3 things we learned from Penn State’s win over Bowling Green

Penn State entered Saturday’s game as a 34.5-point favorite against Bowling Green. After last weekend’s win over West Virginia, the Nittany Lions were expected to pull away to 2-0. Instead, Penn State engaged in a bitter battle with the Falcons, who matched the nation’s No. 8 team blow for blow.

The Nittany Lions pulled out a 34-27 win, but their performance was less than inspiring, especially on defense in the first half. Here’s what we learned about Penn State from Saturday’s game.

Penn State’s defense took a step back

After an impressive debut at West Virginia last week, Tom Allen’s defense was weak against Bowling Green. The Falcons managed 286 total yards in the first half and led 24-20 at halftime. In the entire game last week, West Virginia had just 246 yards and 12 points at home.

Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak was outstanding in the first half, completing 16 of 20 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Penn State struggled to pressure the veteran passer, who made quick passes to a highly efficient group of receivers. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. was the Falcons’ biggest threat as a receiver, managing 137 yards on 11 passes caught.

The Nittany Lions did everything better in the second half, not allowing Bowling Green to rush and holding their offense to 89 total yards. Second-half interceptions by Tony Rojas and Zakee Wheatley, two freshman starters, helped Penn State take the lead and win.

Still, the Falcons exposed some holes in the Nittany Lions’ defense that weren’t obvious after the dominant win in Week 1. Penn State has a bye next week to try to iron out those kinks.

Tyler Warren proves to be a game changer

Although we’ve heard that Penn State’s wide receiver roster has made strides this season, tight end Tyler Warren was the one who dominated against Bowling Green. The senior caught eight passes for 146 yards and kept coming through on third down.

Only four other players had catches for the Nittany Lions: two for receiver Omari Evans and one each for tight end Khalil Dinkins, running back Nick Singleton and receiver Julian Fleming.

Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III completely disappeared against the Falcons. After catching nine passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in Morgantown, Wallace didn’t make a single catch this week. Coach James Franklin attributed that to the number of playmakers in his offense.

Allar attempted just 20 passes while Penn State had 37 passes. The junior quarterback looked good overall and Warren seemed to be his favorite target on Saturday.

“He’s very consistent, probably one of the most consistent players on our team on both sides of the ball,” Allar said of Warren. “And obviously he’s a really big target. He just finds ways to get free. He’s got a really good feel for zone coverage versus man coverage and is super skilled and smart in that regard.”

Singleton and Allen reach 100 yards

The two-headed monster of Singleton and Kaytron Allen more than did its job against the Falcons. Singleton totaled 119 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and caught a touchdown pass out of the backfield. Allen contributed 101 yards on 14 carries.

The duo combined to average 8.1 yards per carry, often putting Penn State in favorable situations on second and third downs. Penn State averaged 9.7 yards on first downs alone.

The big-play element was also in play when Singleton scored a 41-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, effectively deciding the game.

Over the last two games, it’s been encouraging to see how well Penn State’s star running backs have played. The better they play, the more opportunities there are in the passing game.

More Penn State Football

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State athletics for the past three years and is currently managing editor of the Daily Collegian. His writing has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson