COLUMN: How Penn State Can Create Value by Playing Kent State

What's the point for the Nittany Lions on Saturday? Let's start with addressing controllable bad habits.

Penn State's defense swarms to tackle Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. during the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In a world where people don’t feel badly about bullying, Tennessee could have put over 100 points on Kent State last week. A 71-0 final was a surprisingly polite way of ending a game that saw the Volunteers score all but six of those 71 in the first half.

But since we do in fact feel badly about making people cry, those 100 points never happened. Score one for sportsmanship, none for morbid curiosities. For Penn State's part, its most recent meeting with the Golden Flashes in 2018 saw the Nittany Lions put up 63 points in a game where the scoring was more or less split between halves.

However many points Penn State scores Saturday when it hosts Kent State, the game at least should provide the Nittany Lions with a chance to hit a reset button, calm everyone down a few beats and walk away with a win.

It’s not the sort of game that will work as scientific insight into the quality of Penn State this year, but it could be a welcome feel good moment for a program that —- through the past 20 days or so — has managed to make everyone feel great and concerned in quick succession. So what better way to get rid of the cobwebs than an old fashioned butt-kicking? Nothing serves as chicken soup for the football fan’s soul like a game where you have the option to leave at halftime because you’re happy and not because you’re outraged.

Of course, this level of forecasting is usually playing with fire when it comes to the department of, “things I wish I hadn’t said out loud.” But through three weeks Kent State is 0-3, has given up 50+ points twice and is ranked dead last nationally in total offense. Games against Pitt and Tennessee sway the data pretty heavily compared to a more modest loss to Saint Francis in week two, but it is what it is.

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It’s a good question to ask if any of this is worth it in the first place. Short of the implied avoidance of losing, Penn State doesn’t have a ton to gain from this game practically. If the defensive line dominates, that won’t be the same thing as doing it against Ohio State. If the offense runs for 250 yards, that won’t be the same thing as doing it against Wisconsin (and would be below Kent State's average of allowing 288 per game). So to a degree, these kinds of games risk being fool's gold, stat-padding affairs.

There is the matter of good habits, though. Penn State ranks 99th nationally in penalties taken this year, and that’s still with a third game played for the majority of the nation. While some penalties are part of the game, offsides calls and false starts in particular are the kinds of mistakes that can cost teams in bigger games down the road. It’s part of the reason the Nittany Lions have generally been a penalty-free program, inside the top 45 in penalty yards per game each year since 2016.

“We're either stopping drives after we convert first downs or making more challenging third down situations. Hard to get into a rhythm of offense," Penn State coach James Franklin said this week. "And then defensively letting guys off the hook in terms of penalties that extend drives or make more manageable third down situations for their offense against our defense. So just some things that we've got to get cleaned up. We're giving yards away and making things more challenging. That is a major priority for us.”

The good news for Penn State is that these are controllable habits. It’s one thing to be a bad pass rusher, another thing to not cross the line of scrimmage on time. One thing can’t be fixed overnight, the other more or less can.

Which is where Saturday's real value comes into play. The idea of practicing good habits can feel like a bit of so-called coach-speak, but it is true. If the Nittany Lions can come out of Saturday healthy, with a win and with a low penalty count from its meaningful rotation, then the meaningless game has some added value. In a sport where all the little margins matter, good practice makes for good performance.

And sure, there’s value in how dropping 71 might make a team feel, too. If you're wondering, 81 points against Cincinnati in 1991 is the Beaver Stadium record.

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Penn State's "major priority" during the bye week? Addressing penalties

Ben Jones has been covering Penn State athletics for 13 years, having been to countless home and road games for Nittany Lion sporting events spanning from the Rose Bowl to the NCAA Tournament. He's also the author of the book Happy Valley Hockey. You can read his work at https://benjonesonpennstate.substack.com and follow him on X (Twitter) at Ben_Jones88