2-0.

Penn State football shut out Florida International 34-0 to remain perfect through the young season. However, offensive inefficiencies plagued the Nittany Lions in the first half as fans grow concerned with the team’s overall strength.

Here’s a quick review of each position group’s performance against the Panthers.

Quarterbacks: C+

Drew Allar didn’t have his best game against FIU. James Franklin said he didn’t think the senior signal caller was “in his normal rhythm” on Saturday. Allar’s misses on routine throws in the first half were a key reason why Penn State was only up 10-0 at the half. He had two misfires with Trebor Peña that resulted in Penn State’s turnover on downs in the first quarter and continuously failed to convert to Khalil Dinkins and Nick Singleton out of the backfield on crucial third downs.

Despite this, Allar did enough to keep the FIU defense at bay. While he finished the day with an uncharacteristic completion percentage of 58%, his final stat line of 200 yards and two touchdowns isn’t bad. He lost 11 yards on two rushing attempts. Allar’s performance definitely wasn’t pretty – which could have something to do with Saturday’s rainy conditions – but he didn’t make any condemnatory mistakes.

Running Backs: A+

Ol’ reliable.

Running back duo, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, bounced back from a mediocre opening performance against Nevada and stomped on FIU’s defense all game long.

Singleton’s final line came out to 76 yards on 13 rushes and a late-game 5-yard score. However, Allen stole the show between the two.

Allen rushed for 144 yards on 16 carries with a 67-yard explosion in the fourth quarter to put the exclamation point on the win for Penn State. He brought up his game average to nine yards per rush with the score.

Both rushers eclipsed 3,000 rushing yards in their Penn State careers in the win. Allen moved up to No. 8 on the all-time list while Singleton moved up to No. 9.

The Nittany Lions needed Singleton and Allen to show up, especially with the slick field conditions. They answered the call.

Wide Receivers: B

After last week’s big exhibition from Kyron Hudson, the wide receiver group as a whole was rather quiet against the Panthers.

Devonte Ross opened his Penn State account with a beautiful one-handed 42-yard contested score in the third quarter, but that was essentially the one true highlight out of the position group on Saturday. Allar showed some disconnect with Peña and while he did target Hudson seven times, the pair’s chemistry wasn’t as explosive as it was against Nevada.

The lack of wide receiver production in week two can be mostly attributed to Allar’s off day. However, an important point of Franklin’s coming out of week one was to get Ross more involved in the offense. It seems that that mission was accomplished, at least. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Allar and the coaching staff unlock all three of the new wideouts’ potentials.

Tight Ends: C+

Sophomore Luke Reynolds distanced himself from Khalil Dinkins and Andrew Rappleyea in the tight end room against FIU. He racked up 58 yards on seven receptions and converted four first downs. Allar targeted him nine times. Reynolds finished as the Nittany Lions’ leading receiver on the day.

Allar targeted Dinkins five times, but the redshirt senior was a victim of Allar’s throwing inconsistency against the Panthers. However, Dinkins did reel in the game’s first score with a 9-yard snag in the first quarter.

Offensive Line: A-

The line played an overall clean game, most apparent in Singleton and Allen’s productive performances on the ground. While FIU only produced two quarterback hurries, the Panthers sacked Allar twice, which might have played a hand in his uneasiness in the pocket.

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki cooked up a pass to Drew Shelton on Penn State’s two-point conversion attempt before the play was called back due to a holding call. Maybe next time, Kotelnicki.

Front Seven: A

The linebacker pairing of Tony Rojas and Amare Campbell is a match made in heaven for Penn State. The pair combined for 19 total tackles and were all over the field against the Panthers, stopping runs that found their way through the Nittany Lions’ stout defensive line.

While FIU did crack 141 yards on the ground, the Panthers arrived at that figure through an astounding 39 rushing attempts. They averaged 3.6 yards per attempt.

Another Penn State standout against the Panthers was freshman Chaz Coleman. He provided arguably the defensive highlight of the game by recovering and returning his own strip sack 35 yards late in the fourth quarter to put the exclamation point on the Nittany Lions’ shutout win. He received a lot of praise postgame and is a name to watch on Penn State’s deep defensive front going forward.

Alonzo Ford Jr. became the second Penn State defensive tackle to snag an interception in 2025 after Zane Durant’s pick on Chubba Purdy in week one. He picked off FIU quarterback, Keyone Jenkins, early in the second quarter.

The Nittany Lions tabbed two sacks, nine tackles-for-loss, eight quarterback hurries, and one forced fumble as a unit. Dani Dennis-Sutton built on his performance against Nevada with two tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hurries.

Secondary: B-

The secondary spent its second straight week in the defensive line’s shadow, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The unit held Jenkins to a strict 15-for-28 passing performance. He mustered 127 yards through the air on the day.

King Mack and Kolin Dinkins made their presence known in the fourth quarter. The pair stuffed many outside runs and showcased their speed coming down from the secondary to the line of scrimmage. Mack led the unit with seven total tackles and one pass breakup.

Special Teams: D+

Folks got a better look at Penn State’s special teams unit after a stellar performance against Nevada, and it wasn’t very pretty. Gabe Nwosu’s first punts of the season worked like clockwork. However, the redshirt senior’s kickoff game was completely off. He kicked two kickoffs out of bounds, gifting prime field position to the Panthers in the second half.

FIU also blocked a Penn State field goal attempt as time expired in the first half. Ryan Barker sunk his other two attempts without issue. Franklin was adamant in his postgame press conference that the Nittany Lions will clean up their special teams’ faults going into week three.