Is Tyler Warren the best TE in the country? Penn State put up numbers we may never see again: What they're saying

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State beat up Kent State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions threw for 409 yards, totaled a program single-game record 718, and limited the Golden Flashes to just 67 in the 56-0 victory at Beaver Stadium. KSU coach Kenni Burns said after the game that head coach James Franklin's team has plenty in common with , which beat the MAC school 71-0 last week.

"They are both very elite football teams. Both are two teams I expect to be in the playoffs," Burns said. "They don't have many weaknesses on offense or defense. They play extremely hard. Both teams do. And when you put talent with effort, you got something special. I expect both those teams to be in the playoffs."

What else is being said about the 3-0 Nittany Lions locally and nationally? Here's a sampling.

Is Tyler Warren the best tight end in the country?

That is the question on the mind of PennLive's Johnny McGonigal. Warren threw a 17-yard touchdown pass and caught five passes for 50 yards. and a score to continue his scorching hot start to the season.

"Warren could have left after last season for the NFL," McGonigal writes. "He most likely would have been one of the top tight ends off the board after Georgia star and first-round pick Brock Bowers. Instead, the Nittany Lions are greatly benefiting from his decision to return for one more year.

"Since 2000, the Mackey Award has gone to the best tight end in college football. Penn State has never had a winner — until maybe 2024."

Read the full story here.

Introducing the Class of 2024

In his game breakdown, SI.com's Mark Wogenrich spent one section focusing on the freshmen who stepped onto the field Saturday. Thirteen did so in total, and a few of them really flashed.

"Penn State played a boatload of true freshmen, including a few in key situations," Wogenrich writes. "Safety Dejuan Lane, a player Franklin wants to test drive with KJ Winston out , and tight end Luke Reynolds caught a touchdown pass. The most compelling play featuring freshman ultimately was overturned.

"In the fourth quarter, defensive end Max Granville appeared to get a sack-fumble, which cornerback Antoine Belgrave-Shorter picked up and returned for a defensive touchdown. However, the play was ruled an incomplete pass on review, and the touchdown was waved off. Granvill stood out in his series of snaps, particularly considering he should be in high school. The freshman from Sugar Land, Texas, originally committed to Penn State's 2025 recruiting class but reclassified to 2024. He enrolled in time for training camp and has been a pleasant surprise on the defensive line."

Read the full story here.

Is Penn State ready for a ranked opponent?

That question is on the mind of many people after Penn State's 3-0 start that has featured two blowouts and one closer-than-expected win. Statecollege.com's Seth Engle took a look at the topic in his postgame story with a top-25 Illinois team coming to town on Saturday night.

"Penn State's offense is clearly more explosive than it was a season ago," Engle writes. "It's just a matter of putting the ball in Allar's hands that could be the deciding factor of this team's fate. On Saturday, it did just that by controlling the time of possession, converting on third down and getting a number of players involved.

"The question remains, can the Nittany Lions check those three boxes when it matters?"

Read the full story here.

Final word from Penn State-Kent State

It goes this week to BWI publisher Sean Fitz, who says Saturday wasn't a waste despite the lopsided score.

"Penn State was never going to get credit for beating Kent State," Fitz writes. "That's fine. It shouldn't be expected. Added to the schedule in 2021, with the Golden Flashes on the upswing in a rebuild under Sean Lewis, there was no way to know that it would be this bad. The matchup is the unfortunate downside of the disproportion of major college football.

"But it wasn't a waste of a Saturday. For those that made the trip to Happy Valley — an announced 109,526 that was closer to the actual number than most would believe — it actually ended up being a nice little Saturday. The threat of yet another lightning delay surrounded the pregame, but it was shrugged off as the lightning ended up well south of State College."