The preliminaries are over for the Penn State football team.

What amounted to a three-game preseason is behind the Nittany Lions, who rolled past Villanova 52-6 Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

It’s difficult to draw conclusions about them after lopsided wins over Nevada, Florida International and the Wildcats.

It’s possible that James Franklin and his coaching staff used the first three games to test plays, routes, schemes or coverages that weren’t effective during practices.

It’s possible they had a plan for what they wanted to get done before the Big Ten opener against defending champion Oregon Sept. 27 at home.

If anyone out there has doubts about whether Penn State can beat the high-powered Ducks, it’s understandable.

The Lions are not clicking on offense. As Franklin said, they have yet to find their rhythm over an entire game. They haven’t been consistent in finishing drives.

“We’ve done well, but obviously there’s room for improvement,” guard Anthony Donkoh said. “Throughout this bye week, we’re going to work on what needs to be improved. We want to come back after the bye week with all cylinders firing.”

Penn State has lacked explosive plays, especially runs, and has struggled on third down.

Drew Allar has made some pretty throws, but he has not been brilliant. He went 16-for-29 for 209 yards against Villanova and fired a rocket to Trebor Pena for a 23-yard TD.

But he failed to see wide-open receivers and made a poor decision in throwing to Kaytron Allen in the flat, a pass that was intercepted.

“We’ve just got to string together a couple things more,” Allar said, “finish some drives in the end zone instead of settling for three all the time. There are a lot of things to clean up.”

False starts on veteran linemen Nolan Rucci and Vega Ioane led to stalled drives in the first half. Allar never saw a wide-open Nick Singleton in the flat on a third-and-5. Pena couldn’t hold onto a pass inside the 10-yard line.

“I think we’ve just got to execute better,” Pena said. “We’ve got to get in rhythm and make the plays when they come to us. It’s really that simple.”

On defense, Penn State overall has been impressive under new coordinator Jim Knowles. The Lions have permitted a few more yards than Knowles would like, but they’ve allowed just 17 points in three games.

Linebackers Amare Campbell, Tony Rojas and Dominic DeLuca were exceptional Saturday. The front-line defensive backs, led by Dejuan Lane and King Mack, held Villanova to no completion longer than 8 yards.

A week earlier, the defensive linemen dominated Florida International with seven tackles for loss.

“Defensively, up till this week, we weren’t playing as fast and as confident as we need to play,” Franklin said. “It seemed like we took a step in the right direction in terms of running the defense and commanding the defense.”

Other top-ranked teams have endured struggles against non-conference opponents. Ohio State and Texas played lethargically Saturday in wins over Ohio and UTEP, respectively.

Penn State’s 2025 season was always going to be largely measured by what the Lions did in the Big Ten, especially against Oregon and the Buckeyes.

The Lions clearly have left a lot of meat on the bone so far, as Franklin said about the offensive line after the FIU win.

“I still don’t think we’ve shown what we’re capable of yet,” Pena said. “We’re getting there, but it’s just about executing. Everybody has to execute, especially the receivers. We have to be better.”

Penn State began the season with championship hopes because of the returning players, the addition of Pena and fellow wide receivers Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross and the hiring of Knowles.

“We know that when we’re at our best, nobody can stop us,” Donkoh said.

The Lions haven’t reached that level yet. Whether they will reach it remains to be seen.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/14/if-penn-state-has-created-doubt-so-far-its-understandable-opinion/