Penn State football played its first prime-time matchup of the season on Saturday and defeated the then-No. 19 Illinois 21-7.

The Nittany Lions leaned heavily on the run game during the win and racked up 239 yards on the ground. After giving up a touchdown on the first drive of the game, the defense stepped up to surrender just 34 yards on the ground.

After going to the half tied at seven apiece, fans weren’t always happy on Saturday night.

New Offensive Coordinator, Same Old Playcalling

C.J. Doebler: James Franklin spent a lot of time last year saying the offense needed to stick to what was working. Andy Kotelnicki did that against Illinois. The running game gashed the Illinois defense, and Kotelnick didn’t shy away from it.

While Tyler Warren going under center on a 3rd-and-7 wasn’t on my bingo card, it was still a win and a good building block for the new-look offense on the way to bigger tests.

Mitch Corcoran: The playcalling is so much better under Kotelnicki. The run game is improved, Drew Allar looks more comfortable, and the offense is scoring. If you’re concerned about Penn State only putting up 21 points against Illinois, let me remind you there was a failed fourth down conversion and two missed field goals.

That’s at least nine points off the board, maybe even 13 points if the offense converts on fourth down and scores a touchdown. The offense dominated a relatively good defense and bad playcalling doesn’t do that.

Nolan Wick: Kotelnicki has done a tremendous job with the offense so far. He stuck to what was working against Illinois, which resulted in Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton gradually wearing down the defense. Their explosiveness is back, their physicality is only getting better, and Singleton said after the game he thinks he can get even better at that.

Joe Lister: Penn State isn’t running the same play-calling as last year, but that doesn’t mean it’s better. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing Drew Allar line up in the slot and Beau Pribula line up in the shotgun. Pribula is going to run the ball every damn time. I stood in the stands on Saturday calling plays before they happened. It’s that predictable.

I understand Kotelnicki is trying to switch things up but sometimes, simple is smart. The best teams in the country aren’t running weird formations twice a drive. Alabama beats teams by playing consistent and solid football. It’s never needed Jalen Milroe to act like he was going to run a route.

Phil Trautwein Deserves More Credit

C.J.: The Penn State offensive line dominated its matchup with the Illinois front seven, paving the way for 239 rushing yards while giving up two sacks under the lights. After losing Olu Fashanu, Caedan Wallace, and Hunter Nourzad to the NFL, the state of the line was uncertain coming into this year. After four games, the line, led by offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, has done its job in creating a good pocket for Drew Allar and creating running lanes for Allen, Singleton, and the occasional Warren.

Mitch: Losing three players to the NFL Draft at any position is very difficult to replace, especially when one of those players was a first-rounder. Penn State’s offensive line has looked great so far this season, and Trautwein is the main reason for that.

Nolan: Trautwein has been a revelation. Losing three players and still managing that kind of performance against a good Illinois front seven, which is far and away the best Penn State has seen thus far, speaks to how talented of a coach he is. Penn State needs to do all it can to keep him here for as long as possible.

Joe: Absolutely. While folks were wondering about Penn State’s wide receiver corps this season, I felt the offensive line was going to be a bigger question mark. Thus far, though, that unit has looked great.

In my opinion, there is no more important position group that the offensive line, and that group has let Drew Allar have time in the pocket and moved swaths of large human beings so Singleton and Allen have holes to run through.

It’s Time To Move On From Sander Sahaydak

CJ: Every Saturday on College GameDay, Pat McAfee asks whomever he chooses to attempt a field goal whether or not they’ve ever said anything bad about kickers. The answer is almost always yes.

I’m not one of those people, but I can’t argue with a 3-for-9 career success rate. We all know what happened last year, so it was an interesting storyline to follow as the kicker once again got the start against West Virginia this year.

Mitch: Sahaydak has had his chances and missing a field goal here and there happens. But missing consecutive field goals in a top-20 matchup is concerning. This isn’t the first time he has struggled in big games either.

Reopen the kicker competition and let’s see what Ryan Barker and Chase Meyer can do.

Nolan: It’s hard to say Sahaydak isn’t done after missing two attainable field goals against a ranked opponent, especially in a close game. Let’s not forget he was benched after similar results against West Virginia last season. Sahaydak had two chances, and now seems like the appropriate time for Barker, who kicked an extra point attempt against Illinois, or Meyer, to take over.

