Penn State is exactly where it wants to be after the first two weeks of the season. The team has won back-to-back games in convincing fashion and appear to be positioned well in the Big Ten and in the national rankings.
But things haven’t been all good for the Nittany Lions, as they’ve dealt with some injuries and have had a few concerning aspects of the team pop up along the way. There is a lot to be excited about in State College — and a lot of concerns to keep an eye on. Here are five of the biggest stories that will be topics of discussion around the team this week.
Max Granville gets unlucky once again
Penn State was excited to be getting defensive end Max Granville back after he suffered a season-ending injury in training camp last year. He showed some flashes in Week 1 against
Marshall, but then he suffered another injury in practice last Thursday, and it unfortunately turned out to be another season-ender.
The Nittany Lions will now be without the player they expected to be their most valuable pass rusher for the entire season. Thankfully, some of the other edge players had some juice against Temple, but this is just a brutal break for Granville after spending so much time and energy working his way back to the field.
Tight end U
The tight end group was relatively quiet for Penn State in Week 1, but they completely flipped the script against the Owls. Benjamin Brahmer led the way with 79 yards and two touchdowns, while Andrew Rappleyea had one catch for five yards. That isn’t much production for the latter, but quarterback Rocco Becht missed him on a wide-open touchdown, so he could have had a much bigger day.
This type of production from the tight end group can be a big bonus to Penn State going forward with all the weapons they already have. The Nittany Lions already have a bunch of tight ends in the NFL, and they could be adding some more soon if things continue going this direction.
Getting Brett Eskildsen involved
Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen was expected to be a key contributor in Penn State’s offense this season. He was the leading receiver at Iowa State last year and there was no reason to think he wouldn’t have similar production here.
Unfortunately, he’s been quiet so far through two games, with just 59 receiving yards. The receiver room has flashed some star power so far, but Eskildsen hasn’t been part of that showcase just yet. It’s still a long season, and the receiver room does appear to be deeper than initially expected, so perhaps he’ll be featured in a game soon when the others are quiet.
But this just hasn’t been the season Eskildsen expected so far, and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser will need to figure out how to utilize him more.
Ryan Barker
Kicker Ryan Barker has been phenomenal in his Penn State career, going 28-32 on field goals heading into Saturday’s matchup against Temple. However, he missed a 33-yard field goal on the first drive of the game, and although he made his next two field goals, his second one of the day also came awfully close to missing.
Barker has been money since he joined the Nittany Lions in 2024, so this is more than likely just a blip on the radar. Perhaps it’s actually a compliment to him to be concerned about having just one shaky game in a couple years.
Matt Campbell’s response
An important philosophy that some teams and coaches hold is that you shouldn’t accept anything in a win that you wouldn’t accept in a loss. Yes, Penn State did cruise to a win over the Owls, but there were some aspects of the game that will get you beat by better teams later in the year.
The team left at least 10 points on the board thanks to mental-mistake penalties and missed field goals, and there will come a time where every point will be essential to a win.
They also failed to get points on either of their first two possessions in the red zone. Although the 10 points left on the board all happened in the red zone, meaning it’s essentially the same stat, converting in the red zone is still one of the determining factors of who wins most games.
This is first time Matt Campbell’s team didn’t play close to perfection, so it will be exciting to see how he and the group attack this next week.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: 5 situations to monitor at Penn State heading into Week 3
