Five Things Penn State Needs to Get Right Before Playing Oregon

The Nittany Lions have some issues to address ahead of their Big Ten opener. They get another chance Saturday vs. Villanova.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin during the second quarter against the FIU Panthers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State has one more chance to work out its issues before facing Oregon on Sept. 27 in its Big Ten opener. That opportunity arrives Saturday, when the Nittany Lions host Villanova in their non-conference finale. Here are five things the Nittany Lions need to get right against the Wildcats at Beaver Stadium.  

Playing rather than thinking

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) lines up behind center Nick Dawkins (53) during the third quarter against the FIU Panthers. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

There seems to be a lot of overthinking on the gridiron for Penn State players, and they’ve admitted as much. This is happening on both sides of the ball. Following the Nittany Lions’ 34-0 win over FIU last week, quarterback Drew Allar said he wasn’t always successful in shutting his brain off and just playing. 

“We had the bubble to Nick [Singleton] that I just completely missed on third down,” the quarterback said of a first-quarter play. “I’m just overthinking. In reality, I made that throw all week in practice.” 

On Monday, Penn State coach James Franklin said Allar’s frustration early in the game lingered and inevitably hindered the offense. Franklin also said that Singleton struggled with getting stuck in his head. The running back finished with 76 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but missed several opportunities to break long carries. 

“For all these guys, we’re trying to coach the heck out of them Sunday through Friday,” Franklin said during his Monday press conference. “Saturday, when you wake up, just go play. I think [Singleton is] trying to play perfect.” 

Franklin also said the defense isn’t playing as fast for similar reasons. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles installed a tough scheme that is very demanding, but Franklin would like to see “these guys playing fast and confident” on Saturday and moving forward. 

“I do think we can be more of a suffocating style defense,” Franklin said. “We've given up some yards that I think Jim would prefer obviously us being a little bit tighter and reacting. I still think our defense is thinking and not playing as fast as maybe we have in the past, and that's what's going to be important this week and then obviously moving forward as well, just getting these guys playing fast and confident in some of the tweaks of the new system.” 

Converting third downs at a higher rate

🚨 Penn State Offensive Film Breakdown 🚨

It’s not all bad.

The plays are there — the execution just hasn’t been.

Here’s what the tape shows ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Lt2XbwoRuK

— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) September 10, 2025

Penn State ranks 93rd nationally in third-down offense after converting only 25 percent of its attempts last week. Oregon is tied for 11th at 63.6 percent. Part of Penn State’s issue was moving the ball on early downs. The Nittany Lions’ average third-down distance vs. FIU was 5.7 yards.

Franklin wasn’t pleased with the offense’s inability to sustain drives; Penn State led FIU by only 10 points at halftime. He wants Penn State to be aggressive on offense and isn’t afraid to keep the unit out on the field for fourth down. However, it converted only 50 percent of those attempts as well. 

“He puts a lot of trust and faith in us, but it’s our job to go out there and convert,” Allar said. “We can go for it all we want, but if we’re not going out there and converting on third-and-shorts or fourth-and-shorts, whatever the case is, then there’s no point in calling it. We have to back it up.”

Catch the ball

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Luke Reynolds (85) attempts to make a catch vs. the FIU Panthers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Allar went 19-for-33 (a 58-percent completion rate) against FIU after completing 85 percent of his passes in the opener vs. Nevada. Drops haven’t helped; Franklin said that Penn State graded five incompletions vs. FIU as dropped passes.

“We’ve got to catch the ball,” Franklin said. “We had too many drops in the game. We've got to do whatever we’ve got to do. That Jugs machine should be burning up in the Lasch Building right now with guys in there making sure they are recreating the exact catch or exact drop positioning to get that fixed.” 

Allar ranks 13th in the Big Ten in quarterback rating behind six conference quarterbacks on Penn State’s schedule. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin ranks No. 1 in the nation with a 79.5 percent completion rate and has thrown eight incomplete passes. Former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula, who transferred to Missouri, also in the top-five and not far off Sayin’s mark. Allar ranks 35th at 69.5 percent. 

If Penn State wants to sustain drives, the passing game needs to solidify itself as a threat or opponents will continuously load the line of scrimmage, target Singleton and Kaytron Allen and hinder the run game. Tight end Khalil Dinkins had the most drops last week. He’s been a player that the coaching staff has been high on, and his one reception was a touchdown, but he isn’t playing to his full potential. 

“[If] we get those cleaned up and removed, I think we’ll feel really good about our tight ends and what they’re doing this season,” Franklin said. 

RELATED: What Penn State's depth chart looks like for the Villanova game

Hitting explosive play marks

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) runs with the ball down the sideline for a touchdown vs. the FIU Panthers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State wants to be explosive but hasn’t met its internal goals yet in either game. The offense’s explosive-play rate was only 10.9 percent against FIU, according to Franklin. Nationally, the Nittany Lions rank 84th in explosive-play offense. But climbing the ranks shouldn’t be too crazy a challenge.

These struggles offensively, which were exposed last week, are all connected. If Penn State catches more passes and converts more third downs, there will be more opportunities to take more shots. It’s not a coincidence. 

“[Explosive plays] will come organically just by doing the things we should be doing, breaking tackles, making people miss as ball carriers that’s as receivers and running backs,” Franklin said. “Maximizing the opportunities that we get, hitting a few more of the throws, straining in protection a little bit longer, all those things.”

Getting off to a better start

Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Audavion Collins (2) tackles FIU Panthers running back Devonte Lyons during the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State’s defense was lethal against Nevada, forcing the Wolf Pack into turnovers on their first two possessions. However, while FIU didn’t score any points, it felt like Penn State’s defense moved more slowly. 

Knowles’ system isn’t simple by any means, and Franklin thinks Penn State “can be more of a suffocating-style defense,” but that takes time. 

In the first two games, we’ve seen how the unit looks when everything goes right and when it takes time to settle into games. As conference play approaches, the defense needs to come together faster in the first quarter and limit opponents from getting into an offensive rhythm. 

Penn State is tied for 69th nationally in third-down defense, and Franklin would like to see the unit get off the field more often to give the offense more opportunities to succeed. 

Penn State and Villanova will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1.