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What was perceived to be the easiest three-game portion of the schedule is complete but has still provided a sample size to assess.
In the words of the late Dennis Green, Kent State "was what we thought they were," while Bowling Green was better than expected and a Mid-American Conference title contender, at least in the first half, and West Virginia wilted in the Morgantown weather delay (the Mountaineers had to endure another such inconvenience this past Saturday vs. Kansas).
But to the topic at hand: I'm most impressed -- so far -- with Andy Kotelnicki's work as offensive coordinator.
The lack of explosive plays was the No. 1 offseason narrative and the main reason Mike Yurcich was dismissed.
Kotelnicki's schemes are better designed to free the Nittany Lions' skill players into space and open passing lanes, and so far it's paying off.
The Lions have six plays of 40 yards or more through three games -- and they only had eight in 13 games all of last year.
Drew Allar's 12.2 yards per attempt, which is the measure of a successful vertical passing game, is on pace to shatter the season record set by Kerry Collins in 1994 (10.1) and Allar's yards-per-completion of 17.3 so far is second behind John Hufnagel's season mark in 1972 (17.7).
Again, it's early but those are winning numbers.
In addition to open receivers -- and Tyler Warren's presence is felt all over the field -- there has been more running room.
Nick Singleton's longest run from scrimmage a year ago was 24 yards, and he already has two for 40-plus this season.
Kotelnicki's creativity has helped as well.
Against Kent State, Kotelnicki spread the linemen, minus the center, out wide before the Flashes alertly called timeout.
On the flip side, the least impressive aspect of the Nittany Lions has been their high number of penalties.
They've committed 22 through three games, which ranks them 89th of 134 FBS teams. Their 67 penalty yards per game ranks 96th.
James Franklin has addressed it and used the word "embarrassing."
"If you look at the analytics and the statistics, they don't really have a significant impact when you talk about winning and losing," he said. "But as a head coach, it embarrasses me, because it shows a lack of discipline, and it's sloppy and it makes things harder than it needs to be. We end up making a drive on offense harder."
There have been too many pre-snap gaffes on both sides of the ball (read: Abdul Carter), personal fouls, and against Kent State, one young lineman committed two penalties on the same series.
It didn't cost the Lions so far, but it will if it continues as the schedule unfolds.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com. He will respond to questions and brief comments in Gameday.