It’s only week one and I’m not an overreactionary like perhaps I was growing up. I’ve watched, covered and reported on way too many games to know better. However, I’m not a cynic either. Saturday’s Penn State Football 34-12 win at West Virginia was very impressive.
Penn State flexed their number No. 8 ranked muscles and after a first quarter that looked like an infomercial for the Fumblerooski, the Nittany Lions decided to unveil their new look offensive, complete with all the fireworks and high explosive ingredients it was billed to be with the addition of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
It was a very sound 34-12 win over the Mountaineers that included a two-hour weather delay.
Penn State Football Takeaways From Week 1 Blowout
Explosive Plays
Isn’t that what everyone was curious about heading into this season?
The Nittany Lions had three plays all of last year for 50+ yards. Yesterday they reeled off two. All told, Penn State’s offense accounted for five plays of 20+ yards (55, 50, 40, 40, 20) and also chipped in with a 19-yard play and two of 18 yards.
After a slow first quarter, Drew Allar flipped the switch. He threw for 31 yards in the quarter number one and 168 in the next 15 minutes. He finished the first half 8/13 for 199 yards and three touchdowns.
I’d say that Allar and PSU checked the explosive plays box.
Same Elite Defense
Last year the Lions boasted the top run defense in the country yielding just 2.2 yards per carry.
Saturday, they held the Mountaineers ground game, which finished third in the nation running the ball last year at 5.4 yards per clip, to a very pedestrian 85 yards. If you’re keeping score at home that’s just 2.3 yards per carry.
They also forced three West Virginia turnovers yesterday and in the first-half they held the Mountaineers to just two field goals, forced three punts and stopped them on downs on a 4th and short late in the first quarter.
You can check off box number two.
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3 Penn State Receivers Come to Play
There was a lot of talk about the talent or perhaps lack thereof of the Penn State’s wide receiving corp coming into the season.
They lost their top wide receiver to the transfer portal in April and trotted out a gaggle of eager but relatively unproven passatchers heading into this season.
Three of them made their impact on the score sheet yesterday, especially Harrison Wallace III. The junior from Alabama caught five balls for 117 yards and two scores.
On the second Penn State scoring drive he caught three balls for 82 of the 84 yards on the drive including a 50 yard slant he took to the house to start the 2nd quarter.
Omari Evans came down with a huge 55-yard grab in the waning moments of the second quarter on Penn State’s third scoring drive that was capped by a 20-yard scoring strike to Kaytron Allen with just :06 seconds left in the first half. Their stud tight end Tyler Warren also caught a 19-yard score from backup quarterback Beau Pribula in the 4th quarter to finish out the scoring for the Lions.
The pass catchers for the PSU finished the day with a 13.1 yards per attempt average. Not bad considering the much heralded Julian Fleming, their most notable incoming transfer portal player, did not record a catch in the game.
MORE: Drew Allar Report Card From Penn State Win Over West Virginia
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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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