Penn State football: Halftime takeaways include perfect offense, defense almost perfect but should fans be concerned?

Penn State football did exactly what it should do in the first half against the FCS Delaware Blue Hens. The Nittany Lions hold a comfortable 28-7 lead at halftime and were nearly perfect on both sides of the ball.

The Good

While Drew Allar ddin’t record his first touchdown until the final seconds in the first half, he’s been almost perfect, while making a few fantastic throws as the duo of running backs carry the load.

I love the fact that James Franklin didn’t put the brakes on the offense when Penn State got the ball back with less than two minutes in the first half. It gave Allar an opportunity for the young QB to execute a perfect drive in the final minutes of a half, resulting in a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Warren.

Allar finished the half 18-of-22 for 175 yards and  one touchdown. He had a few eye-catching passes that stood out.

The offense had a perfect balance of passing (175 yards) and rushing (147 yards), while dominating time of possession (22:04).

The running back duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen didn’t have a breakout performance in the first game against Delaware but they dominated in the first half against a Blue Hens’ defense designed to stop the passing attack. Penn State is already over 100 yards on the ground, with Allen getting 63 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown,  while Singleton followed up with 11 carries for 52 yards and three touchdowns.

On the stat sheet, the defense was fantastic. The Blue Hens were held to just 86 total yards in the first half and just 19 through the air. Delaware converted just 1-of-7 on third down.

Reason for concern for Penn State football?

While the defense was almost perfect, it gave up a massive 66-yard touchdown which should never happen with a top-rated defense against a far-less athletic Delaware front.

When looking at the play, it’s clear Tyler Elsdon misread the play and was too late to get to the running back who made a great cut. But I still think it’s fair to say this defensive line should be dominating up front so these holes don’t exist in the first place. Sure, it could have come down to scheme, and mistakes happen. But to give that up against an overmatched FCS opponent after West Virginia found success on the ground last week, it’s a bit concerning with teams like Michigan, Ohio State and some of the top running teams in the nation on the schedule in the future.