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Drew Allar, freshmen dominate discussion in Penn State vs. Ohio recap: BWI Daily

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•09/12/22•

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Like it or not, Penn State football may have a quarterback controversy boiling if starter Sean Clifford struggles this season. Five-star freshman Drew Allar threw two touchdowns with the starting offense in mop up duty against Ohio last weekend. (Photo: Dan Althouse, Frank Hyatt: BWI)

Penn State defeated Ohio 46-10 on Saturday and the BWI Daily Edition is back for one last look back at the game. Host Thomas Frank Carr and senior editor Nate Bauer sit down to discuss the major stories that came out of the game.

They’ll also be taking your questions on the show. Subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube, so you don’t miss the show!

Penn State Freshmen dominate the conversation

While Penn State starting quarterback Sean Clifford led the Nittany Lions to the majority of the points on Saturday, it’s safe to say the story of the game is the five-star freshmen who made an impact around him. Nick Singleton captured the first 100-yard rushing day in over a year. Meanwhile, 2022 quarterback Drew Allar looked like a lights-out passer in his quarter of action. 

How does Penn State handle the building pressure of expectation around its quarterback room? Bauer and T-Frank will discuss that and more. 

Beyond that, they’ll look at the changes in the receiving room from week one to week two and how that shakeup reflects the optimism or pessimism of the position moving forward. 

After two weeks of game time, what do Bauer and T-Frank think of Manny Diaz’s defense? They’ll discuss the pros and cons of the two performances and how they think things will play out as the season progresses. 

They’ll also review the performance of Penn State linebacker Jonathan Sutherland, a hotly debated player this offseason. Finally, they’ll close the show with the last call for questions and some closing thoughts about the first half of September. 

Penn State pass rush explained: Defensive film review

Once again, Penn State’s defense frustrated a quality quarterback and stymied the opponent’s passing attack. Ohio’s quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed less than 50% of his passes in a 46-10 loss to Penn State. So far, the Nittany Lion’s defense has played well in new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s system. However, despite holding two quarterbacks to under 60% completion percentage, the defense has yet to generate a high amount of sacks, hits, and pressures. That’s despite having one of the highest blitz rates in the country over the first two weeks of the season. 

So we’ll look at how the system works, what some of those fixes are, and how the defense can create more big plays as they get more comfortable in the scheme. 

Offense: Penn State using Singleton the right way

Penn State pass rush efficiency 

The defensive line’s interaction with the offensive line in a traditional defense is straightforward. There are a series of individual battles that defensive linemen need to win to get to the quarterback. With five blockers and four defensive linemen in a standard four-down front, the offense has the option to double-team one blocker. 

But in Diaz’s system, nothing is standard. As we discussed last week, Diaz constantly moves defenders from gap to gap in run and pass situations. These stunts, twists, and blitzes are a coordinated attack to get specific players in one-on-one rush situations or a free rusher at the quarterback. We’ll break both down. 

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