Penn State football made Saturday much harder than it needed to be, and head coach James Franklin admitted that postgame.
For the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 Poll, though, a weak offensive performance and late game wakeup against unranked Florida International wasn't enough to knock the Nittany Lions (2-0) off the podium.
Penn State remains in No. 2 spot on AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll after Week 2
Penn State shutout FIU (1-1) on Saturday with a 34-0 final score. The final two touchdowns were the scores that woke the Nittany Lions up, one from each of the star running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Aside from their fourth quarter touchdowns, though, Penn State's offense was relatively quiet. Quarterback Drew Allar threw for 200 yards and had only a 57 percent completion rate, drastically dropping from his near 85 completion percentage in Week 1 against another non-conference, easy opponent.
Special teams and defense were forced to make the big plays, like Dominic DeLuca's blocked punt or Chaz Coleman's forced fumble and recovery to the five-yard line.
While the shutout was exciting for Franklin and his defense, an unideal offensive performance should still matter.
The No. 2 Nittany Lions still received first-place votes on the AP Top 25 Poll, rallying five. No. 1 Ohio State beat Grambling State 70-0 and received 57 votes. No. 4 Oregon faced Oklahoma State, won 69-3, and got one first-place vote. On the Coaches Poll, Penn State got four first-place votes while the Buckeyes had a whopping 62.
Maintaining the No. 2 spot in comparison to how other top ranked teams performed in Week 2 is surprising. The Nittany Lions need to put up a stronger, more consistent offensive performance to prove themselves before Big Ten play kicks off. Regardless of what polls say or what expectations and hopes anticipate, slow starts, sluggish offense, and incomplete easy throws can't roll into Week 3 and beyond.
The full AP Top 25 rankings here: