Penn State Football Report Card: Bye Week Edition

Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's unit is ferrying a lot of preseason expectation freight, which makes grading the offense more difficult. So does the competition. Sure, Nevada challenged the run game and played deep safeties, and Villanova dropped eight players into coverage, all of which impacted how Penn State moved the ball. Still, a team that wants to win the Joe Moore Award, get two running backs drafted early and lift a quarterback to the potential No. 1 overall pick should impose its will on lesser-funded programs.

So even though Penn State's offense averages 437.3 yards per game and has a 94-percent scoring rate in the red zone, some other patterns have been notable. Penn State ranks 63rd in the nation in QB rating (142.34) with a third-year starter playing a non-conference schedule. Drew Allar completed 55.2 percent of his passes against an FCS defense in Villanova and was 0-for-5 on third down. And the Nittany Lions are tied for 77th nationally in plays of 20+ yards, not their metric of explosiveness but one indicative of the offense. Penn State reached its internal explosive-play goal (15 percent) just once in the first three games.

The backfield situation has taken a detour. Once a tandem, it's now a hierarchy. Kaytron Allen is averaging 8 yards per carry, best in the Big Ten among backs with at least 20 carries. He's also averaging an eye-popping 12.6 yards on first down. Nicholas Singleton, who leads Penn State with five rushing touchdowns, ranks 34th at 4.37 ypc and is at 3.9 on first down. And curiously, Singleton has only five receptions; seems like throwing him the ball would help get Singleton in the open space where he thrives. The new receivers have integrated well, and tight end Luke Reynolds is on a star path, but Allar and Singleton represent the two leading questions of Penn State's offense.

DEFENSE: A-

The competition caveat applies, but this still is remarkable. Penn State's first-team defense has not allowed a touchdown in three games. Nevada and Villanova scored touchdowns in the final 25 seconds (Villanova on the last play) with their backup quarterbacks against Penn State's reserve defense. Functionally, Penn State has allowed three points in three games.

The defensive line, which needed to play depth catch-up in September, made significant strides. Yes, Dani Dennis-Sutton has made half of his nine tackles for loss, but fellow edge rushers Zuriah Fisher, Jaylen Harvey and Chaz Coleman are supporting and elevating him. Tackle Alonzo Ford Jr. looks healthy again, Xavier Gilliam has forced two interceptions with his bull rush and Zane Durant continues to operate on his own plane.

Linebackers Tony Rojas and Amare Campbell have combined for 7.5 TFLs (Rojas is tied with Dennis-Sutton for the team lead at 4.5) to gird another depth concern. And senior safety Zakee Wheatley stopped touchdowns on consecutive second-half plays against FIU to preserve that shutout. Coordinator Jim Knowles' defense hasn't been its best yet, which remains is a promising prospect.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

Gabriel Nwosu, among the most unique punters in America, has proven to be pretty good, too. He displaced a two-year starter, is averaging 48.6 yards per attempt and is 5-for-5 dropping kicks inside the 20-yard line. Nwosu is a field-flipping weapon. Meanwhile, kicker Ryan Barker is 9-for-10 with three field goals from 40+ yards. His only miss was a blocked 53-yarder that made Franklin shake his head.

Penn State also has a return game to worry about, notably with receiver Devonte Ross averaging 12.5 yards per punt return and King Mack gaining 73 on a kickoff return vs. Nevada. The Nittany Lions will study their kickoff coverage, which is tied for last in the Big Ten, allowing 20.5 yards per return.

COACHING: B

Knowles has earned his money, defensive line coach Deion Barnes is proving to be terrific at development and receivers coach Marques Hagans appears to have his room turning a corner. But Kotelnicki seemed to be testing a lot of ingredients in the first three games, because his offense looked buggy, particularly through the air.

But overall, Franklin's team played three fairly clean games in terms of penalties, substitutions and timeout usage. Franklin even had two timeouts to spare for that final minute against Villanova as he attempted to preserve the shutout. And he's always coaching to the scoreboard zeroes, which Franklin proved vs. Nevada.

OVERALL: B

Penn State generally is off to a good start. It's difficult to find comprehensive fault with a team that has outscored its first three opponents 132-17. But the Nittany Lions' offense needs a bye-week inspection to discern how to get its passing game more consistent and explosive. Allar and Kotelnicki are the keys to this season, both on Sept. 27 and for the remainder of the Big Ten schedule.