Penn State’s plan against Villanova? Use this final tune-up game to fix ‘mental mistakes’

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — With nonconference play nearing its end and a White Out date with No. 4 Oregon fast approaching, looking ahead would be understandable.

But Kenny Woseley Jr. isn’t about looking into the future. Right now, the redshirt freshman cornerback has only one thing on his mind entering Saturday: Ensuring that No. 2 Penn State goes “1-0″ against Villanova.

“I’m focused on Villanova right now,” he said. “I’m not worried about what’s going on in the future. [It’s just] ’Nova and [going] 1-0. That’s it.”

When the Nittany Lions (2-0) welcome the Wildcats (1-0) to Beaver Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m., FS1), they’ll be going after their fifth straight 3-0 start. Penn State is heavily favored in this matchup, a 48.5-point favorite according to oddsmakers as of Friday, but despite that, coach James Franklin said his team still has areas to improve.

Penn State shut out Florida International, 34-0, last Saturday, but the score told a different story than the performance, especially on offense.

The Nittany Lions scored just 10 first-half points and converted on three of their 12 third-down attempts, including a pair of turnovers on downs. Franklin said his team’s lack of third-down conversions affected the offense’s rhythm, which he believes can be solved by creating more explosive plays.

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“We were 10.9% explosive on Saturday,” Franklin said. “And we’ve got to be more effective on third down. That’s why we weren’t able to get it into a rhythm.”

Franklin wasn’t pleased with his team’s five dropped passes against the Panthers, either.

“We have got to catch the ball. We had too many drops,” Franklin said. “That JUGS machine should be burning up in the Lasch Building [the site of the team’s training facility] right now.”

Khalil Dinkins caught a touchdown but dropped two passes against FIU. He said Penn State can avoid those drops, which he labeled as mostly “mental mistakes,” by getting on the jugs and talking through the details with teammates.

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While Andy Kotelnicki’s offense faltered at times last Saturday, Luke Reynolds’ performance did not. The sophomore tight end enjoyed a career day and caught seven passes for 58 yards against the Panthers. He believes the rest of the offense will follow suit.

“Every team’s journey is different,” Reynolds said. “We’ll break through, and we’ll be one of the most explosive offenses in the country. I’m very confident.”

Ethan Grunkemeyer took the backup quarterback reps during Wednesday’s practice for the third straight week. Franklin has maintained that the backup battle will continue throughout the season, but for now, it appears that the redshirt freshman will serve as Allar’s No. 2 against the Wildcats.

Grunkemeyer completed seven of his nine pass attempts and scored a rushing touchdown against Nevada but did not play against FIU.

Quinton Martin Jr., who’s competing for the third running back spot on the depth chart, was not available in Week 1 because of some “bumps and bruises,” Franklin said Wednesday.

Cam Wallace and Corey Smith are the only running backs outside Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen to record rushes this season. Franklin named Martin one of three guys, alongside Wallace and Smith, who were battling for the third running back position on the depth chart.

“You’d like for someone to take the [third running back] job, but if not, we’ll just keep rotating until somebody does,” Franklin said.