Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
6 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 T he preseason is in the books. Penn State is 3-0 with a 132-17 score dif- ferential. All good, right? Well, that's not how college foot- ball fandom works. The Nittany Lions labored through the early part of Sep- tember, and we saw a lot. Like, a whole lot. Like … too much. Now, the open date has arrived, and waiting on the other side is Oregon, which steam- rolled its first three opponents prior to a nonconference matchup against Or- egon State on Sept. 20. Speaking of the Ducks, their fans were countering the panic-button- smashing at Penn State with some of their own. Oregon's 34-14 win over Northwestern on Sept. 13? Not good enough in their estimation, just like Penn State's 52-6 pasting of Villanova later that same day. Expectations, man. And yet, it's not just sky-high ex- pectations that have made the Nit- tany Lions' first three games seem less satisfying than they otherwise might. A couple of seemingly impor- tant elements have been missing so far from Penn State's offense: Senior quarterback Drew Allar hasn't run the ball, and senior running back Nicholas Singleton hasn't caught it. Those types of plays are not the foundation of Penn State's offense, but they must be a bigger part than we've seen to date. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that Allar ran 5 times for 54 yards against Oregon in the Big Ten title game in December. Also in that game, Singleton had 4 catches for 43 yards and a score. That has not been the template PSU has followed this year. Through three weeks, Allar has 7 (non-sack) carries. He had 6 runs against Nevada, got his hand slapped by James Franklin for taking too many hits, and then scaled it back the next two weeks. Against Villanova, Allar had 2 scrambles for 18 yards, and he also took a hit when a batted ball landed in his hands and he plowed forward for a 5-yard gain. While the Nittany Lions have good reason to protect Allar, it would be surprising if they don't use him more frequently as a ball carrier. He's not go- ing to keep it 10 times against Oregon, but the threat has to be part of PSU's offense. The same is true for Singleton as a receiver. He's had 6 targets through three weeks, a total that he matched in four games alone last season (including twice in the postseason). Penn State gave him 21 touches against Villanova, a clear indication that the coaches were trying to jump-start some- thing in him as a runner. Just one of those touches was as a receiver, though. Singleton is struggling big-time with issues that have plagued him in the past. He's best in space, theoretically, and the most effec- tive way to avoid being tripped up and going down easy would be to give him the football with nobody around him. It's not going to be a matter of flipping the switch, un- fortunately. He's running straight downhill and tumbling on first contact. Vision is an issue, for sure, but balance is holding him back even more. It's going to be fascinating to see how everything balances out after the bye week. There are ob- vious elements to add back into the mix, and a ton that needs to be stripped down. Does the po- tential benefit of catching Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi off-guard outweigh the risk of not repping certain plays in game situations? I have no idea. The Nittany Lions racked up 518 yards and 37 points against Or- egon in the Big Ten Championship Game last December, but it wasn't because they outsmarted the Ducks. Nor did Oregon outsmart Penn State in amassing 466 yards and 45 points. When two teams of that nature collide, it's less about the window dressing and more about timely playmaking. With the rematch nearly at hand, the Nittany Lions have a massive opportu- nity ahead of them. They still have the potential to enjoy a fun night against the Ducks, but things are getting seri- ous. Ultimately, this is a game about growth as the Lions' work-in-progress continues. The version of Penn State that we've seen in the first three weeks of the season cannot be the one that runs out of the tunnel on Sept. 27. ■ Drew Allar has been used infrequently as a runner so far this sea- son, but that might change in the weeks ahead. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT There's More In PSU's Arsenal Than We've Seen So Far JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM