Takeaways From Penn State's Win Over Northwestern

The Lions won their 10th straight game by at least 14 points. But there were some issues in Evanston.

Penn State coach James Franklin always tells his team to appreciate winning. A 41-13 victory over Northwestern looked great in a box score, a fair number of worthy concerns cropped up — especially on the Nittany Lions' offense. Northwestern had plenty of chances to make it a game before poor decisions derailed its upset bid. Penn State (5-0) will appreciate the win, and the bye week that comes next, after a shaky performance. The top takeaways from the Lions' victory.

RELATED: Breakdown of Penn State 41-13 win over Northwestern

Penn State running back Trey Potts scores a touchdown in the Nittany Lions' 41-13 victory over Northwestern :: David Banks/USA Today Sports

Penn State's Offense Is a Concern

This is really becoming an issue for Penn State, even though it's averaging 40 points per game. The Lions' offense was almost nonexistent until a touchdown run from Trey Potts in the second quarter. It disappeared again in the fourth quarter to let Northwestern hang around a lot longer than it should have.

Quarterback Drew Allar had his roughest game in a Penn State uniform, going 18-for-33 for just 189 yards and a touchdown. He was inaccurate at times and out of sync with receivers often. Five game in, running back Nicholas Singleton still is searching for his first 20-yard run of the season, while Kaytron Allen left early with injury.

Bottom line: The group did enough to extend its 30-plus points scoring streak to 12 games and get a convincing win. It did not, however, do much to inspire confidence as the Big Ten schedule gets tougher. And the Lions benefited greatly from strong defense and some head-scratching moments from Northwestern. Just as it was after Illinois, this offensive line remains a question mark. Its pass protection has been strong, but the lack of a consistent run game has allowed teams to keep Allar and his receivers from creating much rhythm. Allar, the line and the whole offense will need to gel soon.

Penn State's Defensive Line Is as Advertised

So much hype and anticipation went into this offseason for Penn State, and if any group has lived up to it, it’s the defensive line. Northwestern had absolutely no wiggle room in either the pass or run games. Penn State’s defense is playing with confidence and swagger after some concerns about run defense cropped up against West Virginia and Delaware.

Penn State had four sacks and nine tackles for loss against Northwestern — in the first half. It ended with a whopping seven sacks and 12 TFLs, with the second unit forcing Northwestern backup Brendan Sullivan to scramble on almost every drop back. Turnovers were not a major factor like they had been in past weeks, but it did not matter. The Lions stopped Northwestern on a second-half quarterback sneak that withered the Wildcats. 

Elsewhere, cornerback Daequan Hardy pulled in his second interception of the season, a pass Sullivan threw right at him, for Penn State’s only true turnover of the day. And multiple players had performances worth highlighting; safety Kevin Winston Jr. with a career-high five tackles, tackle Zane Durant with three tackles for loss and a heavy-hitting sack and linebacker Kobe King with his first career sack and two tackles for loss are just a few. Ten players recorded a sack or tackle for loss.

Transfers Provide a Needed Spark

Potts’ first touchdown of the game, a 13-yard scamper that featured a pretty juke, seemed to let the Penn State offense finally take a deep breath and relax. He also caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Beau Pribula to finish with 51 total yards on four touches. After a respectable career behind Mo Ibrahim at Minnesota, Potts returned to his home state and has been a nice change-of-pace for Singleton and Allen.

Alex Felkins, transferring from Columbia, drilled a 47-yard field goal to pair with a 20-yarder in his fourth start as Penn State’s kicker. He has not been perfect, with misses (one blocked) in the previous two games, but has solidified the field-goal unit. Punter Riley Thompson, transferring from Florida Atlantic, skillfully handled a high snap on the 47-yarder. His punting has been uneven, but he averaged 46.8 yards in a good performance Saturday.

Injuries to watch

Allen’s injury is the most concerning for Penn State, as the star running back did not return to game action in the second half. He was present on the sideline with his helmet off. Potts filled in nicely, but Allen is not a guy Penn State wants to lose for any extended period of time.

Starting left guard JB Nelson was carted off the sideline early in the game and replaced by Vega Ioane for the rest of the contest. Nelson and Ioane have shared time all season, but it's still another potential loss at a position that already misses Landon Tengwall due to medical retirement. Franklin did not have any firm updates on their conditions during his postgame press conference in Evanston.

There were some other bumps and bruisesin the game. Singleton looked shaken after a few big tackles and requested a play off on the sideline. He finished the game, though. Defensive end Chop Robinson was spotted limping off the field late as well. The bye week comes at a good time for Penn State.

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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