Joe: Yes. Sahaydak is a good guy with a solid head on his shoulders, but he just can’t handle pressure. I don’t care if he hits every kick in practice, Meyer or Barker have to be the better option. Missing as often as Sahaydak has in the situations he’s missed is unacceptable. I hate to say it, but I just don’t think there’s a Sam Ficken story here.

Drew Allar Will Never Have His Coming-Out Game

C.J.: Everyone is waiting for Drew Allar to come out in a big game and slice up a defense to establish himself as a star quarterback, and Saturday was another opportunity for him to take over. Allar didn’t have a bad game, but he didn’t have a stellar one either. He threw for just 135 yards with a long pass of 20 yards while taking one deep shot that fell incomplete.

But Allar didn’t have to be stellar for the Nittany Lions to pull out the victory, and that’s a good sign as Penn State head into the heart of the season.

Mitch: Allar played three games of significance last season and he played poorly under an offensive coordinator who got fired and two interim coordinators. It’s hard to be successful as a first-year starting quarterback under those circumstances.

This year, Allar has played well in this new offense. Against West Virginia, he had 216 yards and three touchdowns and completed 11 of 17 passes. On Saturday, he threw just six incompletions and didn’t need to air it out because the run game was so dominant. Wait to see how he plays against USC and Ohio State in the coming weeks.

Nolan: I don’t believe Allar having a coming-out game was part of the game plan. The Nittany Lions said they were focused on pounding the rock and gradually tiring out the Illini, which is exactly what happened. Having said that, I’m maintaining hope that Allar will have that moment at some point this season, and he might need to in order to beat Ohio State or even USC in two weeks.

Joe: I don’t have strong opinions here. I said earlier in the season that Allar would at least be invited to the Heisman ceremony in New York, but that’s looking like a dumb take thus far. Allar’s a great quarterback who’s criminally underrated on the national level, but I don’t think he has the pieces around him to get him across the finish line. Allar would need more than just Tyler Warren as a consistent receiver to have a coming-out game, and he just doesn’t seem to have that quite yet.

Slow Starts Will Be The Downfall Of Penn State Football

C.J.: At this point, it seems like slow starts have been a consistent problem for Penn State football for a very long time. Last year, it was the offense that needed a few drives to get acclimated, but this year, it’s been the defense that’s plagued with bad starts.

After a 28-game streak of not giving up a touchdown on the opening drive, the Nittany Lions have done it twice in the past three games. Sure, slow starts against teams like Bowling Green and Illinois can be overcome, but soon, it’ll be much more costly.

Mitch: I actually disagree with this one. It’s annoying when the defense lets up first-drive touchdowns and the offense only scores seven points in the first quarter against Kent State, but Penn State has played very well otherwise.

The offense averages 13.5 points per game in just the second quarter this season and the defense has allowed just 40 total yards in the third quarter this month. The offense has also scored 75 points in the first half of games compared to 70 points in the second half.

I get it, it’s frustrating, but it’s not a huge problem that will be Penn State’s undoing.

Nolan: Slow starts will be problematic against better teams. Play with fire and let the Trojans hang 10 points on you in the first quarter in a couple of weeks? Yikes. What if Ohio State comes in and scores 14 in the same time frame? Not good. Starting fast will be crucial against better teams for numerous reasons, including momentum and the talent that’s inevitably on those rosters. Playing ahead of the sticks can also take the other team off its game plan, which would bode well for Penn State. You don’t want to play from behind, which James Franklin and some players have expressed recently.

But against Eric Bieniemy and UCLA, I wouldn’t be too concerned about that.

Joe: Pro tip, folks. Don’t ask James Franklin about his slow starts.

Penn State’s defense is top-notch. The Nittany Lions have allowed nine points in the second half across all four games. They’ve allowed just 46 points total.

However, as we saw last season, it’s really hard to win games when the team only plays 45 minutes of football, while the other guys get the full 60. Imagine if Penn State scored more than six points in the first quarter against Ohio State last year. What happens when the same thing happens against USC this season? Imagine if the Nittany Lions didn’t give up 24 points to Bowling Green. Is the national conversation about the team different?

Penn State is a darn good football team, but it’s a football team only playing three-quarters of a football game.