The explosive offense that Penn State football fans grew accustomed to watching through the first two games of the season disappeared against Pitt during week three.

Penn State put up 673 total yards in its opener against Idaho. Despite a slow first half against Buffalo in week two, the Nittany Lions followed up with four third quarter touchdowns in what was an offensive clinic in the second half.

After these dominant performances, the ugly offensive day that Penn State had in its nail-biting victory over Pitt was a shock to say the least. Despite putting up a respectable 389 yards of offense, the Nittany Lions’ only two scores came off rushing touchdowns in the red zone. Nothing came easy for Ricky Rahne’s unit, as it finished the day with just two plays of more than 20+ yards.

Pitt’s ability to limit Penn State’s big plays made it a struggle for Sean Clifford and Co. to create much of any momentum. This performance was a legitimate cause of concern for many Penn State fans, and raised the question: If Pitt can slow down the Nittany Lion’s offense consistently through four quarters, what happens when Penn State has to take on the top-tier defenses of the Big Ten?

Penn State silenced those questions with its impressive performance against Maryland Friday night — for now, at least.

The Nittany Lions put up 619 total yards of offense against the Terps, including 421 passing yards. Aside from that impressive stat, Rahne’s offense was powered by its explosive plays throughout the night.

Penn State had six plays go for more than 20 yards. The Nittany Lions also scored touchdowns on six of their seven first-half possessions.

KJ Hamler’s first quarter touchdown came on a 58-yard catch and run where he proceeded to make two Terrapin defensive backs look silly. Hamler gave the Nittany Lions a 14-0 lead early, playing a part in putting the game out of reach quickly for Maryland.

KJ Hamler's hesi on his touchdown was straight disrespectful pic.twitter.com/IOvRkOWcMw

— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 28, 2019

Journey Brown also decided to get in on the long touchdown fun just before halftime when he took a screen pass 37 yards to the house and gave Penn State a 35-0 lead with a few minutes remaining in the second quarter.

It's the Smash, baby!! #FNL pic.twitter.com/jcVvBcuNcI

— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 28, 2019

Thanks in large part to his receivers’ ability to make the secondary miss open field tackles, Sean Clifford finished the first half with 287 passing yards, a Penn State record. The young quarterback remains in the national top ten with 11.12 yards per passing attempt.

The Terps quite literally could do nothing to stop Penn State from exploding on offense throughout the game. While Maryland is far from one of the top defenses in the Big Ten, Friday’s performance proved that the Nittany Lions have the ability to create plenty of opportunities to score from just about anywhere on the field.

Much of why Penn State has the ability to do the things it can offensively is thanks to the playmakers it has up and down the roster. When considering pure athleticism and speed, Hamler is one of the first names that come to mind for most Nittany Lion fans.

Hamler led the way for Penn State with six receptions for 108 yards, including that massive touchdown in the first quarter. Despite being just a redshirt sophomore, Hamler is considered as one of the most important leaders on the Nittany Lion offense. While he was excited with how well the group played Friday night, he still felt that they have plenty of room to grow.

“[Our offense is] electric, but I still think we have more to show,” Hamler said. “There’s always stuff to improve on…but I think we can become one of the most electrifying offenses.”

Hamler and the rest of this Penn State offense will get a chance to prove that its performance against Maryland was no fluke against Purdue at noon Saturday. The Boilermakers allowed 488 total yards of offense in a loss to Minnesota this past week — 396 of those yards came through the air.

The Nittany Lion offense clearly has the ability to put up gaudy numbers, but consistency has been their issue through four games. With a chance to put up another big game against a suspect Purdue defense, Penn State could likely get into a groove in the early stages of Big Ten play.