In spite of, and maybe because of, a disjointed first half on both sides of the ball, the Nittany Lions produced an explosive 45-13 win to dispatch Buffalo Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
Sifting through the game itself, one in which Penn State’s vaunted defense allowed a whopping 429 yards of offense but still held the Bulls to just 13 points, and one in which the Nittany Lion offense converted only 2 of 9 third downs but still managed 357 yards in just 17 minutes, 28 seconds of possession, here are some of the primary takeaways:
1) James Franklin spent the offseason talking about the importance of Penn State’s defense not just being stout but also utilizing its talents to take advantage of opportunities and create turnovers.
Saturday night proved his point.
Lost in an offensive mire in which the Nittany Lions simply couldn’t string together complete scoring possessions, a Ricky Slade fumble in the fringe red zone to open the second half exacerbated the issue.
But, in forcing the Bulls into a third-and-6 in the immediate aftermath, corner John Reid was able to take advantage of an obvious passing down, reading the break of his man to perfection and stepping in front of Matt Myers’ pass. The interception went 38 yards the other way, untouched into the end zone, to give Penn State a 14-10 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
From Reid’s defensive teammates to the Nittany Lions on offense needing a boost, the play proved to be the undeniable turning point necessary to springboard Penn State into the win. But the reality for Penn State’s defense this season, as it continues to grow and evolve, is that internally, the hope is that it’s an asset that can complement the offense rather than the impetus for bailing it out.
“I think it is a big part of who we want to be and who we need to be,” Franklin said. “Creating turnovers on defense and then having that mentality when we do get the turnover that we are going to score points on defense.”
Last season, the Nittany Lions finished 56th nationally for turnovers gained with 20 on the year, against 87th nationally with 21 turnovers lost. The year prior though, in 2017, the Nittany Lions’ turnovers gained was 23rd nationally with 25 for the season against just 13 lost, which was eighth.
Through the first two games of the season, the Nittany Lions now have three turnovers gained, including a pair of interceptions by Reid and Cam Brown’s forced fumble in the first quarter. All three turnovers gained have resulted in points with two touchdowns Saturday night and a field goal against the Vandals.
“Our goal is always to get turnovers. Our goal is to get three a game,” said safety Garrett Taylor. “We came up short, but getting our hands on the ball is something we focused on this offseason and to see that take over into the game felt good.”
2) Another point worth keeping in mind for Penn State’s defense after an eye-opening, physical performance by the Bulls in which the visitors produced 22 first downs and 429 yards of offense, is that the Nittany Lions kept their wits about them in spite of a brutal set of circumstances.
Two stats in the aftermath demonstrated as much.
The first is that with just 17 minutes, 28 seconds of possession - the lowest amount in at least 25 years and likely more - the Nittany Lion defense was on the field almost the whole evening. Granted, the defense itself is at least partially responsible for as much given its inability to get off the field on third downs, particularly in the first half. The second responsibility, of course, falls to a Penn State offense that produced just 14 first downs all night and again finished 2 of 9 on third downs.
(Remarkably, Penn State now has the nation’s second-highest scoring offense in college football at 62.0 points per game while ranking No. 128 out of 130 programs with a 17.6 percent conversion on third downs. The Nittany Lions have not yet mastered the art of sustaining offensive possessions.)
But the second point to stand out after the game was that Buffalo’s 19-play possession bridging the end of the first quarter and the start of the second was the longest since at least 2002, and the time of the possession was the longest by a Penn State opponent since 2007. Still, in holding the Bulls to a field goal on the possession, the damage was mitigated at least somewhat and became a backbreaker of sorts.
And by the second half, after allowing 7 of 12 third-down conversions in the first half, the Nittany Lions buckled down to give the Bulls conversions on just 3 of 11 on third downs the rest of the way.
“They did a great job on first down, which made manageable second and third downs for them, which I think was a huge part of the game when you talk about time of possession and things like that,” said head coach James Franklin.
3) For as much as Penn State’s offense might have caused consternation among the Nittany Lion faithful Saturday night for its inability to produce in the running game, the program is likely to leave the experience somewhat emboldened.
Certainly, the Bulls deserve some credit right off the bat for being tough and physical on both sides of the ball in the trenches. Whether or not Penn State was prepared for it is something the program will have to grapple with and adjust to internally, but the experience is one that can only help it evolve and develop for a schedule that only gets tougher moving forward.
But ultimately offensively, Penn State can now know that it is capable of adjusting to and overcoming a defense determined to eliminate an entire facet of the game. In the Bulls’ case, that meant stopping the Lions’ running backs and forcing quarterback Sean Clifford to beat them through the air, which the Nittany Lions did.
