With Penn State’s first game of the highly anticipated season set to get underway Saturday, it will be a new era for the Nittany Lions. For the first time in four years, a new quarterback will be starting for Penn State.
Although there hasn’t been a formal announcement from [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], it’s expected that [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] will be the starting quarterback. Penn State fans were able to see Allar last season when the former five-star appeared in 10 games during his freshman season.
With a new era set to begin, there a high expectations for what the talented quarterback prospect can bring to the team.
So, what will be the offensive keys to success against West Virginia on Saturday?
The first one is to establish the running game.
With their two-headed monster of [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag], the offensive line needs to impose their will and establish running lanes for the running backs to attack. Doing this will allow Allar to have an easier time settling into the game during his first career start.
The second key is the wide receivers winning their one-on-one matchups.
There are a lot of questions surrounding this wide receiving corps after the departure of their two leading receivers last season. This should be a game that the unit can take advantage of as West Virginia was one of the worst teams defending the pass last year. Establishing an early connection with the quarterback during live competition will be important for this game and moving forward.
The third key for success is the offensive line not giving up a high pressure rate.
Some of this should be aided by Penn State ideally getting out to an early lead and running the ball. However, there is a lot of hype surrounding this offensive line being the best unit in Franklin’s tenure. Keeping West Virginia’s pass rushers at bay in obvious passing situations will be major key for success in this game and the rest of the season.
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