With Penn State’s offense having trouble finding a consistent rhythm and the defense surrendering 42 points to unranked UCLA, there is an almost perfect unit: Special teams.

After five games, it seems like everything is going wrong for the Nittany Lions. In the first four games, three of which were against unranked opponents, Penn State’s offense was mostly tragic. Quarterback Drew Allar had much to be desired in throwing the ball, and running back Kaytron Allen was dominating the backfield, leaving Nick Singleton with a lot of criticism.

Now, after the horrendous loss to UCLA, where the Penn State defense gave up 446 yards of total offense, Penn State fans can only throw their arms in the air and ask, “Is there anything Penn State can do right?”

Enter Justin Lustig.

The second-year special teams coordinator has held up his end of the deal and should be more publicly recognized for staying consistent throughout the roller coaster of a season Penn State has put together.

“Special teams has probably been the area that we’ve been the most consistent this year, with year two with coach Lustig, so we want to build on that,” James Franklin said Monday.

Franklin noted that Dani Dennis-Sutton’s blocked punt against the Bruins served as an example to players that a plan can come together when adjustments are made.

“The coaches came up with a plan to get Dani matched up on the long snapper. We repped it a few times in practice. We made some adjustments. We had some discussions with the players. They went out and executed the plan, and we had success. And we need to take, obviously, a similar approach on offense and on defense to put ourselves in the best position to be successful,” Franklin said.

The blocked punt was thought to be a spark for the Nittany Lions as Liam Clifford recovered the ball and returned it six yards for a touchdown. Although the momentum shift never happened, Franklin’s discussion with his players about how the play was a success was no accident, and it should be a program-wide mindset to adapt when opportunities for success are available.

Although it’s been mostly smooth sailing for the special teams unit, two plays didn’t fit the bill on Saturday against the Bruins.

After giving up a touchdown on the opening drive, Penn State’s kickoff coverage unit was hit with a surprise onside kick. Safety Dejuan Lane ran toward the middle of the field as he usually would for a deep kick. However, by assuming the kick would soar over his head, Lane left the sideline open for a chip into the boundary, allowing UCLA to jump on it for an easy recovery. UCLA would score a field goal, adding to its lead before the Penn State offense could touch the field.

The second mishap against the Bruins came towards the end of the game. With limited time left, Penn State forced a punt; however, instead of kicking it from their own goal line, the Bruins elected to take the snap and camp out in the endzone, burning precious seconds off the clock before the Nittany Lion punt return unit could react.

Other than the two highlighted plays against UCLA, there has been nothing bad to report from Lustig’s squad.

This season, place kicker Ryan Barker is 10 for 11 in field goals, leaving him tied at No. 4 in the country. His lone missed field goal came from a block against FIU as Barker was attempting a 53-yarder before half. Barker is also 20 for 20 in extra point conversions this season.

In kickoff returns, Penn State ranks in the top 10 in average return yardage with 30.6 yards on five attempts. This is mainly due to the return capabilities of safety King Mack, who returned a kickoff for 73 yards against Nevada.

Gabe Nwosu, who took over the starting punter position this season from Riley Thompson, has had a decent season thus far, averaging 46.6 yards per punt on 11 attempts. This average would rank him in the top 20 for the category in the nation.