“From a run game perspective, watching it and taking notes throughout the game, I don’t think we were finishing blocks. I think they were also very committed to stopping the run with their cover-four defense that they play, so safeties are always getting extra guys in the box and they are a downhill, physical team,” Franklin said. “That is also why we're able to make some big plays in the passing game. We actually had some more, we got a couple of posts that Sean has got to lead that guy across the field and let him run away from the defender. I think one was an interference call or one that we just left on the wrong angle. We knew that coming in, that is the style of defense they play. Try to make it one-dimensional and get the safeties involved in the run game and make you beat them throwing the ball. If you look at our numbers, we did that in the second half just not as well in the first half.”
As opposed to Penn State’s status quo through two years of Joe Moorhead in which the first couple of offensive possessions were effectively test-runs from which to immediately adjust, Franklin simply noted that the adjustments that came in Penn State’s approach need to come sooner in the game.
“Typically if you have looked at us we have been able to make some good adjustments after our first couple drives once we see what people are trying to do to attack us. That’s where I think we need to improve with the young team. We need to be able to go to the sideline, get on the board and make the adjustments that we need to make to get things corrected,” Franklin said. “I think that is what we were able to do in the second half. They still had some success, but not like in the first half. So to me, that is the next step for us, to make sure that our players understand, depending on opponents, we’re not going to be able to wait until the halftime to make the corrections that we need to make. We need to make them as soon as possible.”
4) What’s going to be interesting to watch for the Nittany Lion offense as it moves forward this season is its quick-strike capability.
Flatly, the home run was a hallmark of Penn State’s highly successful offenses in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. That disappeared last season as a few injuries and limited depth on the offensive side of the ball, plus a receiving corps that lost its mojo, meant an overall philosophy change into a more conservative offensive approach.
The early offensive numbers, however, are distinctly reminiscent to the first four games of the ’18 campaign. The question is whether or not that will carry over to next week’s game against Pitt and, maybe more important, into the Big Ten schedule.
“I thought that we were able to get some explosive plays. I thought the inconsistency still stayed there, we just became more explosive in the second half,” Franklin said. “We had a lot of big plays, touchdowns, one-play drives which puts our defense in a tough spot because they are having to go right back onto the field. We just have to be more consistent.
“Offensively, we just have to be more consistent. In that game... very explosive. We averaged over seven yards per play, but it was too inconsistent. It was either a touchdown or a lot of times three-and-out. So, we have to be more consistent there and obviously, our third-down stuff will help us.”
The quote is from Franklin on Saturday evening, but it mirrors his comments from the onset of Moorhead’s tenure with the Nittany Lions in which the same set of circumstances held true.
Sifting through the game itself, one in which Penn State’s vaunted defense allowed a whopping 429 yards of offense but still held the Bulls to just 13 points, and one in which the Nittany Lion offense converted only 2 of 9 third downs but still managed 357 yards in just 17 minutes, 28 seconds of possession, here are some of the primary takeaways:
1) James Franklin spent the offseason talking about the importance of Penn State’s defense not just being stout but also utilizing its talents to take advantage of opportunities and create turnovers.
Saturday night proved his point.
Lost in an offensive mire in which the Nittany Lions simply couldn’t string together complete scoring possessions, a Ricky Slade fumble in the fringe red zone to open the second half exacerbated the issue.
But, in forcing the Bulls into a third-and-6 in the immediate aftermath, corner John Reid was able to take advantage of an obvious passing down, reading the break of his man to perfection and stepping in front of Matt Myers’ pass. The interception went 38 yards the other way, untouched into the end zone, to give Penn State a 14-10 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
From Reid’s defensive teammates to the Nittany Lions on offense needing a boost, the play proved to be the undeniable turning point necessary to springboard Penn State into the win. But the reality for Penn State’s defense this season, as it continues to grow and evolve, is that internally, the hope is that it’s an asset that can complement the offense rather than the impetus for bailing it out.
“I think it is a big part of who we want to be and who we need to be,” Franklin said. “Creating turnovers on defense and then having that mentality when we do get the turnover that we are going to score points on defense.”
Last season, the Nittany Lions finished 56th nationally for turnovers gained with 20 on the year, against 87th nationally with 21 turnovers lost. The year prior though, in 2017, the Nittany Lions’ turnovers gained was 23rd nationally with 25 for the season against just 13 lost, which was eighth.
Through the first two games of the season, the Nittany Lions now have three turnovers gained, including a pair of interceptions by Reid and Cam Brown’s forced fumble in the first quarter. All three turnovers gained have resulted in points with two touchdowns Saturday night and a field goal against the Vandals.
“Our goal is always to get turnovers. Our goal is to get three a game,” said safety Garrett Taylor. “We came up short, but getting our hands on the ball is something we focused on this offseason and to see that take over into the game felt good.”
2) Another point worth keeping in mind for Penn State’s defense after an eye-opening, physical performance by the Bulls in which the visitors produced 22 first downs and 429 yards of offense, is that the Nittany Lions kept their wits about them in spite of a brutal set of circumstances.
