STATE COLLEGE - "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships" is a football adage that goes all the way back to the Vince Lombardi days.

It's been long thought that a dominant defense will always give you a chance for success, and that still holds true. But in today's game, especially in college football, a dominant offense could certainly get you there too.The Penn State defense pitched a shutout on Saturday against Akron, which is never an easy thing to do. But there's no doubt its opponent in the Akron Zips was overmatched up front, and it showed. The Nittany Lions gave up just 159 total yards of offense and held the Zips to just 4-for-17 on third down.The Penn State defense played well, but the offense's performance showed all the fans, coaches, and players across the country why the Nittany Lions were so highly-revered in the preseason.Now, many college football analysts will say that the competition wasn't great, but if you were able to sit down and watch the game, then you would see why the offense has been so highly touted. Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley, Mike Gesicki, and new playmakers DeAndre Thompkins and Juwan Johnson look like an offensive unit that could be the best in the Big Ten.Confidence was big coming into the season opener on the offensive end for Penn State. The question was would the preseason hype get in the way of that? That answer was definitively no."The confidence we have is just because of the players we have and the coaching staff we have. We believe in each other," said Barkley. "The offensive line is going to come out every single play and work their butts off. If you look to your left and right, we have skill guys [DaeSean Hamilton], Saeed [Blacknall], DeAndre [Thompkins], Trace [McSorley], Andre Robinson, Mike Gesicki, those guys are going to come out and execute."When you have a team that believes in each other, and believe that they are capable of making a play, it is kind of hard to stop."Penn State put up 52 points on the Zips and that's with leaving a potential opening score on the board when quarterback McSorley threw an interception in the end zone while his team was in the red zone. Besides McSorley's one errant throw, he was solid on the day, throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 48 yards and a score.Barkley certainly didn't disappoint on the day. He looked to be in mid-season form, mixing in power and speed in both the running and passing game. Barkley earned Co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, as he rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries, and caught three passes for 54 yards.Gesicki, the final piece of the big three, also showed his red-zone potential, catching six balls for 58 yards and two touchdowns.In all, PSU produced a balanced attack with 569 yards of total offense, 322 of which came through the air and 247 coming on the ground.There's no doubt that if Penn State is going to get back to the Big Ten Championship, its defense is going to have to play well, but if their offense can continue to put up those type of numbers, it's going to be the Nittany Lions offense that both sells tickets and could win a championship.QB CONSISTENCY ... McSorley has been consistent since taking over the starting role last season. He has thrown a touchdown pass in 16 consecutive games, dating back to the TaxSlayer Bowl after the 2015 season.BIG RUSH ... Barkley's 80-yard run against Akron was the second longest of his career, with the other (an 81-yard rush) coming against Purdue last season. Barkley and Ki-Jana Carter are the only two players in PSU history with multiple 80-plus yard rushes.RECEIVING RECORD ... DaeSean Hamilton's three catches give him 164 for his career, which is good for sole possession of fourth place at Penn State. His 74 yards receiving give him 2,059 for his career, moving him into sixth place at Penn State.