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“We made that a big goal going into this season, to be a more explosive offense,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “I think we’ve done that well. I’m definitely happy with the way the offense is going this year. Our commitment to explosive plays has shown in these games.”

No. 10 Penn State (2-0) will look to continue to have more long gains when it takes on prohibitive underdog Kent State (0-3) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (TV-BTN) at Beaver Stadium.

The Lions had 14 plays of at least 20 yards — eight passes and six rushes — in victories over West Virginia and Bowling Green. As a comparison, they had just four such plays in the first two games last season against the Mountaineers and Delaware.

Running back Nick Singleton has three runs of at least 40 yards, including two touchdowns, after he had none last season. Quarterback Drew Allar threw 25 touchdown passes last year in his first season as a starter, but only five of them were at least 20 yards. He already has five TD passes of 20 yards or more this season.

Penn State is averaging 11.6 yards per pass attempt and 17.6 per completion, compared to 6.8 and 11.4 last year. “With Coach K, we’re going to be aggressive,” Allar said, “so there have been more shots than what we did in the past. I think we’ve done a good job of hitting them when those shots are happening.

“Other than a couple we’d like to have back, I’ve been really happy with it. It’s a credit to Coach K and the offensive staff for getting the primaries open for me.”

On the flip side, Franklin has complained about Penn State’s third-down conversion rate, which ranks 97th nationally at 35%. Because of the increase in explosive plays, the Lions have had the fourth-fewest offensive snaps in the country.