Penn State offensive line 'battled' Purdue, still needs work

Trying to enjoy his team’s 35-31 season-opening win at Purdue on Thursday night, Penn State head coach James Franklin couldn’t ignore reality. His Nittany Lions, having produced a game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown drive, were still lacking up front. 

A sore spot through recent seasons at Penn State, the offensive line still has work to do, he said.

“I think overall, I think the line battled,” Franklin said. “But, too many pressures, too many sacks, too many runs where the running backs didn’t have a situation to really get going and be open in space and make the safety miss. So, we got to keep chipping away at that.”

Penn State’s opening blocking performance

The postgame statistics betray the reality of the game, though. Credited with zero quarterback hurries, the Purdue defense notched just one sack and finished with three tackles for a loss.

The Pro Football Focus postmortem, however, shows that the Nittany Lion offensive line starters had an inconsistent performance. 

In pass blocking, left tackle Olu Fashanu was the brightest of the bunch, allowing no hurries, hits, or pressures over 44 pass snaps. Backup right tackle Bryce Effner fared similarly, albeit in just 17 reps. 

The rest of the line was not as successful. Center Juice Scruggs and left guard Hunter Nourzad were docked for one QB hurry and pressure apiece. Landon Tengwall allowed a hit, two hurries, and three pressures. Sal Wormley took a hurry, meanwhile, and Caedan Wallace had the toughest night of the bunch, allowing the only sack while giving up three hurries and four pressures. 

Asked in the postgame about Wallace’s reduced snap count, finishing with 58 of 78 total, Franklin noted the obvious.

“We were planning on rotating Effner in, anyway,” he said. “But Caedan has got some things he’s got to work on.”

Though quarterback Sean Clifford was forced to battle through pressures throughout the evening, he said afterward that he’s committed to hanging tough in the pocket. And, more importantly, his insistence on doing so is tied to his confidence in the Nittany Lions’ offensive line. 

“I’m going to leave it all on the line this year. I’ll do anything in my power to make the play to win the game and I just see myself staying in the pocket more,” Clifford told reporters. “I got a lot of trust in the guys up front, and that’s where it starts.”

Run-game necessities

Penn State’s run-blocking wasn’t much better, both on the stat page and according to PFF.

Finishing the game with 98 net rushing yards, the Nittany Lions’ rushing-game struggles of 2021 carried into the new season. Adjusted to exclude Clifford’s five attempts for 11 yards, Penn State’s running back trio of Kaytron Allen (8 carries, 31 yards), Keyvone Lee (9/30), and Nick Singleton (9/22) managed 83 yards on 26 attempts (3.2 ypc).

In a game with 29 called runs, only Wormley finished with an above-average final grade in his run blocking from PFF while Tengwall and Fashanu, in particular, struggled with run-blocking grades of 56.1 and 58.6, respectively. 

Worse, as Franklin identified from the outset of his postgame press conference, Penn State also was unable to produce one of its offseason areas of emphasis.

“We weren’t able to get any explosive runs, which is something that we’re committed to doing,” Franklin said. 

Next steps

Set to next face Ohio on Saturday at Beaver Stadium (noon, ABC), Penn State will have an opportunity to make gains. Winning a 41-38 decision to Florida Atlantic in their opener, the Bobcats allowed 464 yards of total offense. 

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Ohio ranks 109th nationally for defensive efficiency following the performance.