At 0-2, there were signs of panic at Penn State. But after a double-digit loss at home to Maryland, those signs turned into full on panic as the Nittany Lions went to 0-3.

There’s plenty of finger-pointing and questioning going on concerning Happy Valley’s football team. It seems like just about everyone is trying to diagnose the reason why Penn State is where it’s at heading into a Week 4 against fellow winless Big Ten team Nebraska.

Rece Davis of ESPN’s College GameDay is the latest to try and answer those questions surrounding James Franklin’s club as he met with the media.

Davis mentioned the thing plaguing Penn State since the get-go. The team has dealt with opt-outs from players such as Micah Parsons. The Nittany Lions have also struggled at running back with the absence of Journey Brown.

“I don’t think they’ve gotten enough crisp difference-making plays on offense,” Davis said. “And I think (quarterback Sean Clifford) is a good player, but I don’t know, maybe he and (new Penn State offensive coordinator) Kirk Ciarrocca just haven’t quite hit their rhythm yet.”

Clifford has certainly been a point of criticism. Through three games, he’s gone 69 of 122 with 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Those struggles have led to Franklin inferring that backup Will Levis will receive some playing time now.

Davis, like the rest of us, just seems to be surprised at how far the Nittany Lions have fallen.

“I don’t think it’s unfixable but I’m certainly, certainly surprised by it and it seems to be just lack of explosiveness on offense and lack of consistent difference making plays at quarterback.”