What did we learn from Penn State football vs Delaware?

It was an easy week for Penn State football as the Nittany Lions cruised to a 63-7 win over Delaware in front of a packed Beaver Stadium. It is often hard to pull anything from the type of game we saw on Saturday, due to the talent gap between the two teams. But there are still some things where Nittany Lions fans should feel good – and concerned – heading into conference play. Here are five takeaways from Penn State football’s win over Delaware.

MLB still a question mark

The defense has lived up to the hype for the most part through the first two games of the season. The secondary looks elite and deep, the defensive ends look fast and athletic, and the outside linebackers are playing at the level Penn State fans expected. 

While an opponent like Delaware isn’t the best benchmark to measure whether Week 1 issues were fixed, the questions about the middle of the defense still remain. The Blue Hens only had 140 yards of offense, and 66 yards of that came on one play. 

On that one play, Delaware running back Marcus Yarns bounced a run outside on a 3rd and 1 when it appeared that Penn State MLB Tyler Elsdon was a little slow off his mark and unable to get to the edge to meet him. Elsdon has been splitting the snaps this season with Kobe King, as neither has taken control of the position. Kobe King has the most upside on the defense, but the coaching staff’s persistence to stick with Elsdon could mean that the trust in King isn’t quite there yet. 

With Illinois on the schedule next, that interior run defense will get a similar test to that of the West Virginia game. The Illini ran for 186 yards against Toledo and 139 yards against Kansas in their first two games.

Penn State football took care of business against the FCS

Delaware was the No. 19 team in the FCS entering this game. Still, there was never an expectation that this game would be competitive. Looking dominant isn’t something we have always seen from Penn State in the past against lesser opponents. In 2021, the Nittany Lions only beat FCS Villanova 38-17, which may have been a sign of things to come that season. 

Being able to beat a solid FCS team in this dominant fashion should give some more promise on how special this season can be. Continuing to score even when the 2nd and 3rd string offense entered the game shows the depth the Nittany Lions have this season. The same can be said on the defensive side, where the backups responded to James Franklin’s challenge and kept the Blue Hens off the scoreboard late in the game.

Run game looks strong

Penn State football took advantage of its edge in the trenches to get the running game going against Delaware. The team finished with 315 yards on 60 attempts, good for 5.3 yards per rush. 

Kaytron Allen led all rushers with 19 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown. Nick Singleton tallied 47 yards and three touchdowns off 12 carries. The Minnesota transfer Trey Potts got his opportunity late and gained 59 yards off 7 carries. 

The quarterbacks even got in on the action, with Drew Allar grabbing 27 yards and a touchdown and Beau Pribula with 46 yards and a touchdown. 

This performance was expected, considering the advantage the Penn State offensive line had. Still, it was refreshing to see a consistently dominant ground game. The Nittany Lions will need a consistent run game when they travel to Champaign to take on the Illini on Saturday.

Tight ends involved early and often for Penn State

It was clear that the coaching staff responded to the questions after Week 1 about the lack of tight end involvement. Theo Johnson was given an opportunity early as he gathered 2 catches for 14 yards on the game’s first drive. Tyler Warren hauled in 2 catches on the second drive and finished with 6 receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. 

While those numbers aren’t massive, they were a clear improvement from what we saw in Week 1. In a game where the margin was out of hand early, throwing the ball became far and few between in the second half. The two tight ends also continued to show their elite blocking skills in the run and pass game, opening holes all over the field. 

With Illinois struggling on defense so far to start the season, Week 3 could be another opportunity for Warren and Johnson to showcase their talent.

Pribula shows promise in the backup role

It is often a forgotten aspect of the game, but as James Franklin explained in Week 1, getting reps for your backup quarterback is essential. 

Beau Pribula got a more significant opportunity against Delaware, even getting some snaps with the starters on his first few drives behind center. The redshirt freshman looked good in cleanup duty, finishing 3-5 for 22 yards and a touchdown through the air, and 8 carries for 46 yards and a score on the ground as he ran the offense for almost the entire second half. 

It could be the No. 9 on his jersey or the hard-nosed running style and the embracing of contact on the ground, but Pribula shows more and more shades of Trace McSorley every week. There have been rumblings of using Pribula in a role like how Tommy Stevens was used back during the McSorley years. Based on what we have seen so far through two weeks, that doesn’t sound like the worst idea.

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