UNIVERSITY PARK — Few Penn State football fans would disagree with the statement that the Nittany Lions aren’t there yet.
The problem with this team — and the Penn State program in general — is that it is very difficult to define where “there” is.
Is it becoming bowl eligible? Another winning season? In the Top 25? Top 10? Or vying for the Big Ten East or even a national title?
All of those expectations are out there, and more. Every game, it seems, is pivotal for some important reasons, and that’s because as a team’s aspirations rise, so does the importance of every game. There is very little room for error at the top of college football.
That’s why Penn State’s loss at Pitt was decried as being very bad, as close as it was, and the worse loss at Michigan was seen as being much worse. After both games, everything up to and including the head coach was being called into question.
After wins the opposite happens. Things then are seen more in the light of what positives there were about the Lions’ performance and how those positives are going to translate into more wins as the season progresses.
So now may be a good time, with the regular season exactly half over and the bye week coming up, to look at the first six games as a whole and try to assess where this Penn State team actually stands.
Penn State is 4-2 and has won its last two games. The loss to Pitt came in a game that the Lions could have won if one or two things would have gone right down the stretch. Still, the team was doomed by a poor first half.
Against Michigan, it was simply a matter of running into an experienced, talented team playing at the top of its game. It was a blowout and a learning experience for a young PSU team.
What happened in the two games after that is perhaps more important in the long run than what happened in Ann Arbor.
Minnesota and Maryland are both good football teams and both were undefeated and highly motivated when they showed up at Beaver Stadium. Penn State could have completely lost its confidence after Michigan and gone into panic mode, but it didn’t.
Somehow, led by Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley, the team found a way to come back and tie Minnesota and then win the game in overtime.
Then the underdog Nittany Lions flew all around the field, on offense and defense, and stomped on Maryland, 38-14, for their fourth win.
It was the kind of complementary performance that coaches talk about. The defense made plays when it had to, and the offense ate up yardage, held on to the football, and ran the ball to the tune of 372 yards. Barkley had 202 of those yards and a game-changing touchdown run at the end of the second quarter.
That’s all good, and there’s more.
The offensive line, according to head coach James Franklin, is improving.
“It’s simple,” Franklin said. “We’re matured and growing up front. We’re more physical up front on the offensive line. We’re sustaining blocks and getting hat on hat. When you’re able to do that, you’re going to have a successful offense no matter how you run it.
“It starts up front. Everyone thinks this offense is like a magic wand. If you’re good up front, you have the chance to be successful and that’s the difference — we’re getting better on the offensive line.”
Coordinator Joe Moorhead’s offense, at least since the second half of the Minnesota game, is starting to perform as advertised. Everyone knows what kind of threat Barkley is, but McSorley is becoming more aggressive running the ball and is drawing defenders away from Barkley (and it was hard not to notice how well Tommy Stevens can run).
Consequently, the better the running game, the more passing opportunities will become available.
The Nittany Lion defense is doing a lot of bending, but the fact is that it has given up just three touchdowns in the last two games. The defenders also came up with two important turnovers against Maryland, especially the fumble forced by Koa Farmer after the Terps blocked a Penn State punt.
There’s bad news as well, of course. The injury situation just gets worse, and although not for sure as of this writing, OT Andrew Nelson may be the latest player gone due to injury.
The bye week may help get some players back, but the linebacker corps remains very thin. The other side of that coin is when players filter back, more and more game-experienced men will be available.
The other bad news is that immediately after the bye, the other Big 10 Goliath will come into Beaver Stadium with a big chip on its shoulder. That would be Ohio State.
There will be time to analyze the Buckeyes before the Saturday, Oct. 22, game — OSU will play at very good Wisconsin this week — but this no doubt will be another difficult exam for the Lions.
Nonetheless, after the failing grade they got at Michigan, there’s no doubt that Franklin and his players will be diligently preparing for the retest.
