Heather Dinich: Penn State ‘looked legit’ in Week 1, boosted College Football Playoff chances

Plenty of teams had impactful wins to kick of the college football season this weekend, including the Penn State Nittany Lions. Who traveled to one of the most hostile environments in college football at West Virginia to defeat the Mountaineers in a dominant 34-12 win.

The Nittany Lions entered the college football season as the No. 8 ranked team in the country. A contender to make the College Football Playoff that also had questions to answer in several departments. Answers that ESPN college football analyst Heather Dinich believes they answered in Morgantown on Saturday.

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“Penn State looked legit in a critical win at West Virginia,” Dinich said Monday morning on Get Up. “James Franklin told me this summer he wanted to get more explosive plays. Drew Allar looked fantastic, two touchdowns over 40 yards, ESPN Analytics gives them at least a 70% chance to reach the College Football Playoff.”

Not many were too concerned about Penn State’s defense heading into the college football season, one of the best units in the nation last season that returned seven starters and potentially upgraded at defensive coordinator. With former Indiana head coach Tom Allen now calling the plays for the Nittany Lions’ defense.

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Penn State’s defense rose to the occasion and their expectations, flying to the football all day on Saturday and holding West Virginia to just 246 total yards of offense. Not allowing a touchdown until the fourth quarter of the contest.

But with quarterback Drew Allar entering his second full season as a starter with room to grow and new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki taking the reins of the offense, many were curious to see if an offense that tended to lack explosiveness could make some changes.

Allar had a superb performance and seemed to flourish in Kotelnicki’s offense, completing 11 of his 17 pass attempts for 216 and three touchdowns. Also rushing for 44 yards and having a particularly strong connection with wide receiver Harrison Wallace, who caught two of his three touchdown passes along with 117 yards and five total catches.

Per usual, Penn State also got things going with 222 yards on the ground. Highlighted by Nick Singleton rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown. Rounding out a complete performance from the Nittany Lions that has them looking like an early Big Ten and College Football Playoff contender.