Penn State’s offense is a unique, and somewhat problematic, thing to unpack. The Nittany Lions average 40.6 points per game, almost a full touchdown more per contest than they did last season. Whether or not that holds remains to be seen (it probably won’t), but Penn State is currently only outpaced on the scoreboard by 11 other teams and in total it has scored 30+ in 12-straight contests, which is the nation’s longest active streak.
The Nittany Lions also lead the nation in time of possession, have yet to turn over the ball while on offense and are bettered by only two teams (Washington and Toledo) in scoring touchdowns in the red zone, all while having given up just three sacks this season through five games.
In short, there are a lot of things to like about how Penn State is playing right now. Consider that this offensive group is backed up by an increasingly elite defense, and the Nittany Lions should be favored in every game the rest of the season except those against Michigan and Ohio State. In and of itself, Penn State is one of the best all-around teams in the country. There’s a reason they’re ranked in the top 10 and should be well on their way to another 10-, 11- or 12-win season.
But Penn State’s offense is also not particularly sexy, and lacks the explosiveness that seems likely the missing link in those two biggest games. There’s really no rule that an offense has to *look* good, but there’s something to be said about the style and quality that the best teams in the nation often have. While it’s certainly possible that a grind-it-out approach could be the key to beating Ohio State and/or Michigan, it’s a risky proposition that this particular team is the one to reinvent the wheel. If you want to win big games, you have to be explosive.
So when it’s all said and done, yes, the Nittany Lions are good — but they know they have to get better.
“We have to continue to improve and the areas that we need to improve are more explosive plays, and we know that,” Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said on Tuesday. “At the same time, we’re doing some good things, and our offense has to understand that we’re doing a lot of difficult things well: putting long drives together, keeping the defense off the field, which helps them play better. We’re playing team offense, but we need to improve in certain areas, and the sexiness, we do understand there is an area for that, but we have to keep very important things important.”
Where that explosiveness comes from is a bit of a group effort. Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar has avoided the mistakes, but also has seen his form dip slightly in the thick of Big Ten play. This was perhaps to be expected against better teams in his first true go-round as a college quarterback, but while a 64.6% accuracy clip isn’t bad, it could be better.
Then again, so could his receivers and the running game backstopping it. In the end, Penn State has 71 plays of 10+ yards, but only one team has fewer gains of 20+ yards in all of Division I football. While Allar might be the one to throw the passes, somebody has to be open down the field to catch them, too.
“He’s done a really good job taking what the defense is giving him and being patient,” Yurcich added. “In the last game he did a really good job going through his progressions and checking down, and some of those turned into explosive [plays]. He’s been patient and hasn’t really forced the ball. Hasn’t played perfect by any stretch but has shown really good progress, and I like where he’s headed.”
The good news for Penn State is that the Nittany Lions have a bye week and ostensibly a walk-through game against UMass to work on things prior to a trip to Columbus. The bad news: few teams suddenly change identity in the midway point of the year, and if the Nittany Lions haven’t be able to crank out explosive plays through five games, it’s hard to imagine that trend doing a 180 out of the blue.
Either way, as Yurcich noted on Tuesday, “the clock is ticking.”
