Three takeaways from Penn State football’s narrow 34-27 win over Bowling Green

Penn State eked out a 34-27 win over Bowling Green in its home opener Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions trailed at halftime, 24-20, but came back to earn the win with a better second half.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Penn State’s tackling could be a major issue

The Nittany Lion defense was supposed to be the strongest unit the program had this year, but there’s more than enough cause for concern after Saturday’s game. The unit got banged up — star safety K.J. Winston left the game in the second quarter and did not return — and, even when the defense was healthy, it was consistently getting gashed in the first half.

The Bowling Green offense isn’t exactly heralded, coming into the game ranking No. 87 nationally in ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. And yet, the Falcons lit Penn State up for 24 first-half points. They hit on big plays, but many of those stemmed from the primary problem PSU had Saturday afternoon — its tackling. Defensive coordinator Tom Allen looked like he had the group primed to be one of the best in the country after a Week 1 win over West Virginia, but Saturday things swung in the opposite direction.

The second half looked better for Allen’s defense. But that didn’t erase the major issues in the first half.

QB Drew Allar continues to impress

Penn State’s offense came into the year as the major question mark, with a lot of the uncertainty surrounding Drew Allar and his development. Through two games, most of those questions have been answered.

Allar carved up a bad Bowling Green defense but did it by making even the most difficult throws. There were several occasions Saturday where the Falcons were in tight coverage, but the junior quarterback trusted his arm anyway. More often than not, he hit his receivers in the hands with throws the defense never had a chance at touching. His mobility was also once again noticeable, even if he didn’t have a big rushing performance like he did against West Virginia. His ability to navigate the pocket and scramble for more time allowed receivers to get open and create big plays. Fans will surely have a fair share of issues with the 2024 team following the game, but Allar is not one of them.

TE Tyler Warren proves he’s among country’s best

Penn State has produced several NFL-caliber tight ends in the James Franklin era, and Saturday added more evidence that Tyler Warren is the next one. The veteran has been praised by Franklin throughout the preseason and had the biggest performance of his career against Bowling Green, breaking the program record for receiving yards by a tight end in a game.

He racked up eight catches for 146 yards in the game and was consistently open against the Falcon defense. The former high school quarterback isn’t just a reliable pass-catcher, though, and created 62 of his yards after the catch. Of course, he was also a key factor in the team’s 234 rushing yards as a blocker, clearing the way for running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen throughout the game.