Penn State vs. Villanova: Final thoughts and analysis of PSU’s matchup
Penn State plays its final non-conference game of the 2025 regular season Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium against Villanova. The Nittany Lions will play the Wildcats in Week 3 of the college football season. Here are some final thoughts and predictions ahead of the matchup.
All eyes on Allar and Singleton
Penn State’s two highest-profile offensive players will be under the microscope in a game where they should dominate. Nick Singleton and Drew Allar have both been off their game to start the season — with Singleton missing holes in the running game and Allar missing easy throws against FIU. From a box score perspective, I doubt any level of performance will silence those who are questioning the two stars. But there is plenty they can show on the field to get back on track.
For Allar, it’s simple. He needs to be accurate on the easy throws and give his weapons a chance to get the ball and then make things happen in space. He was off the mark on the easy ones against the Panthers, and he said postgame that it was in part because he was thinking too much. Singleton needs to see what’s in front of him and take it, rather than trying to predetermine if he’s going to cut a run up the field or try and get to the edge. Put simply, both need to do stop thinking and just play.
Offensive line needs progress
This was supposed to be the strength of the entire team, and it was supposed to be one of the best offensive lines in the country. But through two games, it still has plenty of work to do. While the O-line was better against FIU than it was against Nevada, it still needs to do a better job of creating space for the team’s runners and giving Allar more time to make throws. These first three games are the kind I’d expect an elite offensive line to dominate. They’re all against subpar opponents who should be outmatched both technically and physically.
But instead, Nevada was able to give the group issues in the running game, and FIU was able to make plays rushing Allar and in the running game. It’s a deep position, with seven players (Drew Shelton, Vega Ioane, Nick Dawkins, Anthony Donkoh, Nolan Rucci, Cooper Cousins and T.J. Shanahan) potentially playing starter-level reps even after non-conference play wraps up. But right now it seems more like a group looking for answers rather than one with an abundance of them. A dominating performance could help both with confidence and making sure all seven players are on the same page.
Building communication on defense
The offense has had troubles in the first two weeks, but the defense has been elite. While head coach James Franklin said the players need to do a better job of playing rather than thinking, it’s still produced high-end results and made plays all over the field. But to Franklin’s point, the Nittany Lions need to be communicating and on the same page at all times in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense, and this is their last chance to do that before Oregon.
The easiest way to do that might be to maximize the starters’ reps playing with each other. While rotating has been a priority in the first two weeks, I would treat this as a big game for the first quarter or so, ensuring the players who will be on the field against the Ducks get as many reps as possible together. And then bring the backups in to rotate in later, or as an entire second-team unit in the second half. That may limit their ability to ingratiate into the first team if necessary, but it would maximize the team’s best players who can be most impactful in its biggest games.
Final predictions
Penn State 42, Villanova 0: The Nittany Lions should be able to get back on track offensively on Saturday, and that will allow the team’s backups to get into the game sooner. If FIU couldn’t score against this defense, I don’t think Villanova will either. Penn State should coast to 3-0 with all eyes turning to the White Out against Oregon in two weeks.
MVP: Trebor Peña. Penn State’s two other transfer portal receivers have each had a game where they led the team in receiving yards, so I’ll say it’s Peña’s turn. He’s going to need plenty of targets to get there, and I’ll say he hauls in eight of them for 105 yards and a touchdown to help Allar have a quality turnaround performance.
The last word
Penn State head coach James Franklin on why the offense isn’t as explosive as he’d like:
“Yeah, we missed a couple of throws. Missed a couple of throws. We had some drops. I think we had five drops. When you catch the ball there is a chance that you’re going to make somebody miss and those are going to — say half of those turn into explosive plays. Then think there are times where just like Kaytron did on Saturday, you break a tackle. Now you got a chance for one of those runs to go. That’s going to happen, as we’ve seen for the last four years with Nick as well. So those things will come. They’ll come organically just by doing the things we should be doing, breaking tackles, making people miss as ball carriers — that’s as receivers, and running backs. Maximizing the opportunities that we get, hitting a few more of the throws, straining in protection a little bit longer, all those things. All those things I think are important and helpful. ... To be fair, I think we probably could throw it down the field a few more times. But then it’s also the ones we throw, catching and making people miss. It’s making the free hitter miss in the running game, straining in protection a little bit longer, making a few more of the throws. You do a little bit better in each one of those areas and now all of a sudden you’re close to 20% explosive plays.”
