Penn State’s offense erupted to start the game in its win against the Boilermakers on Saturday. But after that, the unit struggled to play a full four quarters of football.

The offense scored an impressive 28 points in only 16 minutes of play to take a very quick lead against Purdue. During the last 44 minutes of play though, Penn State found the end zone just one more time.

Third-Down Efficiency

The Nittany Lions’ third-down efficiency suffered a steep decline from last week’s annihilation of Maryland. It could be possible that the lack of execution on third down contributed to the Nittany Lions’ inconsistent play against the Boilermakers.

In order to stay in rhythm and put together those long drives, Penn State must convert on third down. The big plays are nice, but not getting into an offensive groove and needing to punt often will keep Penn State from playing consistent football, which will be a must down the stretch of the season against Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.

Lack Of Big Plays

After the Nittany Lions jumped out to their big lead, not only did they stop converting on third down, but they also stopped making the big plays. Penn State’s offense thrives off of the big plays, and there just weren’t many to note after going up 28-0. Whether it was the lack of execution or the play calling, Penn State struggled to find any type of spark throughout the second, third, and fourth quarters until Noah Cain scored with just under six minutes to play in the game.

“Explosive plays can come a number of different ways,” James Franklin said after the game. “We just didn’t do that as much in the second half.”

Lack Of Attention To Details

Penn State was not penalized too much, but the penalties sure did halt momentum. Penn State ended up totaling more penalty yards than Purdue in the game. In addition to those penalty yards and an interception in the second quarter, the Nittany Lions also missed key blocks, which refrained the offense from making a play.

After finding the end zone four straight times, the Penn State offense’s next seven drives include an interception, a missed field goal, and five punts. Even after scoring near the end of the game, the offense fumbled the football with under two minutes left to play.

“It felt like maybe after getting those early points, that maybe we took a deep breath and exhaled,” Franklin said after the game. “We don’t live like that around here.”

When Penn State heads into Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium this weekend to take on the Hawkeyes in primetime, the offense needs to play consistently and carefully, because it’s hard to play Iowa at Iowa. The Hawkeyes normally field a great defense where opportunities come at a premium, and winning in such a hostile road environment is never easy.

But if the offense plays to its abilities, it should have no problem putting up points for the defense to work with.