It’s easy – and not entirely unreasonable – to overlook Penn State’s upcoming meeting with UMass as nothing more than a dress rehearsal for a looming trip to Columbus to take on Ohio State. At 1-6 the Minutemen aren’t exactly putting the college football world on notice but that doesn’t mean they completely lack the potential to put Penn State on heartburn alert. If nothing else, the potential to give the Nittany Lions some explosive play envy.
“They’re maybe the most explosive team we’ve played this year,” Penn State coach James Franklin said on Tuesday. “If you look at them statistically they’re No. 2 in major college football of plays of 50 yards or more. They’re ranked No. 2 in the country. Plays of 10 yards or more, they’re ranked ninth in the country, so this is an explosive team.”
Not that you would accuse him of making that figure up, Franklin isn’t wrong, and while the offensive juggernauts that are Iowa, Northwestern and Illinois aren’t exactly a high bar to pass, UMass has found a way to move the ball quickly and in chunks. In fact the Minutemen have 104 plays this season that have gained 10+ yards [USC leads the nation with 119] while Penn State sits at just 71 of such plays over the course of this season.
Then again there is that matter of defense, a fact that has led to Penn State entering Saturday’s contest a 42.5-point favorite. UMass is giving up an average of 39.4 points per game, the second worst mark in the nation just ahead of North Texas by .4 points per game. Against Auburn – the most comparable contest to Penn State – the Minutemen gave up 59 points in in Week 2. Since then UMass has seen opponents score 40 or more points on three occasions coming off 41-24 and 52-28 defeats each of the past two weeks. For their part, the Minutemen have turned explosive plays into points, scoring 26 points per game this year, but not nearly enough to make up for a near absence of defense.
That being said, as Penn State looks to find more and more explosive plays in its own right, that doesn’t mean UMass won’t present some degree of explosiveness envy. Although, as Franklin points out, it’s not as though the Nittany Lions aren’t playing a balanced brand of football, even if it lacks explosive punch.
“I think we’re in a good place,” Franklin said of his own offense. “I think there’s still room for growth there in terms of the total package and where we can go offensively, but to your point, just the balance that we’re able to exhibit on 1st and 2nd down and even 3rd down makes you challenging to defend. I also think is complements defensively when you talk about time of possession, them creating turnovers and three-and-outs and then our offense controlling the ball and controlling the clock. Sometimes you just — you’re left with very little opportunities if you’re on the opposing sideline, and that’s frustrating, especially when you have a lead.”
And again, Franklin isn’t wrong, Penn State’s equation is winning games, and will likely win Saturday’s in convincing fashion. But if UMass can pull off a few of its explosive plays against the Nittany Lions’ lockdown defense, there might be a few murmurs of “why can’t that be us?” among the Beaver Stadium faithful. Then again as the Minutemen head towards a probable 1-7 record, be careful what you wish for.
