The Most Interesting Stats of Penn State's 2-0 Start

The Nittany Lions are more explosive offensively, with some quirks, this season. Meanwhile, one half skews the defensive numbers.

Penn State center Nick Dawkins (53) lifts running back Nicholas Singleton to celebrate a touchdown against West Virginia. / Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Penn State quickly changed its personality early in 2024, propelling itself up in the explosive-play rankings while dipping in defensive metrics like sacks. Though certainly not a referendum on the Nittany Lions through two games, the stats hint at how they've changed and what they must continue to change.

So what do the early stats tell us about coach James Franklin's 2-0 Penn State football team? Here's a look.

.571: Penn State's offensive points-per-play number is well above its 2023 pace, when the team averaged .478. Of course, that's a full-season statistic that included the Nittany Lions' combined 27 points against Michigan and Ohio State. Penn State hasn't played a Big Ten game yet, nor has it scored anything but 34 points in a game yet. Still, this represents a solid trend in one stat that former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich really emphasized and current coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is pushing.

7.5: Through Week 2, Penn State ranked ninth nationally in yards per play, another on-pace upgrade over last season, when the team averaged 5.6 ypc and ranked 55th nationally. This is part of Kotelnicki's ethos and leads to another stat upgrade.

5: That's the number of plays of 40+ yards Penn State has generated this season, tied for 30th nationally after two games. The explosive-play metric is one Kotelnicki really has identified and addressed. Through two games, Penn State is more than halfway to its 2023 total (eight) regarding plays of 40+ yards. Penn State defines explosive plays as runs of 12+ and passes of 15+, and its overall explosive-play rate is running at about 20 percent. But the 40-yard play profile suggests the Nittany Lions are looking downfield more and getting Nicholas Singleton (three 40+ runs so far) into the secondary more quickly.

199.41: Drew Allar ranks 10th nationally in quarterback rating, whose forumla includes attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdown passes and interceptions. Allar hasn't thrown for big yardage or a prolific number of attempts yet but has been efficient (65 percent completion rate) and more of a downfield threat. He's averaging 11.4 yards per attempt after finishing 2023 at 6.8.

110th: Penn State's national ranking in total offensive plays is something Franklin has mentioned as a priority fix. The Nittany Lions average 58.5 plays per game, which Franklin said isn't enough to spread the ball and generate more touches across the offense. One reason for this follows.

35 percent: Penn State ranks 95th nationally in third-down conversions, going 7-for-20 in its first two games. The Nittany Lions were 2-for-9 against Bowling Green, which limited two fourth-quarter drives that could have stretched their lead to double-digits. "We're not sustaining drives," Franklin said. "... We want to be able to spread the wealth."

60 percent: This goes to spreading the wealth. Penn State has targeted 23 of its 38 passing attempts to two players: receiver Tre Wallace (12 targets) and tight end Tyler Warren (11). The rest of the receiving room has a combined 10 targets through two games.

2: Sacks can be an overrated statistic. Yet through two games, Penn State was tied with Illinois for fewest sacks in the Big Ten. This after leading the nation with 49 last season. And only one defensive end, Smith Vilbert, has a sack. Many factors affect sack rates, notably offensive scheme and quarterback release times, but Penn State needs to get on top of the quarterback with its talented edge rushers. As a companion, Penn State also ranked 98th in tackles for loss (nine) through two games. The Nittany Lions led the FBS in TFLs (111) last year.

51st: Penn State's national ranking in opponent points per play, per Teamrankings, primarily is the result of one wild half. Bowling Green scored 24 points on 36 offensive plays in the first half last week, a scoring rate of .667 points per play. But Penn State has allowed 15 points on its other 96 plays through two games, a scoring rate of .156 per play. Penn State fielded one of the nation's best points-per-play defenses in 2023, and Tom Allen's unit largely has contnued that.

55.8: Another number that underscores how Penn State's defensive stats skew toward one half. That's the average yards per quarter the Nittany Lions have allowed outside the first half against Bowling Green. A pretty good number overall.

15: The number of penalties has been a major story of Penn State's first two games. The Nittany Lions average 7.5 per game, tied for 92nd nationally, after averaging 4.8 per game last season. Six of those penalties have been offsides, something the defense certainly can address. In fact, Franklin said the staff would look at its helmet-mic usage on defense before hosting Kent State on Sept. 21.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.