Watch James Franklin's postgame press conference following Penn State's 52-6 win over Villanova

Penn State wrapped up its nonconference slate with a 52-6 win over Villanova on Saturday.

The Nittany Lion defense was stout throughout the day, limiting the Wildcats to just 179 yards of offense. In fact, they allowed just over 100 yards until the final six minutes when Villanova put together a 16-play, 75-yard drive to score on the final play of the game.

Linebacker Amare Campbell once again led the team in tackles with seven. He also had three tackles for loss and a sack. Tony Rojas also had two sacks, while the defense combined for 11 tackles for loss.

“I thought our defense significantly took a step this week,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin following the game. “Just more confident, more command, more control of the defense, especially from our safeties and linebackers, [who] are kind of running the show. So that was important going into this bye week.”

Highs & Lows: Uneven Penn State wears down Villanova in 52-6 win

Offensively, running back Nick Singleton finished the game with 20 carries, his highest total since the 2023 season when he had 21 rushes against Northwestern. His two rushing touchdowns moved him to third all-time in rushing touchdowns in Penn State history. Kaytron Allen had just 10 carries but actually led the team in rushing with 86 yards.

However, it’s quarterback Drew Allar that most fans will be talking about. As we’ve seen throughout the first three games, Allar was again hit and miss, completing 16 of 29 attempts for 209 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

“On the interception, we had a missed assignment,” Franklin said. “You have to be careful. Once one bad thing happens, you can’t turn it into two. We’ve got to be better there. When you talk about touchdown-to-interception ratio, he’s one of the best in Penn State history.

“But we got to help him get into a rhythm and I think the third downs are a big part of that. We got to be better on third down as coaches. Drew’s got to be better and all the guys on the field got to be a little bit better. I know we’ll attack it the right way this bye week.”

The Nittany Lions now have two weeks to prepare for their biggest home game of the season. As long as the Ducks don’t trip over themselves against rival Oregon State next weekend, both Penn State and Oregon should be top-five programs in the Associated Press Poll.