Two stats in the aftermath demonstrated as much.
The first is that with just 17 minutes, 28 seconds of possession - the lowest amount in at least 25 years and likely more - the Nittany Lion defense was on the field almost the whole evening. Granted, the defense itself is at least partially responsible for as much given its inability to get off the field on third downs, particularly in the first half. The second responsibility, of course, falls to a Penn State offense that produced just 14 first downs all night and again finished 2 of 9 on third downs.
(Remarkably, Penn State now has the nation’s second-highest scoring offense in college football at 62.0 points per game while ranking No. 128 out of 130 programs with a 17.6 percent conversion on third downs. The Nittany Lions have not yet mastered the art of sustaining offensive possessions.)
But the second point to stand out after the game was that Buffalo’s 19-play possession bridging the end of the first quarter and the start of the second was the longest since at least 2002, and the time of the possession was the longest by a Penn State opponent since 2007. Still, in holding the Bulls to a field goal on the possession, the damage was mitigated at least somewhat and became a backbreaker of sorts.
And by the second half, after allowing 7 of 12 third-down conversions in the first half, the Nittany Lions buckled down to give the Bulls conversions on just 3 of 11 on third downs the rest of the way.
“They did a great job on first down, which made manageable second and third downs for them, which I think was a huge part of the game when you talk about time of possession and things like that,” said head coach James Franklin.
3) For as much as Penn State’s offense might have caused consternation among the Nittany Lion faithful Saturday night for its inability to produce in the running game, the program is likely to leave the experience somewhat emboldened.
Certainly, the Bulls deserve some credit right off the bat for being tough and physical on both sides of the ball in the trenches. Whether or not Penn State was prepared for it is something the program will have to grapple with and adjust to internally, but the experience is one that can only help it evolve and develop for a schedule that only gets tougher moving forward.
But ultimately offensively, Penn State can now know that it is capable of adjusting to and overcoming a defense determined to eliminate an entire facet of the game. In the Bulls’ case, that meant stopping the Lions’ running backs and forcing quarterback Sean Clifford to beat them through the air, which the Nittany Lions did.
“From a run game perspective, watching it and taking notes throughout the game, I don’t think we were finishing blocks. I think they were also very committed to stopping the run with their cover-four defense that they play, so safeties are always getting extra guys in the box and they are a downhill, physical team,” Franklin said. “That is also why we're able to make some big plays in the passing game. We actually had some more, we got a couple of posts that Sean has got to lead that guy across the field and let him run away from the defender. I think one was an interference call or one that we just left on the wrong angle. We knew that coming in, that is the style of defense they play. Try to make it one-dimensional and get the safeties involved in the run game and make you beat them throwing the ball. If you look at our numbers, we did that in the second half just not as well in the first half.”
As opposed to Penn State’s status quo through two years of Joe Moorhead in which the first couple of offensive possessions were effectively test-runs from which to immediately adjust, Franklin simply noted that the adjustments that came in Penn State’s approach need to come sooner in the game.
“Typically if you have looked at us we have been able to make some good adjustments after our first couple drives once we see what people are trying to do to attack us. That’s where I think we need to improve with the young team. We need to be able to go to the sideline, get on the board and make the adjustments that we need to make to get things corrected,” Franklin said. “I think that is what we were able to do in the second half. They still had some success, but not like in the first half. So to me, that is the next step for us, to make sure that our players understand, depending on opponents, we’re not going to be able to wait until the halftime to make the corrections that we need to make. We need to make them as soon as possible.”
4) What’s going to be interesting to watch for the Nittany Lion offense as it moves forward this season is its quick-strike capability.
Flatly, the home run was a hallmark of Penn State’s highly successful offenses in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. That disappeared last season as a few injuries and limited depth on the offensive side of the ball, plus a receiving corps that lost its mojo, meant an overall philosophy change into a more conservative offensive approach.
The early offensive numbers, however, are distinctly reminiscent to the first four games of the ’18 campaign. The question is whether or not that will carry over to next week’s game against Pitt and, maybe more important, into the Big Ten schedule.
“I thought that we were able to get some explosive plays. I thought the inconsistency still stayed there, we just became more explosive in the second half,” Franklin said. “We had a lot of big plays, touchdowns, one-play drives which puts our defense in a tough spot because they are having to go right back onto the field. We just have to be more consistent.
“Offensively, we just have to be more consistent. In that game... very explosive. We averaged over seven yards per play, but it was too inconsistent. It was either a touchdown or a lot of times three-and-out. So, we have to be more consistent there and obviously, our third-down stuff will help us.”
The quote is from Franklin on Saturday evening, but it mirrors his comments from the onset of Moorhead’s tenure with the Nittany Lions in which the same set of circumstances held true.
