Penn State offense picks wrong game for balance; why didn't it pass more?: One Big Thing

East Lansing, Mich. — Penn State attempted the fewest passes of any Big Ten opponent that played the nation’s worst pass defense this season on Saturday.

That decision, in part, led to a 30-27 loss at Michigan State inside of Spartan Stadium.

The Lions (7-5) attempted 34 passes compared to 26 runs on a snowy, and at times windy, day here. If that was the reason for not attacking the biggest weakness Michigan State had, then so be it. That was not pointed to, however, following the game.

“We were trying to mix the run game all day long, try to help our offensive linemen in protection, but obviously we weren’t able to run the ball consistently enough like we needed to,” Penn State coach James Franklin said

“We felt like we needed to mix the run game in the entire game.”

In the end, it led to far too many situations where an attack that averaged 13.6 yards per completion compared to 2.3 yards per carry relied entirely too much on something it hasn’t done well all season. That’s running the ball, of course. Michigan State invited the Lions to try and force their ground game to work with light boxes, especially in the second half. It didn’t run well enough.

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Inside the Penn State numbers

Before a late drive that pulled Penn State to within three, it actually had 24 runs compared to 23 passes. So, pull out that final possession, where the Lions were down 10, and it’s clear that balance was the goal.

It is unclear why.

Michigan State entered the game with the No. 130 pass defense out of 130 FBS teams. It actually held the Lions, who finished with 313 yards through the air, under their season average of 339.9 passing yards allowed.

Almost every Spartans opponent has decided to throw at will. Western Kentucky tops the list with 65 attempts. Four opponents threw it more than 50 times against head coach Mel Tucker’s team. Only two programs it has faced besides Penn State have threw it less than 40 times, and Nebraska was the lowest of all Big Ten foes at 36.

Penn State’s number would have certainly been higher if not for a Keyvone Lee fumble that ended one drive or a John Lovett kickoff return fumble that stopped another before it even started. However, the intent was clear. For example, after MSU went up 23-20, the Lions ran on nine of their next 15 plays, including one three-and-out that featured three carries for eight yards that ended with the Lee fumble.

For a team that has attempted 44 or more passes in four games this year, it didn’t make sense. History has showed us that they can dial up endless passes when necessary. That seemed to be needed on this day. However, that was not in the game plan for whatever reason.

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They said it

“It’s a coaches decision,” quarterback Sean Clifford said. “I thought we were doing pretty well in the pass game, but you know, we also got some big ones in the run game. So, play calling is not my expertise. I just run it.”

Added receiver Jahan Dotson:

“During the week, we knew we were going to be throwing the ball around no matter what the conditions were, and we did that today. I don’t know how many passes Sean threw, but we were connected. We knew we were going to come in here and have a great challenge in front of us, and I feel like we made the most of opportunities.”

There just weren’t enough of them to pull out a victory in the regular season finale.

Penn State will wait a week until it finds out who its bowl opponent will be.