Penn State Emphasizes Vertical Passing, Sees Results in Loss to Indiana

Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer took a five-step drop and shuffled his feet as he scanned the field. The protection, aided by a block from tight end Khalil Dinkins, held up long enough for the gunslinger to work through his progressions and find wide receiver Trebor Peña streaking across the field.

The Syracuse transfer caught the ball in stride and rumbled downfield for a 43-yard play, his longest of the season, setting up a game-tying touchdown.

“You know, we practice that route all the time, and just being able to hit it a couple times felt really good,” Grunkemeyer said after the game.

It was one of several explosive plays for the Nittany Lions’ passing game, which reached 219 yards for the first time all season. Despite ultimately losing to Indiana 27-24, Penn State produced a viable downfield threat in the passing game for the first time in a long time.

“Yeah, I think just our preparation all week we emphasized it,” Grunkemeyer said. “That’s something we really worked on, getting timing with the receivers. So I think that was just a little glimpse of what we can be.”

The vertical passing game didn’t always yield success — Grunkemeyer threw an untimely interception intended for wide receiver Kyron Hudson into triple coverage to open the second half — but the successes outweighed the downsides.

In addition to the deep ball to Peña, Grunkemeyer completed a 23-yard pass to tight end Khalil Dinkins, a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Koby Howard, a 19-yard touchdown to running back Nick Singleton and two other 20-plus yarders to Peña.

“I felt super comfortable. I think the windows, just seeing the windows, I felt good,” Grunkemeyer said. “Game one, you know, maybe they felt tight. Game two loosened up a little bit, and game three started to see it better. And any of those, those guys are really separating at the top of the routes … It makes my job easy.”

When asked about the play-calling, interim head coach Terry Smith simply said “we made calls to throw the ball downfield,” delivering on a promise from earlier in the week to air it out.

That success was made possible by establishing the run game, according to Grunkemeyer.

“When (Singleton) broke that long run, you could just feel the energy and feel those throwing lanes open up so … why we’re able to find those holes (in the passing game), I think him and Kaytron are a huge part of that.”

Singleton made similar comments, saying the passing game opened things up for him underneath, leading to a 59-yard burst in the fourth quarter, which more than tripled his previous season long.

“Everybody’s trying to stop the run, stack in the box,” Singleton said. “So, (Grunkemeyer) made good throws down the field. You know, opened everything up. That’s why I got that long run.”

Regardless of which came first, it’s clear the Nittany Lions’ complementary offense — a consistent rushing attack and deep passing presence — led to positive dividends for all players against a Hoosier defense that entered at No. 3 nationally with 10.8 points allowed per game. Penn State passed 31 times and ran on 33 plays, resulting in 24 points and 336 yards — the most allowed by Indiana all season.

With remaining games at Michigan State, versus Nebraska and at Rutgers, the blueprint for offensive success has been established.