Just throw it deep.

The lack of explosiveness of the Penn State offense, so far, this season has inspired some critical rumblings from both the media and fans over the past few weeks despite the fact that the Nittany Lions are 5-0 and they have pretty much dominated each of their opponents. It’s true, the Penn State offense hasn’t been explosive. In fact, the offense ranks 121st in the country in explosive play offensive percentage.

The Nittany Lions’ rushing attack, which was expected to be the most explosive part of their offense just simply hasn’t been. The rushing attack has been efficient and ranks 26th in the country with 194.8 rushing yards per game, but Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are both averaging less than 4.4 yards per carry.

I mentioned this last week in my bye week column, that yes, the offense needs to be more explosive, but the offense is not in any way in trouble.

The rumblings picked up even more this week when head coach James Franklin’s response to a reporter was, shall we say brutally honest. When the reporter asked… and I am paraphrasing here; “Why don’t you just have Drew Allar drop back and throw a ball deep to one of the receivers and hope for the best.” Basically meaning, the PSU passing attack hasn’t taken many downfield shots this season and the reporter wanted to know why? Franklin didn’t like the question the way it was worded, and I don’t blame him on that one, and he pretty much gave that reporter the business and then followed up by saying that we don’t teach that here and ended with the comment – “hard no.”

That reporter’s frustration kind-of mirrors the fans’ frustration, but as I said last week, just pump the brakes and relax.

There’s no doubt the offense has work to do and needs to be more explosive in two weeks when it heads to Columbus to face the Buckeyes. But maybe this is who this team is. A team that’s going to grind the clock running the football and picking up first downs and a quarterback that is going to take what the defense gives him and not turn the ball over, backed up by a suffocating defense that is going to create turnovers. I know it’s not flashy, but as long as the Nittany Lions are winning games, I feel like fans and media alike should just relax a tiny bit.

Now, on to Penn State’s week seven opponent in the University of Massachusetts (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN). The Minutemen are struggling once again this season and enter this match-up with a 1-6 record with their lone win coming in week one against New Mexico State.

For those of you looking for some explosive plays through the air, you might not want to tune into the game later this afternoon. It’s going to be raining throughout the day in State College, so I’m expecting the PSU rushing attack to once again grind out yards and control the clock. UMASS ranks 128th in the country in rushing defense giving up 220.1 yards per game. Expect Singleton, Allen and Trey Potts to all have significant carries in this contest.

Las Vegas has Penn State slated as a 41.5-point favorite.

The Minutemen have not taken care of the ball very well this season as they’re ranked 90th in turnover margin in the country at (-2). Penn State on the other hand is ranked No. 1 in the country at (+11). Most of the Minutemen’s success offensively has come through the air but given the Nittany Lions ability to rush the passer and create turnovers, I wouldn’t expect to see many throws from them on the day. PSU already has 18 different players, who have recorded at least a full tackle for loss and 14 different players, who have recorded at least one full sack. The Nittany Lions are the only FBS team with 14 players registering at least one sack this season. Penn State is averaging four sacks per game, which ranks third in the country.

My pick is: Penn State 47, UMASS 9.