5 takeaways from Penn State's victory over Villanova

STATE COLLEGE -- Penn State beat Villanova 38-17 on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, but it wasn't a performance to necessarily feel great about on offense.

It's true that coordinator Mike Yurcich's group hit a few huge chunk plays for scores, but it struggled to run the ball, and quarterback Sean Clifford was sacked three times. Not all of those were on the offensive line, but it was still surprising against this FCS foe.

There were hardly any other concerns on the other side of the ball, as Brent Pry's bunch again played aggressively and fast while taking care of business when the first team was in.

Here are our takeaways as the Nittany Lions improved to 4-0 ahead of next week's matchup with Indiana.

If you felt like Penn State's running game was going to get going in this one, you weren't alone.

Kudos to our Nate Bauer for sniffing out that it wouldn't on Friday. The Nittany Lions had 17 carries for 18 yards in the first half, and it didn't matter which back they used, because there was often no room to run. The team finished with 31 carries for 69 yards and one score, as Tyler Warren again plowed into the end zone on a direct snap.

Noah Cain carried just one time and was not seen on the field for most of the contest, and John Lovett was by far the most effective Penn State back, which isn't saying much on this day. He finished with 11 carries for 45 yards.

The Nittany Lions now enter the full Big Ten schedule with major concerns about their rushing attack, and worst yet, there doesn't appear to be a quick fix.

We could have talked about this in the ground game section, but the play of the men up front is going to be the main talk coming out of this game, and thus it deserved its own space.

Penn State allowed three sacks before the second team came in with about nine minutes to play, and it barely topped 60 rushing yards with the first team out there. Clifford was at fault for some of the sacks and quarterback hurries, but it was not a great day for position coach Phil Trautwein's group, as center Mike Miranda was too often seen going backward during run assignments, and tackle Caedan Wallace was beaten on more than one occasion. There was also a costly holding penalty on tackle Rasheed Walker that led to a punt.

Ultimately, Clifford and his skill players made enough plays to make this a double-digit win on the scoreboard, but averaging 2.2 yards per carry against an FCS side with the main group in just isn't good enough. There's no other way to put it, even if the Lions were often running into packed boxes, because it didn't go so well when they weren't, either.

Ok, let's get to the good news: The chunk plays were there all day long against the Wildcats.

Clifford connected on a pair of 52-yard scores, one to Jahan Dotson and one to Parker Washington, and he also hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith after a nice scramble for 13 yards, and then Lambert-Smith turned on the jets and ran for 70 more and an 83-yard touchdown in the end.

Penn State finished Saturday's contest with seven pass plays of 25 yards or more, and those in totality accounted for 332 of the team's 429 yards through the air, and they also ripped off a pair of 10-plus yard runs despite the struggles in that area.

When Yurcich was hired, the homerun threat was one of the first things fans got excited about, and it was on display today.

Villanova tight end Tyler Will had to be stretchered off the field following the second half's opening kickoff. It was a scary scene, as both teams kneeled on the field while medical personnel attended to the Wildcat.

According to a press box announcement, Will suffered a concussion but was alert and had full movement when he left Beaver Stadium for a nearby hospital. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

--Jordan Stout continues to be a weapon for the Nittany Lions. He punted four times and all landed inside the Villanova 20, headlined by Drew Hartlaub batting a ball back to Chris Stoll, who downed it at the two.

--Wow, is Parker Washington fast. When he turns the burners on, it happens quickly.

--It's unclear why Cain only carried twice, but that will be something to keep an eye on this week.

--Penn State last had four 50-plus yard plays on offense in 2013 against Wisconsin.

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