Penn State win sets up distinct possibilities: Sunday Notebook

Penn State football emerged with a 33-14 win over Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon. Only the first and last quarter felt much like it, though.

Struggling to maintain the hot start that produced an early 14-0 advantage, the Nittany Lions hit a second-quarter lull on both sides of the ball. Tied 14-14 until an interception led to advantageous field position late in the first half, followed by a gifted red zone possession to open the second half, head coach James Franklin left the experience acknowledging feeling somewhat confounded.

“We had a good week of practice and preparation, but the game left you sitting there. Whether it was our focus, whether it was seeing, whether it was big play potential. When you look again at the statistics sheet, you feel good about it, but it did not necessarily always feel that way during the game,” he said. “We were not as consistent as we need to be with some of the things that we are doing in all three phases, offense, defense, and special teams. 

“I thought we had a good week of practice. We did enough to be 1-0 this week and we will celebrate that. But… there is a lot that we still must get corrected between now and next Saturday.”

Before moving on to Northwestern, a team struggling mightily after a 1-0 start to the 2022 season, let’s take another look at where the Nittany Lions stand coming out of Week Four.

Here are a few news, notes, and observations to pass along:

Penn State’s shared offensive responsibility

Reflecting on Penn State’s offensive performance Saturday, a few things stand out. But, as Franklin noted, that includes the stat page and the eye test. 

Statistically, Sean Clifford had a fine afternoon. He completed 22 of 34 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. His 147.4 QB rating and 65 completion percentage were both directly in line with his season averages.

The eye test said something else, though.

While managing to avoid taking a sack in the face of too much Central Michigan pressure, Clifford’s 8-for-8 start became 15-for-25 by the end of the first half. Worse for both Clifford and Penn State, the passes he did complete after the start went for 8, 1, 0, 29, 4, 3, and 5 yards.

What had been an explosive passing game early in the first quarter, completing passes of 27, 15, 5 (TD), 11, (4), -1, 26, and 16 yards, was completely upended. As opposed to single-digit yardage being limited only by the goal line, Penn State’s passing attack was bottled up by a defense that was daring the Nittany Lions to exploit it. 

“We have to be able to hurt people when they line up in that defense. Although we were effective, we didn’t hurt people,” Franklin said. “When people play cover zero, you should be excited on offense and you should create huge, explosive plays. Because, if you break one tackle or make one guy miss, there’s no one left. We didn’t do that today, and that made it harder than it needed to be in the run game and the passing game.”

Crediting Central Michigan for its strategic approach and daring, the bottom line reality is that responsibility has to be shared. 

The Nittany Lions’ offensive line and running backs struggled at times with pass protection. Receivers and tight ends dropped very catchable passes. The running game itself wasn’t particularly effective until Kaytron Allen got going on the final possession of the first half. And, yes, when Clifford did have some opportunities, he didn’t always execute them. 

Diagnosing the issues, Franklin landed on the Clifford Barometer® point we’ve stressed repeatedly this offseason. Beyond serviceable as Penn State’s quarterback, when pieces surrounding him fail, the ask is too tall for Clifford to personally lift the offense. When the entirety of the group pulls its weight, however, is when the Nittany Lions can hum.

“I think for us on offense, we have to be able to run and pass effectively. When we get out of whack and do one too much compared to the other, that is where we are not at our best,” Franklin said. “We have to continue to mix in the run. Our screen game has been effective for us as well as movement in the pockets. We need to continue doing all those things, but it is not specific to one position or one guy, it is all of it. 

“We must make sure that we can consistently run the ball against whoever we play, whether it is on the road in the SEC, or whether it is home non-conference. And we have to find a way to consistently be able to run the ball to stay on schedule, be as efficient as we can, and be explosive as an offense.”

Off days will happen. Against Central Michigan, gifted outstanding field position by a ball-hawking defense finding its stride, Penn State can get away with it. That might even be the case in future games this season. 

If it becomes the norm, as it was through much of the 2021 season, the context changes. And, most important, it will be incumbent upon Franklin, Yurcich, Clifford, and every other piece of the offensive coaching staff and personnel groupings to avoid that fate. 

Bend but don’t break D

Discussing Manny Diaz’s influence on the program, James Franklin said Thursday that you could see the week-by-week progress. While it might not have always felt like it Saturday, its explosion of opportunism continued. 

The four turnovers, twice picking off quarterback Daniel Richardson, forcing a turnover on downs in the red zone, and nabbing a muffed punt return, dictated the game. With Penn State cashing in for touchdowns on drives of 15, 34, and 7 yards, two coming off those turnovers and the longest thanks to a Parker Washington punt return, the Nittany Lions’ path to the end zone was frequently unencumbered thanks to those defensive contributions.

What again crystallized for Penn State, however, is its blueprint to success. Though the Chippewas had five possessions of 43-or-more yards, only two resulted in points for the visitors.

“It’s just the bend-don’t-break. I feel like it started last year, us having a really good red zone defense,” Curtis Jacobs said. “So it’s just us knowing that we can give up a good play here and there. But, we cannot let them get in the end zone. That is the main goal.”

On the stat page, Penn State allowed 10 explosive plays to Central Michigan. None exceeded 25 yards. Altogether, they averaged 17 yards per explosive play, and none went for touchdowns.

Not that Penn State won’t want to improve on those numbers. But, relying on creating turnovers and limiting touchdowns, that’s a blueprint Diaz and the defense will continue to push. 

Opportunity at hand for Penn State

This requires going down the psyche rabbit hole a little bit. Something of a fool’s errand to diagnose, the broad question coming out of the weekend is easier to posit.

Northwestern is struggling. Penn State is 4-0 with a pair of quality road wins.

Given the nature of the win on Saturday, the Nittany Lions won’t likely spend the week feeling either is true. 

Certainly, Franklin and his staff will have every reason to lean into the reality that, with a bye week coming, and a quickly approaching heavyweight fight at Michigan now in the national consciousness, Penn State’s Saturday performance diminished the right of anyone in the program to even remotely consider any of those elements.

“A lot to be proud of and a big reason why we’re 1-0 today. But there are things that we have to get cleaned up and corrected,” Franklin said. “Overall, we’re happy to be 1-0, we’ll enjoy it for the night. We need to get better next week, starting on Sunday. This film will be really important to watch and evaluate and critique. But again, I’m pleased and happy to be 1-0 and we’ll go from there.”

A winning hiccup, the stage is set for a few ensuing possibilities. Either Penn State can get better from its first month or opponents will lay into weaknesses that don’t see improvements. 

The rest of the Nittany Lions’ season could depend on which direction they take from here.