Penn State looked fine again on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions didn’t thrash UCLA. The Nittany Lions didn’t struggle with UCLA. They just played UCLA in a football game and scored more points than the Bruins.
That appears to be the story thus far in 2024.
Through five games, Penn State football is 5-0 and things for the blue and white are fine.
To be clear, it’s a team that hasn’t done anything majorly wrong. Any fan base would and should be happy with a 5-0 start to the year. It’s a record multitudes of fan bases would trade for around the country right now.
It’s also a team that hasn’t done anything to really wow you so far in 2024. There have been moments where Penn State players individually have wowed you. There have also been moments where Penn State has frustrated you.
It’s not done anything alarmingly wrong to concern you and that’s fine.
It also hasn’t done anything to make you believe this team is 100 percent the real deal, largely because it hasn’t played anyone that would assuage those feelings, and that’s fine too.
Overall, Penn State’s offense is much better than its 2023 counterpart. Drew Allar has looked impressive for the most part. He’s taken a clear step forward under a new offensive coordinator, and on Saturday, he once again played, well, fine. The junior went 17-24 for 237 yards and one touchdown against a relatively middling defensive effort by the Bruins. He was smart with the ball. He mostly made the right read. He mostly made the plays where he should have, too.
Throughout the season and even Saturday, there were throws that get you on your feet, including several to Liam Clifford throughout Penn State’s 27-11 win against UCLA. There have been throws – a few on Saturday and a few against Illinois – that he should have hit, too.
That’s just fine too.
It’s hard to complain in spite of that when Allar is flinging the ball deeper more often than in 2023, and there’s no denying Penn State is much more explosive through five games than last year’s squad. It’s extending drives by averaging 51 percent on third down compared to 41 percent last season. Part of that is from a running attack – while hampered with a sidelined Nicholas Singleton on Saturday – that’s been powered by a stronger offensive line.
While Penn State’s quarterback play has taken a step forward – so too has its running game, where it lacks most frustratingly is in the first quarter. Penn State has racked up just 21 first quarter points through its five starts against mostly ho-hum defenses that it’d later go on to beat by a combined margin of victory of 115 points.
The Lions figured it out but it’s just taking a while to get there. It’s not what you’d like to see, but in the end it works out fine.
Those first-quarter slow starts can make you anxious when Penn State has played just one game on the road – in fairness, one that featured a juiced up environment – and four games at home – one of which against a team whose body clock was at 9 a.m. Still, it’s cruised to victory in every game like it should have – even in the face of a near stumble against a MAC opponent.
And in that game with Bowling Green, it was Penn State’s offense who carried the weight (a rare reprieve from last year’s squad) while Penn State’s defense struggled early on. Since then, that defense has found its groove.
This Saturday, Penn State held UCLA to just 11 points, eight of which came in the game’s final minute – and the Bruins picked up just 260 yards on their first trip to Happy Valley in more than 55 years.
Its star player, Abdul Carter, is finally playing as such, adding another one and a half tackles for a loss on Saturday after his four a week prior. In the face of a depleted safeties room due to an injury to KJ Winston, Zakee Wheatley played arguably his best game in a Nittany Lion uniform Saturday afternoon, recording seven total tackles, including one for a loss. Jaylen Reed, who forced a fumble on Saturday, has also stepped up.
Though those individuals stood out, UCLA still found ways to make Penn State’s defense earn its keep, particularly after T.J. Harden took a short pass for 53 yards, well into Nittany Lion territory to set up three points in the second quarter. Once again playing a bend-don’t-break style, different from last year’s chaos theory, the defense also let up some third down conversions probably when it shouldn’t have against UCLA.
It still made the stops though and mostly when it mattered. It, again, allowed just 11 points, making it 18 total since that sloppy Bowling Green game.
There are signs that this Penn State team can take a step forward — even if it hasn’t just yet. There also signs it is a step forward of where it was last year too.
Right now, things feel fine. Penn State played fine on Saturday. It maybe hasn’t found a higher gear it needs that will help you rest soulfully at night but that’s fine because Penn State is still 5-0.
If you’ve enjoyed this content, please subscribe to Stuff Somers Says With Steve on YouTube. Or join our newsletter by entering your email below.
