Penn State-FIU Takeaways: Offense struggles, special teams shine, more

By Greg Pickel

Penn State did what it was supposed to do on Saturday and took out FIU at Beaver Stadium. But, the Lions’ second win of the season, which came via a score of 34-0, was hardly as impressive as it was supposed to be. The offense took too long to get going. The defense had too many bend-but-don’t-break moments. At least the special teams performed mostly well from start to finish.

Here are our top takeaways from the game.

Is it time to worry about the Penn State offense?

I start writing this section with 5:30 to go in the third quarter. Drew Allar just hit Trebor Pena for 30 yards, which was the Lions’ first explosive play through the air on this afternoon and just their fourth overall. Then, Nicholas Singleton ripped off a 10-yard run and Allar hit Devonte Ross for a 42-yard scoring strike that saw the Nittany Lion receiver catch the touchdown pass despite being interfered with.

That is what this experienced Penn State offense is supposed to look like in the second year of the Andy Kotelnicki era and the third of the Allar-under-center era. Then, there was the next drive, which looked more like Penn State did for much of this contest: A run for 4, a rush for 1, and then Allar was sacked for a loss of 6 before a big Gabe Nwosu punt. The next drive was an ugly three-and-out.

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A beautiful 67-yard Kaytron Allen touchdown run inflated the winning margin. But the problem is that, for the second week in a row, there were long stretches that featured disjointed, confusing play and play calling. There were also many instances of minimal push from the offensive line and few good results in the run game until Allen’s big run. Penn State struggled on third and fourth down again for large chunks of this game. And, it again kicked field goals inside of its opponent’s territory.

All of this makes it fair to be worried about what this offense will look like in three weeks against Oregon. Will it be the version that put together an electric five-play, 88-yard scoring drive in 2:09? Or will it be the one that slugged its way through the first 40 or so minutes of play?

The answer will be a significant factor in determining the White Out matchup with the Ducks.

Let’s talk about the defense

Penn State’s first-team defense has not surrendered a point through the first two games of the Jim Knowles era. That does not mean it has been perfect. There have been missed tackles, blown coverages, and too much shakiness in general despite the outcome on the scoreboard.

“Defense has been bend but don’t break,” James Franklin told the Penn State Sports Network at halftime. “Need to be more suffocating.”

We couldn’t agree more. And don’t get us wrong: The defense is playing winning football. But there’s another level to reach, too. This group is making progress and took another step in that direction on Saturday. But cleaner, more impactful play is needed for a full four quarters.

One last thought: What would the odds have been for defensive tackles to record the first two Penn State interceptions of the year? After Zane Durant got one last week, Alonzo Ford did on Saturday.

The special teams came to play

Aside from Gabe Nwosu’s two second half kickoffs that sailed out of bounds, coordinator Justin Lustig’s group had a very nice day. Nwosu’s first boot as the team’s starting punter was downed at the FIU 2. It probably shouldn’t have stood upon review after Audavion Collins seemingly touched the ball while in the end zone. But, that has nothing to do with the kick, which was perfect, as was his 67-yard boom in the second half. Dom DeLuca blocked a punt, the third of his career. Devonte Ross had a couple of fine punt returns. And the kick-return game was fine. Good work by this bunch on Saturday.

Odds and ends

–Veteran defensive end Zuriah Fisher showed great burst in his first game action in a long time. This was a contest for him to build on, without question.

–The Lions’ struggles through the first three quarters meant that many young Penn State players missed a chance to get valuable game reps, which is what the nonconference slate should be all about.

—Enai White had his first sack as a Nittany Lion at his new position, defensive tackle, in the fourth quarter.

–For any effort issues you might have with some Penn State players, you can’t have it with Dani Dennis-Sutton. He came to play again, finishing with four tackles (two for loss) and two quarterback hurries.