Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Zane Durant (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)
Penn State Football had to come from behind with a strong second-half effort by the defense to edge the heavy underdogs from Bowling Green on Saturday to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Despite being a five-touchdown favorite, Penn State had a lot to tighten up at halftime to find a way to put Bowling Green away for good, and it was not until late in the fourth quarter that they finally did.
Here are my takeaways from Saturday’s Penn State Football Win
What a letdown
The secondary, the pass rush, and the poor tackling were three elements that pretty much sleepwalked through the first half of the game that stood out to me the most.
But, I think they all fall under the category of letdown.
It’s a funny thing, the letdown. You know it’s coming and have been warned by your coaches, fans, and family members alike. But at the end of the day it still happens despite the warning signs and the history behind it.
Letdowns manifest themselves in less than acute focus and tend to open the door to mental lethargy which is a direct connection to physical execution.
Basically, the letdown zaps your energy so when you go up against a less talented player, but a player who is out of his mind focused and fired up, guess who’s going to win most of those one-on-one battles?
Penn State Football was fortunate enough to wake up in time to survive the numbness.
The Running game was rockin’
After a strange year in 2023 when Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen didn’t put up the same volume of numbers as they did during their freshmen seasons, the ground game firmly looks back to being one of the best in the country. Make no mistake about it this is the top 1-2 running back punch in the nation.
Singleton ran for 119 yards on 12 carries for a score, while Allen added 103 yards of his own on 14 carries.
When both are playing at a high level, this running attack is hard to stop, something the Nittany Lions have shown in the first two games of the year.
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Drew Allar continues to ball out
Oftentimes a good quarterback is like a goaltender in hockey. He’s counted on to erase the mistakes of his teammates.
Well, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar did not disappoint on Saturday with another extremely efficient performance.
The second-year starter was 13-of-20 for 204 yards and two touchdowns with a pick. Five of Allar’s 13 completions were for 20 yards or more.
All told those five big plays combined for 133 of the 206 yards he finished with. Translation: 64% of Allar’s yards came from chunk plays.
While Penn State’s offense as a whole dialed up nine plays of 20 yards or more, totaling 250 of Penn State’s 438 total yards. Translation: chunk plays totaled 57% of the total yardage for Penn State on Saturday. Credit those numbers to new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
MORE: Penn State’s Game Balls from Win Over Bowling Green
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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Author
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A proud graduate of Villanova University, Staszak’s first gig in the industry was with PRISM sports in 1989, covering the four local home teams, the Flyers, 76ers and Phillies while also covering the Randall Cunningham-led Philadelphia Eagles.
It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008. It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run. In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic, and currently covers the Eagles for Heavy Sports, in addition to Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
About the Author
