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What position needs the most improvement?
To me, it's special teams.
They haven't been so special.
They haven't led to a loss or been bad enough to taint an otherwise impressive 4-0 start, but their performance has not consistently met the standard of a championship team.
And since the theme of this point-counterpoint -- and really this season -- is measuring every aspect of Penn State vs. the chance to beat Ohio State and Michigan, closer scrutiny is warranted.
It's highly likely the Nittany Lions will need a big special teams play against the Buckeyes or Wolverines to win one or both of those games.
Certainly they will not be able to live with a special teams mistake.
Like fielding the first punt of the game at the 5-yard line -- like Kaden Saunders did against Iowa -- and creating a field-position problem for the first few series. Or, after that, letting a couple catchable punts bound and roll, costing valuable yardage.
Saunders is sure handed -- a punt returner's first priority -- and has shown potential to contribute as a receiver, but his punt-return decision making must be sound in big moments.
Rest assured, they're coming.
The Lions are currently tied for 11th in Big Ten punt return yardage at 4.3 yards per return.
When they don't fair-catch kickoffs due to what the analytics say, they're eighth in kickoff return yardage at 19.8, despite having the explosive Nick Singleton back there. (James Franklin has repeatedly lamented about the Nits' lack of explosive plays.)
Leading the league in kickoff returns doesn't guarantee success, but Purdue's gaudy average of 35.4 on five returns -- the same number as PSU -- is worth noting, even if the Boilermakers are 1-3.
But it can help.
Now let's shift to the kickers.
Granted, it was raining the other night, but Alex Felkins' late miss from 43 -- which wasn't close -- could not have filled Franklin up with confidence.
Felkins has had a field goal blocked in each of the last two weeks, though the one vs. Iowa came after the Hawkeyes were penalized for leaping over the line, which you're not allowed to do and may have contributed to the miss.
The Nits are 12th in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (5-of-9) in part because Sander Sahaydak, who started the season, missed a pair inside 40 against West Virginia and was quickly replaced by Felkins, the transfer from Columbia.
Speaking of transfers, Riley Thompson (Florida Atlantic) won the punting job, beating out Alex Bacchetta, a scholarship player from Georgia who did not make the trip to Illinois.
Thompson is averaging 40.7 yards per punt, 11th in the league, and his net punting average of 37.3 is 13th, leading only Northwestern.
He's had one deflected and was decked last week after one of the protectors, Theo Johnson, blocked an Iowa rusher into him. (Franklin thought a roughing penalty should have been called. So, too, did the scoreboard operator, who played the sequence a dozen times.)
Bad non-call or not -- from this view, it wasn't -- the entire unit could be better.
The Lions have three weeks (an open date sandwiched by a trip to Northwestern and a home game with UMass) to improve this important area.
Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.