One week down and Penn State put together a solid effort last Saturday afternoon against Nevada, defeating the Wolf Pack, 46-11.

Per usual, there were some positives and there are some things that the Nittany Lions will need to get cleaned up as they face off with Florida International out of the SWAC at noon today (BTN).

I always like to start with the negatives before getting into the positives.

Penn State faithful were not happy with the way the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack performed last week. Coming into the game, a lot of hype was surrounding the PSU offensive line group that returned a host of starters and, of course, a running back duo that many national analysts have as the best one-two punch in the nation.

There is certainly merit for that frustration, as Penn State rushed for just 135 yards at 3.5 yards per carry against Nevada. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for just 62 rushing yards. Singleton did have two short yardage rushing scores, but he averaged just 2.4 yards per carry.

The talk coming out of the game is that the reason for the struggles was the fact that Nevada had a five-man front and that it stacked the box. It was also evident that there were some missed assignments up front that led to negative plays in the run game — which I get. It’s a numbers game in the trenches, but it’s something I’m sure a lot of teams are going to try and do this season, so it’s something that the Nittany Lions have to figure out.

“I think we’ve still got to get some things cleaned up. We had some missed assignments that made the game more difficult than it needed to be, so we need to get those things fixed up,” said Franklin. “But to the point, that was really what happened, is we’d get off schedule, somebody’d blow an assignment, we’d get a tackle for loss or a zero-gain play, and now we’re kind of behind the sticks.

“They’re playing some five-down front. Again, you’re talking about more people to stop the run game or create one-on-one pass rushes and pass protection. So, everybody’s model is going to be, we’ve got to do everything we possibly can not to allow the obvious choice to beat us and force the wide receivers, that we have not seen yet a whole lot, and the passing game to beat you.

“It’s a combination I think philosophically what most people are going to do until we show it consistently that we can beat you doing both things.”

The Nittany Lions will have a chance to run the football better this week as they’re going up against a FIU defense that gave up over 200 yards rushing six times last season. You can bet the Panthers are going to stack the box today, so it’s up to the offensive line to be disciplined in their assignments to free up both Singleton and Allen.

Now onto the positives, which was the passing game and the defense.

First, let’s look at the PSU passing game, which threw for 303 yards at 8.7 yards per attempt. Starter Drew Allar looked poised and polished, going 22-for-26 for 217 yards and a touchdown. What also was a really good sign for the Nittany Lions moving forward was how good transfer wideouts Kyron Hudson (6 catches, 89 yards, 1 TD) and Trebor Pena (7 catches, 74 yards) looked in the flow of the offense. Hudson and Pena looked fast and explosive and caught everything that came their way.

If that production continues, it could serve as the link that PSU has been missing over the past few seasons. Having playmakers on the outside and in the slot is key to beating teams with elite athletes on the defensive end. And with Allar showing the ability to make all the tough throws, it could certainly make all the difference — especially against teams like Oregon and Ohio State.

Secondly on the positive front, the defense looked to be on another level speed-wise than we have seen over the past few seasons. There were whispers coming out of preseason camp that this could be the fastest defense that Coach Franklin has had in his time at Penn State. The Nittany Lions’ defense forced three turnovers and had nine tackles for loss. Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton looks to be as good as advertised. Sutton had five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, a pass deflection and two forced fumbles.

FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins is talented and threw for 2,557 passing yards and 22 touchdowns a season ago. The Panthers did lose some of their top pass catchers from last season, and they’re trying to find their go-to playmaker. Getting pressure on Jenkins will be key and with the Nittany Lions talent on their defensive front, I don’t think that will be an issue.

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 42.5-point favorite over FIU.

Look for Singleton and Allen to run angry today. I think the Nittany Lions will make the adjustments up front to create some explosive gains in the run game.

My pick is: Penn State 53, FIU 10.