UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Pat Narduzzi weaved through the Nittany Lions' on-field celebration, shaking hands and exchanging hugs with many of the Penn State players whom Pitt's head coach previously recruited.
There was Penn State linebacker Cam Brown grinning and hugging Narduzzi while linebacker Manny Bowen walked up and said, 'Hey coach, what's up?' Narduzzi told the former New Jersey standout that he played a "great game" before continuing with his congratulatory remarks for other players, including Penn State freshman offensive lineman and Pittsburgh native CJ Thorpe. Here was the scene I stumbled upon:
FIRST DOWN
What happened to the passing game?
This was a weird one. Trace McSorley was missing on open throws he usually makes, something he said was because of the jitters he experienced and seeing this Penn State offense only put up 14 points in the first half, all of which came in the first quarter, was different.
Considering the field position that set up for the Lions' first touchdown, the one that came after Grant Haley picked off Max Browne and returned it to the Pitt 8 yard line, it was a sluggish second quarter that really kept Penn State yet again from being this four-quarter team that its talked about multiple times this offseason.
"The times we were able to get the ball moving and get some first downs -- that's when the offense was able to settle in and kind of get the offense going, get the tempo going and we were able to use that," McSorley said. "On the drives we were doing well both running and passing the ball those were the drives you feel the most settled in."
That rhythm lacked in the first half, but when Saquon Barkley heated up in the third quarter it helped turn this game around for Penn State. The Lions' offense had three three and outs, and while that number isn't unusual for most offenses, it also speaks to just how spoiled fans have become watching this offense because at the end of the day the Lions still posted 33 points and yet it was still far from perfect.
"I'd like to see us sustain some more drives, but overall we showed that we could score at any moment," Franklin said.
Pitt was the opposite of that. The Panthers had 155 rushing yards to Penn State's 148. Browne had 155 passing yards to McSorley's 164. While the Panthers out gained the Lions, Penn State cashed in on turnovers, flipped field position and got after Browne for five sacks. But, Pitt winning the time of possession battle, a whopping 38:20 to Penn State's 21:40 is a reminder of what happens when this tempo offense doesn't score and has to put the defense back on the field quickly.
Penn State's time of possession was the least by the Nittany Lions since only having the ball for 20:01 against Northwestern in 2005.
"It was not like a dejected feeling because we got the win," McSorley said. "But it didn't feel like a 33 point win. ... That was something that you like to see almost because you put 33 points on the board and guys are wanting and down on themselves because we expected me. I think that's kind of the silver lining for us."
SECOND DOWN
Turnovers tell the tale.
Grant Haley thinks he's the top threat on Penn State's defense to score and when Browne's pass sailed toward him the senior took off with it, adding another big play to a resume that's starting to get pretty full of them.
"He’s just such a dependable guy," Franklin said. "He’s going to be in the right place at the right time, he’s very disciplined. He’s made big play after big play his entire career on special teams and on defense so, when those guys are going to throw the ball up like that and when we put pressure on the quarterback, we’ve got to come down with it. I still think there’s probably a few more balls every game that we can get our hands on."
While Haley's scoop and score last season against Ohio State will forever make him a favorite among Penn State fans, he helped set the tone in this one with the pick and as the veteran and leader in the cornerbacks room the Lions will continue looking to Haley.
Senior safety Troy Apke also picked off Browne, and on Apke's pick both freshmen cornerbacks Lamont Wade and Tariq Castro-Fields were out there with him. Penn State has gotten those two valuable playing time during these first two games and the fact that three different players have recorded interceptions through the first two games is definitely a boost for a secondary that had just 10 interceptions all of last season, only six of which came from the secondary. Haley didn't have a pick all of last year.
"Our goal is three takeaways per game and we haven't met our goal yet," Haley said. "We're excited that we're capitalizing on the opportunities, but we've got to take a step forward and try to get those three, four big turnover games."
But, while the Lions readied to celebrate cornerback Amani Oruwariye, whom the Lions consider a third starter and who had an interception against Akron, limped off the field and to the locker room. While Franklin doesn't discuss injuries, should Oruwariye miss time, overcoming the learning curve for Castro-Fields, Wade and redshirt freshman Zech McPhearson will become that much more critical.
THIRD DOWN
Special teams continues trending upward.
DeAndre Thompkins is Penn State's punt returner, that much he secured during a dazzling Week 1, but against Pitt he showed that last week's big game wasn't just a flash in the pan.
Thompkins had three returns for 31 yards, including a long of 16, and in a couple instances looked like he was going to shake the defender and make a move. It's noticeable even from up top in the press box when there's a return man that the crowd gets excited about. Penn State hasn't had that in a long time, but each time Thompkins was back deep and would make his first move the crowd would start to get louder. It's almost like the sure-handed punt returners the Lions used in previous seasons made it easy to forget what a difference an electric returner can make.
The speed on Penn State's special teams beyond Thompkins has also noticeably improved. Safety Ayron Monroe made his season debut and played on quite a few of the special teams units. Linebacker Cam Brown is a regular special teams contributor and special teams captain Nick Scott, who helped the Lions keep Quadree Henderson in check, is always charging down the field full speed ahead. Scott said he'd give the Lions a B for their coverage work for the day, mainly because Henderson slipped free once and had he not stepped out of bounds it would've been a big return.
FOURTH DOWN
Andrew Nelson is back in the fold.
Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover said on Thursday that the senior right tackle was nearing a return and Saturday marked Nelson's first action of the season.
Limegrover said on Thursday that Chasz Wright is the Lions' starter and Wright started again against Pitt, but having someone with Nelson's experience certainly could throw the starting five for a change here in the next week or two should Nelson be ready to take on a bigger role and prove more effective than Wright, who was the right tackle during the Lions' stretch run last season.
"We had a game plan of, 'We’re going to get you some series here and there,' " Nelson said. "Once I got out there I definitely wanted to play a little bit more. The training staff is doing a great job, the coaching staff is doing a great job. It was good."
How Nelson's knee responds on Sunday will likely also go a ways in determining how much more of a load he can take on moving forward. Still, the depth built because of his season-ending knee injury last year will continue to be a good problem for Penn State.