Lions' versatile offense lights up Delaware, puts opponents on alert

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Let's keep in mind, this was really like a practice scrimmage.

As such, everything we saw Saturday between a legitimate College Football Playoff contender in Penn State versus a vastly overmatched FCS opponent in Delaware has to be kept in context. That whole "take it with a grain of salt" thing.

Go back to the oversimplified game keys we published a couple of days ago, which were:

1. Show up, on time, wearing helmet and pads

2. Play football

3. Don't get hurt

After the fact, those keys really weren't oversimplified at all. Because No. 7 Penn State could have picked the final score had it really wanted to, and the main thing was to at least learn a few things about the team in the process.

Well, in that regard, Saturday's 63-7 shellacking of the Blue Hens at Beaver Stadium did indeed give us a little more insight into this particular Penn State team. The main thing we learned -- or at least had verified for the second week in a row -- is that the Lions' offense can do a whole lot of things with a whole lot of weapons, and it's got a chance to give opposing defensive coordinators fits this season.

An efficient and productive Drew Allar. A two-headed running attack. A whole slew of pretty good wide receivers. Excellent tight ends. A strong offensive line.

James Franklin broke down in his postgame press conference exactly what has to be worrying opposing defenses when they try to game plan against Penn State's offense.

It basically comes down to a whole lot of pick your poison kind of decisions.

"If you're the first two opponents, specifically the first opponent (West Virginia), you say, I'm not going to let Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen beat us," Franklin said. "I'm going to make a starting quarterback, the first-time starting quarterback, prove that he can do it no matter what the hype has been like. He's still got to prove that he's done it."

Bingo. That's exactly what the game plan should be against a young QB.

But through two games, Allar has already played so well, been so efficient and looked so poised that you already get the feeling that he can indeed beat a defense.

That's a big, old "uh oh" for opponents.

"Now, I think the defensive coordinators moving forward, you're in a tough, tough spot," Franklin continued. "You got two running backs that can be challenging, and you got a quarterback that's shown that he'll do it and can make the throws and make the plays. So now, there's enough evidence out there that as a defensive coordinator, you're questioning, how do we, what is our model for beating Penn State in terms of our offense?"

Again, this was Delaware. Of course Penn State's offense was going to bludgeon the Blue Hens' defense.

But what matters most is really more of the how the Lions did that -- by utilizing all of their weapons methodically and efficiently.

Allar finished 22 of 26 for 204 yards and one TD.

Allen rushed for 103 yards and a TD on 19 carries.

Singleton had three rushing touchdowns in the first half alone and finished with 47 yards on 12 carries.

Even third-string running back Trey Potts, the Minnesota transfer, had 59 yards on only seven carries.

A total of 10 different receivers caught a pass, led by clear No. 1 wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith with six grabs for 74 yards.

The first completion of the day went to a tight end, and after they weren't utilized much in the passing game last week, the position produced eight catches in this game. Tyler Warren had six, Theo Johnson two.

As for the offensive line, the coaches were able to rotate in a bunch of different guys, with starting left tackle Olu Fashanu and center Hunter Nourzad getting a good bit of rest that Franklin believes will help out later on.

Upcoming opponents still may go into games against Penn State trying to take away the running game first and foremost, simply because you need to have a plan A. But defenses had also better have a plan B, plan C and even a plan D given all the tools Mike Yurcich has at his disposal.

"We've been really well balanced for the first few games, and I think we take pride in that," Allar said. "There are times where we might have to run the ball, and we have to sometimes throw the ball. I think we're going to be able to do that well.

"So, I think it's just really taking advantage of what the defense is going to give us, because the defense can't take away everything on the field. That's how football works. They're always going to be giving up something, so we just have to be keen to what they are giving up and take advantage of that as much as possible."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Allen topped 100 yards for the third time in his young career. He had 117 against Rutgers and 111 against Central Michigan last year. He carried the bulk of the load in the first half as Penn State built a 35-7 lead, although it was Singleton who got to bust it into the end zone to finish three of the drives.

Allen scored his TD from 4 yards out late in the first quarter, and did a little flex afterward.

"I just love getting my hands on the ball," Allen said. "Any time I can (score), I just express myself."

• Franklin discussed how the team has two starting tailbacks and will make decisions week to week on how to use them both. It'll be interesting to watch those decisions play out as the season goes along, with the coaches doing what they can to keep both Singleton and Allen happy with enough touches.

Both of them don't seem to mind sharing the workload.

"When he sees something and when I feel something, we both feed off each other," Allen said. "He's like my brother from another mother."

Singleton, who noted he and Allen are roommates, says he tries to learn from watching his friend and teammate.

"He's been helping me a lot," Singleton said. "Obviously, the patience he has, I try to play a game like that. He's a physical runner, so I'm trying to be a physical runner, too."

• Only one play went badly for Penn State on the day. Very badly.

Running back Marcus Yarns cashed in on a missed gap assignment and took this one 66 yards to the house.

Ummm, what happened there?

"We had the one play where we were not gap sound," Franklin said. "The ball found that gap, and they got some talented guys that can run, so just a really good example that everybody's got to do their job on a consistent basis. If you're supposed to be in a B gap, you have to be in the B gap. If you're supposed to be in the C gap, you have to be in the C gap."

• Delaware got 66 yards on that one run. It finished with a total of 140 yards. So, on their other 40 offensive plays, the Blue Hens managed only 74 yards. They were just 6 of 17 passing for 58 yards.

• How can you not feel great for Dominic DeLuca? A former walk-on who has received a scholarship, the linebacker had the defensive highlight of the day with this pick-6 in the third quarter.

"Dom is one of my best friends on the team, we're next-door neighbors and we hang out all the time," backup QB Beau Pribula said. "He deserves that score and the whole team knows he deserves that score because he's one of our hardest workers. He is a straight up natural born leader."

• Speaking of Pribula, he got a ton of playing time in the second half. Allar got only one series in the second half -- leading to a TD and 42-7 lead, then gave way to Pribula.

The backup had a strong showing, rushing eight times for 46 yards and a score, plus completing 3 of 5 passes for 22 yards and his first passing TD -- a 6-yard toss to Omari Evans that closed the scoring.

"It's always good to get experience and get the reps, which I got a good amount of, and to put together successful drives,which is my main goal," Pribula said.

• Pribula is definitely a run-first kind of quarterback. He just looks so comfortable and capable when he takes off, really exactly like Will Levis did when he was at Penn State a few years ago.

Franklin did something smart when he started talking about trying to find different ways to get Pribula into games in certain situations. Whether that actually happens or not remains to be seen, but at the very least, the possibility has to be something defensive coordinators consider when they face the Lions.

"Defensively, people are watching that and saying that we got to prepare for this guy," Franklin said. "Now that Beau has shown what he can do, now you start to mix Beau in a drive or for a couple of series in a game, and you got to spend a ton of time on preparing for that."

• Check out the Penn State team feed for additional game stuff, including the huge crowd for an FCS game and if the Lions are ready for Big Ten play.

PERSONNEL REPORT

WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith was shaken up in the first quarter but walked off and continued to play.

WR Malick Meiga was listed as out for the first time on the pregame availability report. Here are the others listed as out: DT Coziah Izzard, WR Tyler Johnson, OL Jim Fitzgerald, DE Amin Vanover, CB Daequan Hardy, S Jashaun Green, DT Alonzo Ford Jr., OL Ian Harvie, DE Mason Robinson, DE Smith Vilbert, OT Landon Tengwall

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