This question may be best-suited for Danica Patrick:
Which offense is better — Penn State’s racy NASCAR? Or Nebraska’s scheme that is part-dirt track, part-monster truck, part-Indy?
Both teams motor into the end zone in a hurry, but through five games of the Big Ten schedule their offensive engines are not alike.
“I would say the biggest similarity is that we do like to play up-tempo,” Penn State coach Bill O’Brien said on Tuesday, comparing the two offenses. “But I would say totally different offensive schemes.”
So, is this a game better suited for the Speed Channel? As it is, Pogo (“We have met the enemy…) will meet Pogo (…and he is us.”) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium, with ABC televising the game.
Under senior quarterback Matt McGloin – the conference’s top passer – Penn State may seemingly just dink and dump, with a big shot now and then to ARob or BMF. But on its way to a 4-1 Big Ten record (6-3 overall), the Nittany Lions are perfectly balanced in-conference: 218 runs and 219 passes.
Nebraska (4-1, 7-2), meanwhile, has a true dual threat in Taylor Martinez, and as a team the Cornhuskers run 58 percent of the time (217 runs, 158 passes) in Big Ten games.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound McGloin throws for a league-high 270.7 yards per game, and has accounted for 23 touchdowns – 18 passing and five on the ground. Martinez, for his part, ranks second in the Big Ten with 215.7 yards passing per game, with 18 TDs passing and eight running. Similar in size to McGloin at 6-1, 200 pounds, the junior from Corona, Calif., differs from Matt The Missile in that he also runs per game for 74 yards, with a 5.7-yard average. McG nets 1.0 yards per contest.
They, and their offenses, are alike. But different.
And the Cornhuskers, with Bo Pelini in his fifth season as head coach, are different than they used to be. Like even a year ago.
“Our kids don’t panic, they don’t stop believing they’re going to get it done,” Pelini said this week. “I’d say we didn’t have those qualities in the past. I think we’re more capable.”
Ain’t that the truth.
Three times in the Big Ten this season the ‘Huskers came from back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to snatch victory from defeat. They were down 17 points to Wisconsin in the third quarter, but won, 30-27. They were behind by 12 in the fourth quarter at Northwestern, yet won, 29-28. And last week against an unsteady Michigan State squad, Nebraska was down 10 points in the fourth quarter, but won again, 28-24.
“I think our guys have a lot more confidence. Obviously, I think there’s a lot of heart in this football team,” Pelini said. “We’re used to being up on the ball and moving fast. We’re going to the line a lot and our signaling is better. We’re able to run a lot more plays.”
But not as many as Penn State. No matter, both offenses move the ball with great alacrity. With these two squads, Stan Ridgway had it right: “Just drive, she said.”
Let’s take a look at the two high-octane offenses, using only their five Big Ten games as measuring sticks. Which means, among other things, the Nittany Lions’ losses to Ohio and Virginia are not included. And neither is the ‘Huskers defeat in Pasadena, Calif., to UCLA.
Average plays per game: Penn State 87, Nebraska 77.
Average scoring drive: Penn State – 8.3 plays, 61 yards, 2 minutes, 50 seconds. Nebraska – 6.5 plays, 53 yards, 2:26. Penn State’s longest scoring drives were, by yards (97) and time (6:27); Nebraska’s best clocked in at 92 yards and 5:13.
Scoring drives over 50 yards: Penn State 16, Nebraska 15. Over 70 yards: 10 each. Over 80 yards: Penn State 7, Nebraska 3.
Average points scored per game: Penn State 36.2, Nebraska 29.6.
Average points allowed per game: Penn State 18.6, Nebraska 30.2. This is the difference-maker, the one that will most likely win Penn State the game. Against common foes Ohio State and Northwestern, Penn State yielded 63 points and Nebraska gave up 92.
Time of possession: Penn State 32:32, Nebraska 30:26.
All of these numbers come with a pair of caveats:
1. Nebraska has had a tougher conference slate. Both teams have played Ohio State and Northwestern. But Nebraska has also played Michigan State, Michigan State and Wisconsin (a combined 17-11 overall). Penn State, meanwhile, has played Illinois, Purdue and Iowa (9-18).
2. These are mere numbers, which O’Brien eschews. Just last week he said, “As far as comparing statistics, like I always say, ‘Stats are for you know what.’ ”
O’Brien puts greater stock in his players. As Tom Bradley – Penn State’s interim head coach when it lost 17-14 in a very emotional game in Beaver Stadium Nov. 12, 2011, the week when Joe Paterno was fired – always said, “You don’t win with X’s and O’s. You win with Jimmys and Joes.”
O’Brien’s Joes on defense include five seniors and four juniors as starters. (And that includes defensive tackle, whether either injured defensive tackle Jordan or his backup, fifth-year senior James Terry, will start.) Part of their experience includes four months of going head-to-head against McGloin, Allen Robinson and Co. in spring, summer and in-season practice.
“No. 1, Nebraska does a great job with their up-tempo, no-huddle package,” O’Brien said, “so basically every time we have practiced that on the practice field (it has been against) some form of fast-pace, no-huddle. Hopefully, our players will be ready for the tempo. You never totally get that same tempo in practice that you’re going to get in a game — but hopefully they will do it.”
So, I asked O’Brien at his Tuesday presser, do you do anything to slow down Nebraska?
The short answer is, of course: Yes.
O’Brien’s answer: I’m not telling.
“There are different things we do to try to slow the tempo down a little bit,” he replied, “but I will keep that between myself and our coaches. But, there are tricks of the trade that you can do to slow some things down.”
You go, Daddy.
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