No. 2 Penn State football shutout Florida International on Saturday, Sept. 6, 34-0. The Nittany Lions (2-0) had a very slow start on offense and couldn't find rhythm going down the field. It took them over 3.5 quarters to pull away from the Panthers (1-1) and entered the locker room after halftime only up 10-0.
The lack of production left quarterback Drew Allar frustrated at times, and against an easy, non-conference opponent, that can cause some concern. Even a 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Devonte Ross doesn't make up for the misses and fatigued afternoon Allar put together.
After a confident showing against Nevada, Allar's performance against FIU fell flat. He finished Week 1 with nearly an 85 percent completion rating. Though he only threw for one touchdown against the Wolf Pack, he set the stage to spotlight his upgraded wide receiver room. Allar did anything but that against the Panthers.
"I didn't think [Allar] was in his normal rhythm. We had some drops, he had some throws that he normally makes that he didn't," head coach James Franklin said in the postgame press conference. ". . . that was a major factor for us on third down as well, but we just couldn't seem to get into the rhythm on offense and that was part of it."
Allar only completed 19 of 33 passes for a 57.6 completion percentage. He missed routine throws that left Penn State struggling to convert on third down, moving the chains only three of 12 times. Two of four fourth down conversion attempts were also misses to wide receiver Trebor Pena in the first quarter, turning the ball back over to FIU.
The third-year starting quarterback was a primary reason why the wide receiver unit was relatively quiet in comparison to Week 1. On the ground, Allar also lost 11 yards on his two rushing attempts. Non-conference opponents should be the opportunity for this upgraded offensive layers to shine.
Falling back on the running backs to spark the offense shouldn't be the case in these first three weeks. The pass game with the wide receiver room and his own run game are two things that are supposed to separate this offense from 2024. In Week 1, that separation was evident. In Week 2, it was nearly nonexistent.
"We need to be more explosive on offense," Franklin said.
If Penn State plans on dominating in the Big Ten, Allar needs to shake off his off day and show up awake and ready to play consistently. Nothing was a glaring red flag against the Panthers, but Allar needs to take the reins to make sure his offense doesn't fall flat again.