Nobody is going to try and convince anyone that UMass has a legitimate shot to upset Penn State on Saturday.
So, this won’t be about what the offense of the Nittany Lions needs to do in order to secure a victory. This will be about what they need to work on before their looming matchups with Ohio State next weekend and Michigan in mid-November.
The first key is explosives, explosives, explosives.
Since the first deep touchdown pass from [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] to [autotag]Keandre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] in Week 1 against West Virginia, this offense has seemingly not had a big play in an important moment. That’s a concern going forward when facing elevated competition.
They’re still averaging 40.6 points per game this season and have scored over 30 points in every game, but will the offense be good enough to win those two big games how it’s currently operating?
Explosive plays would go a long way in helping the cause.
The second key to victory is establishing a secondary option in the wide receiver room.
It’s clear that Lambert-Smith has become the No. 1 receiver in this offense and who Allar trusts the most, but they need to find another one who they can go to quickly. When [autotag]Harrison Wallace[/autotag] comes back from injury he’s expected to step into that role. This week, receivers should be auditioning for that secondary spot in the offense.
The third is to get the running game going.
It seems like there is very little confidence amongst the running backs so far this season. [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] haven’t had those big runs like last year and it’s affecting how they’re running the ball. Using this game against UMass to get the confidence back is a must for Penn State going forward.