5 takeaways from Penn State football's Week 2 win over Ball State

STATE COLLEGE -- Penn State was dominant but not perfect in a 44-13 win over Ball State on Saturday in front of 105,323 fans at Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions started fast, built a comfortable lead, and never looked back opposite the Cardinals, which struggled to put drives together and failed to keep head coach James Franklin's team out of the end zone enough.

Here are five takeaways from the team's second win of the season.

After struggling to put up points a week ago, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich's bunch had no such problem during the home opener against a much easier opposing defense.

Quarterback Sean Clifford did a little bit of everything, completing 21 of 29 attempts for 230 yards and a touchdown in addition to 11 rushes for 66 yards, which included a sneak for a score plus a terrific 41-yard third quarter scamper that set up a Jordan Stout field goal.

Of course, Penn State had some drives that stalled out, and maybe they didn't score as much as they should have, but the home team outgained the visitors by a huge margin and were pretty good on third downs. More importantly, the group did not commit a turnover for the second straight week, and they were mostly clean on the penalty front.

It was a winning effort all the way around, and if there is anything to nitpick, it's that the red zone offense didn't always deliver extra points on this day.

Jesse Luketa started this contest at middle linebacker because Ellis Brooks was out for the first half due to last week's targeting ejection, but he finished it at defensive end.

The veteran was terrific. He picked off a Drew Plitt pass and raced it 16 yards to the end zone and racked up four tackles on the day.

Luketa is quickly becoming one of the Nittany Lions' most impactful defenders, and he looks really natural at end. Luketa dropped into coverage on the interception and basically hid from Plitt, who couldn't have seen him when he let the ball go, and he also showcased plenty of explosiveness off the edge.

Penn State kicker Jordan Stout had some good and some bad moments this week just as he did last week.

The specialist boomed two 50-plus yard punts, kicked touchbacks, and made all of his extra points, but in the field goal department, he was 3-for-4, as he made and missed 45-yard field goals while also knocking through tried from 26 and 22 yards.

Stout's inconsistency is sure to be a point of frustration for fans, but it doesn't appear that the Nittany Lions are planning to move on to Jake Pinegar anytime soon. Thus, even if Stout isn't a lock, it seems as if he has a pretty firm grip on every special teams kicking job.

Penn State played some backups because they had to and others because they needed to, but all performed pretty well.

Starting slot corner and second-team outside corner Daequan Hardy recorded an interception and finished with three tackles, while backup middle linebacker Luketa played fine during his half at that position.

Jaylen Reed and Tyler Rudolph both saw a good number of snaps at safety as Jaquan Brisker watched most of the second half without his helmet from the sideline, and Smith Vilbert had a big tackle for loss in the fourth quarter. It should be noted that Rudolph was ejected in the fourth quarter for targeting and will miss next week's first half against Auburn. Sebastian Costantini replaced Rudolph. Freshman corner Kalen King also forced a fumble, and defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah was another first-year player who saw action.

Then, there's Marquis Wilson, the athlete who played both receiver and corner in this one. He made his first career catch in the win.

Finally, on offense, we saw Ta'Quan Roberson get his first extended game reps in blue and white, and the Lions' No. 2 quarterback finished with a pretty 23-yard touchdown toss to Theo Johnson. Roberson struggled on his first series but bounced back well on the second, and the scoring play should be a tremendous confidence builder.

It's always nice to have an early season game where other players can get reps while the starters rest, and by building a big lead, Franklin's team was able to do just that, and the experience will be important later in the year.

--Penn State's backup defense did give up a Ball State touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Lions were very good defensively overall. The big worry coming into this one was how the team would slow star Cardinals receiver Justin Hall, but he was ultimately an afterthought, finishing with just six catches for 35 yards.

--It was awesome seeing Beaver Stadium full of fans again. The crowd came early and most stayed despite the blowout. It was loud and proud throughout.

--In the third quarter, Penn State moved Mike Miranda to guard, slid Juice Scruggs to center, and brought Bryce Effner in for Eric Wilson. At no point did we see Anthony Whigan, which was a surprise.

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