Penn State Football: Yurcich on Small Margins, Ahead of a Season That Could Be Decided by Them

Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich is sitting on a bench, legs outstretched on the Beaver Stadium sideline as he looks towards the sky and contemplates his answer.

The question: What do you wish people understood? What do you want to scream from the mountain tops?

“I don’t want to be presumptuous to think that the audience I’m speaking to … I think a lot of people, especially our fan base, understand what football is all about,” Yurcich says. “So for me to sound off on that [would] sound arrogant.”

But with that caveat aside, Yurcich pauses again as he thinks.

“Football is a very complex game,” Yurcich says as he continues. “It’s a very tough game. It’s a very physical game. It’s very demanding. And it’s a humbling game. So, you know, I guess one thing about football or offensive football is the margins are very small. That’s one thing that I guess if you put a gun to my head, I’d have to say or preach.”

Yurcich has certainly experienced small margins throughout his short time in State College. In 2021, Penn State lost to Iowa by three points, to Illinois in nine overtimes, to Ohio State by just nine, Michigan by four and Michigan State by three. The Nittany Lions were perpetually balancing between the margins that were going their way and the margins they couldn’t overcome. An injury here, the flu there.

Take for example the injury of quarterback Sean Clifford that knocked him out of the Iowa game with Penn State seemingly in control in the early stages of the first half. Clifford’s injury would hobble him for the rest of the season and turn more than a few losses into “what ifs.” Of course, you could say the same about missed tackles, dropped passes, penalties, bad calls or no calls. The little things add up, and sometimes you can’t overcome the big things they become.

“You take a look at the NFL. Do you remember that year that Peyton Manning got hurt? The Colts went [2-14]. So you’re talking about margins, right,” Yurcich said. “That’s one position. And I know we’re talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time missing from the team, but still, what the record would have been. So, you know, offense, defense, special teams, a penalty here, a penalty there. Those little things just, they all add up and make a difference. When a kicker makes a kick, ‘he won the game’ when a kicker misses the kick ‘he lost game.’ That’s not so. There’s a lot of little plays within that game that could have been the difference. The margins are small.”

It’s interesting to look back at the moments the margins went Penn State’s way and against it. What if that blocked kick against Ohio State bounced away from Grant Haley instead of toward him? What if Ohio State hadn’t beaten Michigan in overtime to send the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten Championship? What if Justin Fields had stayed committed to Penn State? What if players hadn’t opted out of the bowl game? What if the playoff committee had picked Penn State in 2016. What if Penn State converted 4th-and-5. What if Saquon Barkley had stayed committed to Rutgers?

What if?

“It’s been football my whole life,” Yurcich said looking out at the field. “You know, good seasons and bad seasons, or mediocre seasons or whatever. It’s always it’s about the margins. It’s part of it.”