Penn State Football emphatically started the season off 1-0 this weekend, dominating the West Virginia Mountaineers en route to a 34-12 victory.
While there are plenty of highs to take away from the first game of the 2024 season, there were plenty of smaller issues that the Nittany Lions must clean up as they progress through the season if they want to reach their ultimate goal of reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
Three mistakes Penn State Football must clean up before facing Bowling Green
Kicking Game
One of the most glaring issues of Saturday’s game for Penn State was the kicking game.
On the second to last drive of the day, Penn State lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt that was missed by starting kicker Sander Sahaydak.
Last season, Sahaydak opened the season with two field goal misses against West Virginia as well, before being benched in favor of Alex Felkins for the rest of the season in field goal duty.
This year, Penn State has to try to bounce back from a bad first kick like they did last season, whether that be with Sahaydak or fellow kickers Chase Meyer or Ryan Barker.
During James Franklin’s weekly press conference Monday, Franklin stated that Penn State has a “ton of confidence” in Sahaydak despite the missed kick, “based on what he did all training camp and all spring ball.” Franklin continued that he knows “he’ll make the next one.”
Penn State Football should take any opportunity on Saturday against a lesser opponent to get Sahaydak’s confidence up with a field goal attempt or two before conference play begins later this month.
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Penalties
Another glaring issue for the Nittany Lions on Saturday were the large number of penalties assessed against the Nittany Lions.
On the day, Penn State was penalized eight times for 60 yards. Of the eight penalties, four were offsides penalties on Penn State’s defensive line (two on recently converted defensive end Abdul Carter).
James Franklin stressed during Monday’s press conference that Penn State must clean up the pre and post-snap penalties.
Later in answering a question on Carter, Franklin noted Carter’s maturity about handling criticism and correction of the penalties Saturday. Moving forward to Bowling Green, Penn State must be more conscious of penalties, specifically pre-snap penalties on the offensive and defensive line, which can be drive killers for the offense or drive extenders for the defense.
WR Targets
Penn State’s passing game looked improved from last season in the first game under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
Starting quarterback Drew Allar looked as poised and confident as he has in a Penn State uniform, leading to the second-highest QBR in the nation Saturday.
However, despite the success in Penn State’s passing game, only two Penn State wide receivers caught passes and only five players overall caught passes against West Virginia.
At his Monday press conference, Franklin noted that Penn State tried to get the ball to Julian Fleming, but it “didn’t play out that way.” He added that stats “will come” for the fifth-year transfer wide receiver from Ohio State.
Franklin also noted that Kaden Saunders was dealing with “bumps and bruises” and was solely in the game to return punts but was hopeful to have him back at wide receiver this week. In answering a question about Penn State’s wide receivers, Franklin stressed that he wants defenses to have to worry about “seven or eight” players in the passing game, so it is safe to assume Franklin would like to focus on getting more receivers involved moving forward, especially as defenses key in on Harrison Wallace III after his breakout performance Saturday.
While Penn State should have no issue beating Bowling Green on Saturday based on the disparity of talent on the field (Penn State is an early 34.5-point favorite), Penn State must use the game Saturday as a tune-up game to correct mistakes before Big Ten play starts later this month.
Letting these issues continue to pile up could lead to disappointment later in the season, even if it doesn’t hurt the Nittany Lions against the next two lower-tier opponents. After Saturday’s game, however, Penn State will have another week to correct mistakes in the Nittany Lions first bye week of the season.
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