Week Three of the college football season is a very important week for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Through the first two weeks of the season, despite outscoring its opponents in Nevada and FIU 79-11, most will agree that Penn State has certainly had its ups and downs in those two games.

With the preseason hype surrounding the currently No. 2 ranked team in the country, it was expected that the Nittany Lions would come out and blow the doors off both the Wolf Pack and the Panthers, which they did not.

That’s why this week’s performance against Villanova is such an important one.

It’s the last time Penn State will get any real game action before they head into a bye week to prepare for the No. 4 team in the country in Oregon, which will come to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27 for the White Out game. I think it’s vital that the Nittany Lions look smooth, and that they’re clicking in all phases against the Wildcats.

One of the top priorities for Penn State last week was to run the football better, which they did do, rushing for 209 yards at 6.7 yards per carry and two rushing touchdowns. Kaytron Allen led the way with 144 yards and a touchdown and Nick Singleton pitched in with 76 yards and a rushing score.

But what I was concerned about was the multiple times that Penn State needed just two or three yards on third and fourth down and the multiple times that they were not able to get the push that they needed, or the tackle broken by the runner to move the sticks.

Right now, I think that’s where a lot of the frustration is stemming from with Penn State faithful. The Nittany Lions have almost their entire starting offensive line back, and last season this group showed the ability to road grade and get those tough yards when needed. That just hasn’t been the case so far this season, so I think it’s important to see an improvement in that area this week. Because again, those are the yards you’re certainly going to need to pick up when the Ducks come to town in two weeks.

“There are some things I think we’ve still got to get cleaned up to create a little bit more space and create a little bit more separation. I also think the running backs making the free hitter miss on a more consistent basis also will help with that. There have been times in protection where we have not ID’ed the front in the ideal way. That happens sometimes. They do a good job disguising where the pressure is coming from, so sometimes we’re not in the most advantageous situations,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin.

“So, combination of all those things, but I saw a big step last week. There are also such high expectations for that group coming into the season, and deservedly so, that plays a part in it. I saw tremendous strides last week. I think they’ll play very well this week. I think we’ll look back at this O-line this year and feel like they were one of the better offensive lines we’ve had.”

Villanova defeated Colgate in what was the Wildcats opener last week, 24-17. Villanova got the passing game going with quarterback Pat McQuaide, who threw for 299 yards and a touchdown. McQuaide also rushed for 41 yards and a score. His top target was Luke Collela, who hauled in five passes for 124 yards. Lucas Kopecky also had a nice game at wideout for the Wildcats with five catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, Villanova gave up 239 yards passing and 111 yards rushing.

“They’re a spread team that is primarily going to operate out of the gun. They’ll use some pistol backfield sets. When we say pistol, we are talking about the tailback being behind the quarterback. Primarily a zone and gap scheme team. They’ll use inside zone, wide zone schemes, quarterback draws, and third down situations. Pass game, heavy RPO team with a little bit of drop back pass,” said Franklin.

“Defensively, they do a lot in the back half. Like a lot of people do, they’re going to play middle of the field open, two and four and try to disguise the two. Then they’ll play cover one and cover three and try to disguise the two. Overall, blitz about 38 percent of the time.”

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 48.5-point favorite over Villanova.

There has been one consistent with this year’s Penn State team and that has been the explosive play of the defense. The Nittany Lions’ defense just looks fast. They might play a little too aggressive at times and leave some gaps open, but that looks like it will be ironed out.

After shutting out FIU last week 34-0, that makes it five seasons in a row where the Penn State defense has shut out an opponent. The last time that happened for the PSU program was a stretch from 1972-76. Penn State is currently the only FBS school in the country with a shutout in each of the last five seasons.

The Nittany Lions have also been creating turnovers. At plus-five, Penn State ranks No. 4 in the country in turnover margin. I think it will be a tough day for the Villanova passing attack, as the Nittany Lions are giving up just 137 passing yards per game. Look for pressure up front to create turnover opportunities on the back end in this one.

My pick is: Penn State 49, Villanova 6.