Penn State had plenty of impressive moments throughout a 5-0 start; which top our list?
Penn State has the nation’s top defense through five weeks of the college football season. It is the No. 6 team in the country, according to The Associated Press top 25 poll, and has a huge October ahead of it following an off week.
As the Nittany Lions continue to prep for UMass, the Blue-White Illustrated team is taking one final look back at September by picking the moments that impressed our staff members the most.
Sean Fitz:
If we’re going moments, that’s a bit vague because even though Penn State is 5-0 and scoring over 40 points per game, the singular happenings that stick in the mind haven’t been extensive. I’ll say this, though, some of Drew Allar’s throws through the first five weeks of the season have been absolute jaw-droppers. That’s not to say that he’s not without his own room for improvement, but sometimes when he delivers you can feel the hype. He started the West Virginia game by stepping up in the pocket, flicking his wrist and finding KeAndre Lambert-Smith down the field. A few weeks later against Illinois he hit Liam Clifford down the field just before halftime on a toss that some NFL quarterbacks would have trouble with.
Again, before you bite my head off, there’s room for grow there for Allar. He’s staying safe with throws and while that means he hasn’t turned the ball over, it also has capped the passing game a little. Still, there are throws that he’s able to make that leave you laughing and looking to the future at the same time. He’s living up to his camp reputation as a guy who can make all the throws and it’s been enjoyable to watch him work things out on the fly.
Nate Bauer: Zero offensive turnovers isn’t sexy, but it’s effective
That Nick Singleton fumbled and lost the opening kickoff at Northwestern marked the end of Penn State’s season without giving up a single turnover. Oregon’s turnover the week prior made Penn State the last program standing without one. A feat on its own through the first four weeks of the season, the ramp-up that usually involves missteps just hadn’t happened for Penn State’s offense.
And, given that the lost fumble was on special teams, it still hasn’t.
At this point in the season, Drew Allar has 158 passing attempts and hasn’t thrown any interceptions. With at least 154 drop backs this year, that makes him one of four FBS quarterbacks to not be picked. Joined by running backs that have largely kept the ball off the ground, the result is a Penn State offense that has taken on a unique persona for James Franklin’s time with the program. It has displayed patience, it outlasts opponents, and it controls games against opponents defenseless to stop it over four quarters.
Thomas Frank Carr: Zane Durant is a game-wrecker
Zane Durant‘s day against Northwestern was incredibly fun to watch on replay. The 6-1 defensive tackle had two specific plays that might be the best we’ve seen this year. On a second-quarter run against the Wildcats, Durant effectively beat three offensive linemen to get a tackle for loss on the play. His agility, speed, and explosiveness have shown up several times, but he’s been a force against the run in the last three weeks.
His sack on Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant was also a thing of beauty. He made a Big Ten offensive lineman whiff at the goal line, slipping unblocked into the backfield for an incredibly important sack. Without his immediate pressure, Northwestern likely scores with two defenders open on the play-action concept. I’m excited to see if he can keep up this level of difference-making plays against more competitive teams down the road.
Greg Pickel: The defense’s display against Iowa
If you watch enough football, you are bound to see all kinds of things you haven’t before. How the Penn State defense played against Iowa is one of them for me. The Nittany Lions controlled the contest from start to finish. But, the defensive stats are jaw-dropping. We’ll share some of them, but James Franklin truly said all that needed to be said on the following Tuesday when he noted the following:
“After the shovel pass for the fumble that we just talked about, Penn State ran 80 of the next 96 plays in the game. There was 96 more plays in that game after the fumble, and 80 of them we ran, which is amazing. Of those 16 plays that they ran, went for negative five yards.”
That fumble came with 9:03 to play in the first quarter. If it sounds like something that is unheard of, that’s because it is.
The Hawkeyes had four first downs over 60 minutes of play. It averaged just 2.3 yards per play and lost four fumbles total. It was a display of domination that is rarely seen at the FBS level. And that’s why it is the thing I was most impressed by in September.
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