Top storylines for Terry Smith, Penn State to focus on during bye week

When it comes to bye weeks, what a difference a month (or so) makes.

Penn State was 3-0 after mashing Villanova, 52-6, on Sept. 13 at Beaver Stadium.

A confident group of Nittany Lions’ players and coaches headed into their first bye week with extra time to prepare and rest for their highly anticipated Big Ten showdown with Oregon on Sept. 27 in State College.

The winner likely would be in terrific shape to take a big run at a conference championship and a national title.

The loser would have to regroup, correct some mistakes and press forward.

Dan Lanning’s Ducks beat PSU in double overtime. Oregon is now 6-1 with games remaining against Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, USC and Washington. An 11-1 regular season is possible, and the Ducks have the look of a playoff team.

Penn State, the Sept. 27 loser, has not been able to regroup.

The Lions have two major issues they have not been able to resolve.

They have not exactly pressed forward with the team on its second bye week before meeting unbeaten Ohio State in Columbus on Nov. 1.

James Franklin was fired one day after Penn State lost to Northwestern, 22-21, at home on Oct. 11.

Interim head coach Terry Smith took over, and the Lions played with gusto in a 25-24 loss to Iowa on Saturday night. The Hawkeyes were the better team late.

There are probably too many prominent Penn State bye week storylines to count for the team’s second bye week.

Here are a few that really stand out:

Terry Smith’s priorities. Smith, a former Penn State captain, knows he must address the Lions’ leaky run defense — Iowa ran for 245 yards and three touchdowns — and poor wide receiver production.

Will Smith consider staff changes or adjustments with the extra time Penn State has to get ready for the Buckeyes?

Fine-tuning his new QB’s game. Redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer endured a rough baptism in his first start, a matchup with Iowa in Iowa City. He threw two interceptions but also showed some nice movement skills in the pocket.

Grunkemeyer, who threw for 93 yards, can be better in his second start. But he will be facing arguably the best defense in the country on the road. “Grunk” must minimize his mistakes and prepare for another difficult environment.

Rest for the weary, and the wounded. It is clear Smith wanted to establish veteran Kaytron Allen as Penn State’s No. 1 back, and Allen produced a career-high 145 yards on a career-high 28 attempts.

Allen must be fresh for Ohio State, and the bye week should help guard Vega Ioane, who was unavailable against the Hawkeyes.

Time of possession is your friend. Penn State is going to be heavy underdogs in its next two games against Ohio State and Indiana.

The Lions may want to take note of their time of possession number vs. Iowa. PSU had the football for 36 minutes, 12 seconds against the Hawkeyes.

Thirty-six minutes of TOP would not be a bad thing for the Lions the rest of the way. Lean into that running game.