CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Winning and scoring touchdowns is what college football is all about.
You usually can’t have one without the other.
Penn State, now 6-5 overall and just 2-5 in the Big Ten, certainly has proven that to be so.
In conference games in 2014, the Nittany Lions’ offense has scored just eight touchdowns in seven games, and needed overtime against Ohio State to get one of them.
Their defense has tallied a score of its own – defensive tackle Anthony Zettel’s 40 yard interception return vs. the Buckeyes. That matched the offense’s TD output for regulation that day. (Last week, Grant Haley’s pick six was also a defensive score, but came against non-con foe Temple.)
Meanwhile, special teams has contributed zero TDs.
Here’s the Big Ten TD drive tally: Rutgers – 1, Bill Belton’s 5-yard run. Northwestern — 0. Michigan – 1, Christian Hackenberg’s 10-yard pass to DaeSean Hamilton. Ohio State – 2, Hackenberg’s 19-yard pass to Saeed Blacknall; Belton’s 1-yard run in OT. Maryland – 1, Hackenberg’s 8-yard pass to Jesse James. Indiana – 1, Belton’s 92-yard run. Illinois – 2, Hackenberg’s 18-yard pass to Chris Godwin; Akeel Lynch’s 47-yard run.
(At least Hackenberg spreads around what little there is.)
TDs, and TD drives are where it’s at. Drives ending in FGs are OK, but sometimes they yield nothing out of what should have been something – like Sam Ficken’s aborted Gulla-washer of a 20-yard attempt against Illinois on Saturday.
ILLINOIS TD NOISE
Touchdowns are such a rare commodity for the Nittany Lions in 2014, that when they have the chance to get six, they should treat the opportunity like gold. Such an opportunity came with less than three minutes left in the first quarter against the Illini and Penn State on a roll, having led 7-0 after Hackenberg culminated a 9-play, 52-yard TD drive with that 18-yarder to Godwin. Hack was 3 for 3 for 33 yards on the TD drive, while Lynch (3 carries, 18 yards) and an ailing Bill Belton (3 for 1) provided complementary change-ups.
The Nittany Lions had seized the momentum. On their second possession of the game they started on their own 46 after a poor 31-yard line-drive punt by Illinois’ Justin DuVernois resulted in an 11-yard return by Jesse Della Valle. A few plays later, Brad Bars’ 32-yard run off a fake punt buoyed the Nittany Lions and kept alive the drive. With that call, James Franklin knew exactly what he was doing.
“We talked about bringing energy to the stadium,” said Franklin. It was not an easy task, given the challenges his squad faced – an 11 a.m. kick, grey day, small crowd, stinky Illinois team, bowl eligibility hangover, last week of classes…
On that second drive, a neat little run by Hamilton and four additional rushes for only 11 yards left Penn State on the Illinois 3-yard line. They needed two yards for a first down (with the accompanying four more chances) and three for a touchdown. With his team playing a poor opponent, Franklin went by the book and had the Lions try the field goal that never got off the ground. The 10-play, 43-yard drive that held such promise after starting in great field position was a great disappointment.
Going for a touchdown at that point certainly wasn’t playing by the book. But The Book since the end of the 2011 season is one that is on only one shelf in all of college football. Hindsight is 20/20, but even if they fail, going for a TD tells the players you’re here to win.
So, on its first two drives, Penn State went 95 yards on 19 plays. But they only led 7-0. And the manufacturing pretty much ended at that point.
Speaking of 19 plays: A 2014 drive for the ages was Penn State’s 19-play, 77-yard, 169-seconder to end regulation against Ohio State. And its architect was only 19. (Anti-regression alert.) On that drive, Hackenberg completed 9 of 13 passes for 65 yards to set up a 31-yard field goal by Ficken that tied the game at 17-17 and sent it into overtime. To find a Penn State scoring drive longer than those 19 plays, you have to go back 284 scoring drives. And Lord knows how many overall drives.
Not to Nit pick, but the Nittany Lions got “just” a field goal on that drive against the Buckeyes. Only nine seconds remained when Ficken kicked the field goal, so a touchdown was an improbability. But touchdown drives win games. In OT of that contest, Ohio State scored a pair of TDs and Penn State managed only one, and lost 31-24.
McGLOIN’S DRIVE FOR TOUCHDOWNS
Hackenberg’s predecessor, Matt McGloin, and I are kindred spirits in our love of touchdown drives. He led ’em and I counted ’em.
In the summer of 2011, while trying to figure how the 7-6 fall of 2010 really fell apart, I tallied up all the scoring drives from the 2010 season, when McGloin and Rob Bolden split quarterbacking duties.
In 2010, both McGloin and Bolden played 27 quarters. McGloin led 24 touchdown drives and Bolden led 11. After crunching those statistics, I saw McGloin and told him I had done, then asked him to guess the numbers.
Happily and confidently, McGloin did. He was off by one on his, and dead-on with Bolden’s.
Chicks may dig the long ball, but QBs live for touchdown drives.
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