Penn State Football: Nittany Lion Offense Methodical in Win

To the perpetually unhappy, the knock on Penn State’s 44-13 dismantling of Ball State on Saturday afternoon might just be the methodical nature of the Nittany Lions’ victory.

Nothing showcased this quite like Penn State’s opening drive, a 13-play, 78-yard, 4:33 marathon that slowly but effectively rammed the ball down the field at will. It was a show of force through the air and on the ground. Ball State had no answer for any of it, no answer for Penn State’s speed or scheme, no answer for the Nittany Lions’ ability to move in space.

Ball State, as the score indicated, had no answer — only finding a modicum of success as James Franklin rolled out the reserves with the game already well in hand.

If anything, Penn State’s ability to move the ball in two very different ways over the course of two weeks ought to be seen more as a positive than a slight if the second win was not as flashy or aesthetically pleasing. In total 10 different Nittany Lion receivers caught passes on Saturday, six of them hauling down passes that gained 15 or more yards, while seven different players carried it.

“That’s the fun,” said receiver Jahan Dotson, who finished the day with five catches for 65-yards and a touchdown. “That’s the challenge: every week that you come out a defense is gonna play you a certain way and you’ve got to adapt to that. I feel like I did a great job today of that, just making the most of opportunities when I got the ball. And we did a great job as an offense just taking what the defense gives us.”

That was truly the key to Penn State’s success on Saturday against a Ball State team determined not to give up the big yardage gains. Even so, Penn State would have 14 of its 79 offensive snaps go for 10 or more yards, and while Dotson was lethal going over the top against Wisconsin, it was his shiftiness and change of direction that won him the day against Ball State.

In many ways, that versatility — a word that has becoming a calling card on a Penn State team that has two different players playing two different positions (Marquis Wilson WR/CB and Jesse Luketa DE/LB) — is a sign of more good than bad. While Penn State’s best teams in 2016 and 2017 were able to impose their will on opponents, Penn State’s biggest struggles in 2018 and 2020 came from an inability to fully adapt beyond the blueprint it set out to achieve. In each of the first two weeks of Penn State’s 2021 season the Nittany Lions have faced two different kinds of defenses and have found success moving the ball both in explosive fashion and methodically, happy to take whatever is in front of them.

“We went into the game knowing [it wasn’t going to be an explosive day] because that’s kind of how they play,” quarterback Sean Clifford said after the game. “They give you a lot of access, a lot of off coverage or the safeties don’t really bite. So we kind of knew going in the game that kind of feeling. It’s a first read, second read and check down. It’s just being smart with the ball. I thought we did a good job with that today.”

Clifford in particular has been sharp with his decisions so far this season. While the often criticized quarterback has not been perfect, so far this season he has completed 39 his 62 pass attempts, a mark that puts him effectively at a 63% accuracy rate without a single interception. Through 65 passes in 2020 Clifford had already thrown three interceptions as Penn State — for various reasons — found itself at 0-2.

Back on the field it has translated to success at moving the chains. Penn State racked up 31 first downs against Ball State, a figure the program has only bettered on nine occasions. The Nittany Lions also managed a 6-for-13 conversion rate on third down, going 3-for-5 on third-and-short (1-4 yards). Over the course of Penn State’s first nine drives, it scored six times — a recipe that will win more than its fair share of contests.

How much these early season trends and signs of versatility hold true against bigger and better opponents remains to be seen. But through two weeks Penn State has won two games, in two different ways. And there’s something to be said for that.

No matter how boring some people find 493 yards of offense and 44 points on a perfect afternoon in State College.