Penn State hopes to start Rose Bowl fast
Penn State Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich is hopeful that a monthlong layoff between games won’t hinder his offensive unit out of the gates on Monday against Utah in the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions will rely on multiple options to get them there, including Yurcich himself.
“You get off to a good start by playing fast, so no hesitation, and calling the plays that we feel will keep us on schedule,” Yurcich said on Thursday. “At the same time, [call] the plays where we’re going to be explosive as well.
“We’ve got to get our running backs involved. We’ve got to get our tight ends involved. We’ve got to get our receivers involved. So trying to make sure that we have a good balance with that and trying to find the mismatches and trying to create space, playing with some tempo at the same time. All those sorts of things help in starting fast and making sure that we’re doing a great job of getting on top early.”
Utah allowed more points in first quarter than any other in 2022
The Utes were vulnerable to early scoring in 2022, allowing 77 points in the first quarter this fall. For the season, Utah only had a plus-six point differential in the first 15 minutes, which was by far its closest margin out of any quarter. The Utes outscored opponents 190-63 in the second quarter, 136-38 in the third and 111-87 in the fourth.
Penn State doubled up its opponents in the first quarter this year with an 84-42 advantage. Both teams’ high-scoring period this season, by far, was the second quarter. The Nittany Lions are hoping that they can be on the ball early on Monday.
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“I think that you’ve just gotta come out with that swagger that you’ve had all year,” said Clifford. “Just being able to say we’ve been in big games, we’ve been here before and now we’ve just got to play our most complete game, play our best game in our last hours here. Utah has a very good team, but you know, we’re excited for the matchup.”
Penn State expecting an aggressive Utes’ D
The Utes’ defense, even without top cornerback Clark Phillips III, figures to be an attacking style that Yurcich compared to that of a Big Ten team. Clifford loosely alluded to Purdue’s Cover Zero as a similar approach, but also said that the Utes play their own tough brand of football.
“It’s a different style, it’s definitely a different style. You see little nuances here and there but realistically, football is football. They play with 11 guys and we play with 11 guys, then it’s just doing some things schematically. They’re a really good football team. They have talented players across the board. It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but we’re really excited to take on that challenge.”
