Penn State tight end Khalil Dinkins (16) celebrates his touchdown reception against Florida International during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

Penn State

Offense: The thing about playing a joke of a schedule is teams can develop bad habits. Slow starts are one. While others rave about Drew Allar and his NFL prospects, I don’t see it. Nothing about him screams spectacular. The Lions ran the ball much better last week, but the passing game was iffy. When will they put both together?

Defense: The thing about playing a joke of a schedule is teams can develop bad habits. Slow starts are one. While others rave about Drew Allar and his NFL prospects, I don’t see it. Nothing about him screams spectacular. The Lions ran the ball much better last week, but the passing game was iffy. When will they put both together?

Special teams: Minus a blocked field goal on a 53-yard try, which really wasn’t his fault, Ryan Barker has been perfect, making six field goals. Gabriel Nwosu was a weapon against FIU, averaging 53.3 yards on three punts and dropping all three inside the 20. Dominic DeLuca blocked his third punt. Take away the blocked field goal, and it was a near flawless special teams performance.

Coaching/intangibles: Was it really necessary to have starters in the game, up 27-0 in the final 90 seconds last week? Nobody likes to flex their muscles more and bully lightweight opponents like James Franklin. He wonders why so many are happy when he consistently gets out-coached in the biggest games? It’s that stuff right there.

Villanova

Offense: New quarterback Pat McQuaide looked sharp in his first start, throwing for 299 yards and hitting Lucas Kopecky with the go-ahead touchdown against Colgate. Running back David Avit set the Villanova freshman record with 923 yards last season. Wide receiver Luke Colella is a Princeton transfer who caught five passes for 124 yards in his Wildcat debut.

Defense: Villanova allowed 18.2 points per game while reaching the FCS Tournament’s second round and returns eight of its top 15 tacklers. The Wildcats, though, allowed 340 yards against Colgate. Linebacker Shane Hartzell has been first team all-conference the past two seasons and piled up 256 tackles the past three seasons, including 121 last fall.

Special teams: Jack Barum was perfect on four kicks last week, connecting on a 39-yard field goal. Only one of his five kickoffs went for a touchback. Punter Luke Larsen spent the past four seasons at East Carolina and is second all-time there with a 38.6 punting average. He got off a 50-yarder against Colgate but also averaged just 39.6 yards on five punts.

Coaching/intangibles:Mark Ferrante served 30 years as Villanova assistant before taking the head coaching job. He enters his ninth season and has helped Wildcats win 10 or more games and reach the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. Three years ago, Villanova was picked to finish seventh in the league and won it while beating three ranked opponents.

Advantage: Penn State in all categories

Masse’s Record: 2-0

Masse’s Prediction: Last week should have been a wake-up call, so expect Lions to start strong … and likely run up the score, which seems like the James Franklin way. PSU 45, Villanova 3

Chris Masse is a sports writer for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, a sister paper of the Mirror and part of Ogden Newspapers.