Penn State's good plans sunk by the elements, fumbles: Film Study

Penn State football played one of the most retro, throwback games they’ve put together under head coach James Franklin. It was a defensive battle featuring 24 combined points and 86 rushing plays. The Nittany Lions accounted for 58 runs and gained 220 yards on the ground. It’s clear by the playcalling to start the game by both teams that the wet weather significantly impacted the decisions and game plans coming into the day. Today, we’ll focus on the Lion’s offense and how coordinator Mike Yurcich tried to attack the Northwestern defensive front and secondary. This week, a large section of the running game was dedicated to shifts and motions to influence the Northwestern secondary. If you missed it, we discussed how the Wildcats run a match-zone defense where the four secondary players (outside corners and safeties) match up with the skill position players. This system dictates their alignment and creates an opportunity for Yurcich to influence their location and how the safeties rotate.