Takeaways: Penn State football kicks off the 2024 season with a bang

On Saturday, Penn State football opened the 2024 season with a dominant 34-12 win over West Virginia. The Nittany Lions had to persevere through a raucous Morgantown crowd and an over two-hour weather delay but came out on top with a victory that could set the tone for the season.

What are the major takeaways from the Nittany Lions’ first win of 2024?

Andy Kotelnicki has an instant impact

© Alex Disabella / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

He wasn’t even Penn State football’s offensive coordinator for an entire game, but Andy Kotelnicki already earned a nickname from FOX’s Gus Johnson on Saturday. “The Big Zamboni,” as he is now known, showed a creativity and scheme that was a refreshing change for both Nittany Lions fans and the media as a whole.

While Drew Allar and the offense struggled to find a rhythm early in the game, Kotelnicki set up simple and easy routes to give his quarterback confidence to throw more difficult passes later in the game.

Kotelnicki’s offense uses a lot of motion and misdirection to keep the defense guessing and scheme guys open. The explosive plays were the biggest change we saw against West Virginia. The Nittany Lions picked up four 40+ yard plays after having just five for the entire season in 2023.

The ability and willingness to throw the ball deep opened up the run game and flashed the Nicholas Singleton we saw in 2022. The star running broke two 40-yard runs in the second half – one for a score – and finished with 114 yards at a clip of 8.8 yards per carry.

If Allar and the receivers can continue to be this productive and the offense can remain balanced, look for Singleton and Kaytron Allen to have massive seasons for the Blue and White.

Wide receivers exceed expectations

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The receivers were the biggest question mark heading into the 2024 season. The production from out wide was absolutely dreadful in 2023. After Keandre Lambert-Smith entered the transfer portal and Penn State football added Julian Fleming, there was still much uncertainty about who would step up and be the Nittany Lions’ top receiver.

Harrison Wallace seemed to answer those questions immediately, catching a nice ball from Allar over the middle and opening the scoring in the second quarter with a 50-yard touchdown. He also caught a back-shoulder throw at the end of the first half for another touchdown. Wallace finished the game with five receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Omari Evans also had a productive afternoon, flashing his ability with a crucial 55-yard catch to put the Nittany Lions in the red zone with a chance to score before the half. The junior was relatively quiet outside of that, but he showed the potential to be counted on in a big moment.

It was a quiet day for Julian Fleming and Liam Clifford, who both went without catches. However, that should be viewed as a positive for Penn State football because it shows the offense can still be productive even with some expected contributors not getting on the stat sheet.

Tom Allen continues tradition defensive dominance

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While most people invested in college football knew that Tom Allen was a good defensive coordinator before becoming the head coach at Indiana, there were still some question marks about his transition back into the role heading into this season.

Manny Diaz had turned the Penn State football defense into an absolute monster the last two years, ranked consistently inside the top ten in almost every statistical category. But it appears that Tom Allen has the Nittany Lions picking up right where they left off a season ago.

Penn State gave up just 246 total yards of offense, including just 85 total rushing yards to West Virginia on Saturday. The Nittany Lions also forced the Mountaineers into three turnovers. Star quarterback Garrett Greene went just 15-28 for 161 yards while only picking up ten carries for five yards on the ground.

The only yards that Tom Allen’s defense really gave up were a few long drives in the first half, during which West Virginia was either stopped on fourth down or forced to kick a field goal.

Jaylen Reed looked like one of the fastest players on the field, finishing with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, and two pass deflections. Transfer corners Jalen Kimber and AJ Harris each made a pass deflection while picking up five and three tackles, respectively.

Tony Rojas looks to be an absolute monster this season and was flying around the field with five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. It looked like the Nittany Lions reloaded in the secondary, anchored by elite safeties, while the defensive line and linebackers seemed to have progressed from last season.

It remains to be seen how the new look and even heavier defensive line will match up against some of the Big Ten’s more ground-and-pound offenses. But if Saturday was any indicator, they will be just fine.

Drew Allar appears to have taken the next step

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The 2024 season was always going to come down to just how much Drew Allar would improve from 2023. While the star quarterback threw for 25 touchdowns and two interceptions in his first year as a starter, he was unable to produce against Ohio State and Michigan. Further, the Nittany Lions rarely forced the issue with deep passes down the field.

That was different against West Virginia, as Allar hit multiple deep shots to Wallace and Evans. Even more impressive was how he threaded balls into tight windows where only his receivers could catch them. While the junior quarterback started slow in the beginning, the ability of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to settle him down with some easy completions proved to be monumental for his confidence.

Allar transformed his body and really worked on his running game this offseason. It paid off dividends for Penn State, as he picked up multiple first downs in clutch situations to continue drives. He even made the highlight reel by stiff-arming West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter into the turf and trash-talking him afterward.

This year may bring a new Drew Allar. While we will have to see if this continues moving forward, Saturday’s performance could help Penn State football take that next step.

A statement win for the program

© Alex Disabella / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

Saturday’s win for Penn State football gives a shot in the arm to begin the 2024 season. Anytime a team has to start on the road to begin the season, it can either be extremely positive or detrimental to the momentum of the program.

A win over what is expected to be a quality program in West Virginia gives the Nittany Lions the confidence to really get rolling into this season. It also gives fans and onlookers confidence that Penn State could be better than anticipated. The Mountaineers received votes in the AP Poll and were technically ranked 33rd in the country by that metric.

While Penn State football doesn’t have an extremely difficult schedule until it makes the trip to Los Angeles to take on USC, this win seemed to answer many questions that are usually left unanswered until much later in the year.

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