. Their much-hyped running game didn't approach the high gear with which it left off when the 2024 season ended. And the passing game built around senior quar- terback Drew Allar and three talented transfer receivers was similarly up and down. "We've just been inconsistent," Frank- lin said. "We have to improve on third down. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Then we've got to be more explosive overall. I think there's a lot more room for growth in that area." Entering conference play, the Nit- tany Lions have been converting on just 38.9 percent of their third downs, down from 45.9 percent last year. Making mat- ters worse, they haven't been generating explosive plays, defined as runs of 12 or more yards and completions of 15 or more yards. They had 12 such plays against Vil- lanova, 7 against FIU and 9 versus Ne- vada. Here's a look at what we learned about the offense in the season's opening weeks. Quarterback Against FIU in Week 2, Allar completed 19 of 33 passes for 200 yards and 2 touch- downs. Following the game, Franklin con- ceded that the third-year starter wasn't at his best in the win over the Panthers, in which the Nittany Lions held a relatively slender 13-0 lead in the third quarter. "I didn't think he was in his normal rhythm," Franklin said. "We had some drops. He had some throws that he nor- mally makes that he didn't. That was a major factor for us on third down. But we just couldn't seem to get into a rhythm on offense, and that was part of it." The numbers were worse for Allar the following week against Villanova. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 209 yards and 1 touchdown against the Lions' FCS opponent, and he also threw his first in- terception of the season on a dump-off intended for senior running back Kaytron Allen. Those performances were a step down from the opener versus Nevada in which he hit 22 of 26 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown. His quarterback rating fell with each progressive game — from 167.4 to 128.5 to 120.2. Progress Report: OFFENSE Penn State hasn't yet hit its stride heading into the Big Ten season NAT E BAU E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M Through Penn State's first three games, Drew Allar has completed 64.8 percent of his pass attempts for 626 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL