Hello!
I hope everyone had a great night last night. I'm not sure there are many quite to Georgia State's level of futility left on Penn State's schedule (OK. Maybe Rutgers) but, certainly the Nittany Lions wrapped up the nonconference portion of the schedule hitting on most of the cylinders they'd hope to be firing on at this point in the season.
I took a dive into some of the national statistics this morning, so I have some random thoughts to share here and maybe just discuss a little bit. So without further ado, let's get into it:
1) Through three games, Penn State's offense is doing what it is supposed to be doing.
People get concerned about the numbers - carries for Saquon, McSorley's percentages, reception distribution - but I'm going to go back to my conversation with Joe Moorhead this summer in his office. We were talking about the things that he is specifically looking for in the statistical column when determining Penn State's offensive success, and he boiled it down to three areas including scoring offense, explosive plays and turnover margin.
"The three things that we focus on offensively are points per game, explosive plays and turnover margin," he said. "Now there are some secondary or tertiary things or statistics that can help make those things better. But those are definitely the top three, the ones that we think play the biggest role in us winning or losing games."
Certainly the quality of opponent will change dramatically as the season progresses, but through the nonconference, that trifecta is reflecting quite well on Penn State's offense. They're currently No. 11 in the country for scoring offense at 47 ppg. They've had 40 explosive plays (by the standard of carries of 10+ yards and passes of 15+ yards) in three games. And they're No. 2 nationally as a team in turnover margin at +2.33 per game, trailing only Texas A&M.
I hate to constantly bring up the program's history, but I just don't think the turnaround can be fully appreciated without that context. Two years ago, Penn State finished with 23.2 points per game for the season. At 47 ppg, they're doubling that output now, and they're doing it quickly.
They're No. 11 in scoring and No. 125 in time of possession! Highly efficient, explosive offense in front of you guys right now.
2) I have a number for you that is going to blow your mind.
Like I said, 40 explosive plays at this point in the season. My bet would be that they'd actually like to have a few more total explosive plays, but the efficiency and effect of those explosive plays is dramatic.
Penn State has 1,407 total offensive yards this season. On those 40 explosive plays, Penn State has accumulated 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns. For the numbers guys - that's 75 percent of Penn State's total offensive yardage production this season coming via explosive plays.
Here's the thing: I know there are going to be some who will argue not being able to possess the ball at length or pound out a steady scoring drive is a point of detraction against this offense. But, the sample size is large enough at this point to say pretty confidently that Joe Moorhead and Co. just do not care about that argument. They want to score points in bundles, they want to do it by doing it in bursts, and they want to do it without costing themselves turnovers.
So far, this year, so good.
3) Speaking of turnovers.
Penn State is now No. 3 nationally in turnovers gained with nine through three games. Grant Haley told me last week their goal every game is to have at minimum three takeaways per game. Obviously, five last night caught them up to that average.
I do think it's worth acknowledging how effectively they've managed to turn around a sticking point that they were disappointed with last season. They finished No. 53 in the country with 21 turnovers gained last year. Almost halfway there for the Lions 1/4 of the way through the regular season, and it's worth noting those 21 were through 14 games instead of 12. So, at this point, they've doubled their average takeaways per game from last year - albeit a relatively small sample size and again, a lesser quality of opponent than they'll likely see as the season progresses.
4) Saquon Barkley is electric.
I can wax poetic about what this kid is able to do, last night a burst of speed - at a specific moment - that I can't ever remember seeing anything like in person in my life. He just, somehow, got even faster than the already fast rate he was going.
Instead, let's jump into some of the numbers on this kid that don't have anything to do with Penn State history (because you're going to see those all day today and frankly all season as he climbs the record books).
Through three games, he's now No. 2 nationally in all-purpose yards at 218.3 behind San Diego State's Rashaad Penny, who has an average of 258.0 per game. Penney, apparently, is really good, and proved it again last night as the Aztecs toppled Stanford. He went for 175 yards on the ground last night, but he's got double Barkley's carries at this point in the season. He's also got a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Point being, Christian McCaffery led the country with an average of 211.55 all-purpose yards per game, which clearly, Barkley is currently outpacing. I get that people are concerned about Barkley's health, but James Franklin knows everyone and their mother is going to game plan and sell out to prevent Barkley from going nuts, so that has everything to do with their determination to get the ball in his hands in other ways.
And yes, it's about the Heisman. But it's also about letting this kid reach the peak of his potential and help the team however he can, which is being prevented in some ways right now. Even against Georgia State last night - a team determined to take him away - Barkley couldn't really get going on the ground. He finished with 47 yards rushing on 10 carries - and I don't think that's going to be an outlier number when it comes to his rushing yards as the rest of the season goes on. Outside of a 33-yard carry, Barkley didn't have a rush longer than 6 yards last night. The other eight carries were for 3-or-fewer yards.
Franklin expressed some frustration with the run game last night - "On offense, I think we’ve got to consistently be able to run the ball a little bit better. We’ve got to sustain our blocks longer" - but my guess is a lot of that will be alleviated when teams decide they don't want to get gashed through the air.
5) Another sample size statistic that is starting to really gain some merit is from DeAndre Thompkins at punt return.
He's the best they've had in quite some time, to my quick recollection without really digging back into the archives.
On 10 attempts, Thompkins is No. 7 in the country at 20.2 yards per return. Dante Pettis at Washington is leading the country with six returns for an average of 38.8 yards per return. But, Thompkins is the only returner with double-digit attempts in the top 10 nationally. I expect those numbers to even out as the attempts continue to increase.
Penn State fans already know what Blake Gillikin brings to the table. I thought that Tyler Davis was much improved on his kickoffs last night - hang time and direction - but obviously had a missed field goal opportunity. But, to bring Thompkins into that equation for a special teams unit that is really effective in its coverage, it's the type of ingredient that can truly be game-changing for a team.
"DeAndre has just been fantastic as a punt returner," said Franklin, "even tonight, where their scheme was to use the low angle punt, which are hard to get returns on."
*****
Granted, these were all pretty positive notes to take away from a Georgia State game that really offered little in the way of resistance. A certain former coach around these parts used to say something to the effect of never being as good as you think you are after a win (especially one like last night) and never as bad as you think you are after a loss.
But, for now, those are some of the trends I'm seeing and thought were worth talking about this morning after Penn State's 56-0 win last night.
I hope everyone had a great night last night. I'm not sure there are many quite to Georgia State's level of futility left on Penn State's schedule (OK. Maybe Rutgers) but, certainly the Nittany Lions wrapped up the nonconference portion of the schedule hitting on most of the cylinders they'd hope to be firing on at this point in the season.
I took a dive into some of the national statistics this morning, so I have some random thoughts to share here and maybe just discuss a little bit. So without further ado, let's get into it:
1) Through three games, Penn State's offense is doing what it is supposed to be doing.
People get concerned about the numbers - carries for Saquon, McSorley's percentages, reception distribution - but I'm going to go back to my conversation with Joe Moorhead this summer in his office. We were talking about the things that he is specifically looking for in the statistical column when determining Penn State's offensive success, and he boiled it down to three areas including scoring offense, explosive plays and turnover margin.
"The three things that we focus on offensively are points per game, explosive plays and turnover margin," he said. "Now there are some secondary or tertiary things or statistics that can help make those things better. But those are definitely the top three, the ones that we think play the biggest role in us winning or losing games."
Certainly the quality of opponent will change dramatically as the season progresses, but through the nonconference, that trifecta is reflecting quite well on Penn State's offense. They're currently No. 11 in the country for scoring offense at 47 ppg. They've had 40 explosive plays (by the standard of carries of 10+ yards and passes of 15+ yards) in three games. And they're No. 2 nationally as a team in turnover margin at +2.33 per game, trailing only Texas A&M.
I hate to constantly bring up the program's history, but I just don't think the turnaround can be fully appreciated without that context. Two years ago, Penn State finished with 23.2 points per game for the season. At 47 ppg, they're doubling that output now, and they're doing it quickly.
They're No. 11 in scoring and No. 125 in time of possession! Highly efficient, explosive offense in front of you guys right now.
2) I have a number for you that is going to blow your mind.
Like I said, 40 explosive plays at this point in the season. My bet would be that they'd actually like to have a few more total explosive plays, but the efficiency and effect of those explosive plays is dramatic.
Penn State has 1,407 total offensive yards this season. On those 40 explosive plays, Penn State has accumulated 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns. For the numbers guys - that's 75 percent of Penn State's total offensive yardage production this season coming via explosive plays.
Here's the thing: I know there are going to be some who will argue not being able to possess the ball at length or pound out a steady scoring drive is a point of detraction against this offense. But, the sample size is large enough at this point to say pretty confidently that Joe Moorhead and Co. just do not care about that argument. They want to score points in bundles, they want to do it by doing it in bursts, and they want to do it without costing themselves turnovers.
So far, this year, so good.
3) Speaking of turnovers.
Penn State is now No. 3 nationally in turnovers gained with nine through three games. Grant Haley told me last week their goal every game is to have at minimum three takeaways per game. Obviously, five last night caught them up to that average.
I do think it's worth acknowledging how effectively they've managed to turn around a sticking point that they were disappointed with last season. They finished No. 53 in the country with 21 turnovers gained last year. Almost halfway there for the Lions 1/4 of the way through the regular season, and it's worth noting those 21 were through 14 games instead of 12. So, at this point, they've doubled their average takeaways per game from last year - albeit a relatively small sample size and again, a lesser quality of opponent than they'll likely see as the season progresses.
4) Saquon Barkley is electric.
I can wax poetic about what this kid is able to do, last night a burst of speed - at a specific moment - that I can't ever remember seeing anything like in person in my life. He just, somehow, got even faster than the already fast rate he was going.
Instead, let's jump into some of the numbers on this kid that don't have anything to do with Penn State history (because you're going to see those all day today and frankly all season as he climbs the record books).
Through three games, he's now No. 2 nationally in all-purpose yards at 218.3 behind San Diego State's Rashaad Penny, who has an average of 258.0 per game. Penney, apparently, is really good, and proved it again last night as the Aztecs toppled Stanford. He went for 175 yards on the ground last night, but he's got double Barkley's carries at this point in the season. He's also got a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Point being, Christian McCaffery led the country with an average of 211.55 all-purpose yards per game, which clearly, Barkley is currently outpacing. I get that people are concerned about Barkley's health, but James Franklin knows everyone and their mother is going to game plan and sell out to prevent Barkley from going nuts, so that has everything to do with their determination to get the ball in his hands in other ways.
And yes, it's about the Heisman. But it's also about letting this kid reach the peak of his potential and help the team however he can, which is being prevented in some ways right now. Even against Georgia State last night - a team determined to take him away - Barkley couldn't really get going on the ground. He finished with 47 yards rushing on 10 carries - and I don't think that's going to be an outlier number when it comes to his rushing yards as the rest of the season goes on. Outside of a 33-yard carry, Barkley didn't have a rush longer than 6 yards last night. The other eight carries were for 3-or-fewer yards.
Franklin expressed some frustration with the run game last night - "On offense, I think we’ve got to consistently be able to run the ball a little bit better. We’ve got to sustain our blocks longer" - but my guess is a lot of that will be alleviated when teams decide they don't want to get gashed through the air.
5) Another sample size statistic that is starting to really gain some merit is from DeAndre Thompkins at punt return.
He's the best they've had in quite some time, to my quick recollection without really digging back into the archives.
On 10 attempts, Thompkins is No. 7 in the country at 20.2 yards per return. Dante Pettis at Washington is leading the country with six returns for an average of 38.8 yards per return. But, Thompkins is the only returner with double-digit attempts in the top 10 nationally. I expect those numbers to even out as the attempts continue to increase.
Penn State fans already know what Blake Gillikin brings to the table. I thought that Tyler Davis was much improved on his kickoffs last night - hang time and direction - but obviously had a missed field goal opportunity. But, to bring Thompkins into that equation for a special teams unit that is really effective in its coverage, it's the type of ingredient that can truly be game-changing for a team.
"DeAndre has just been fantastic as a punt returner," said Franklin, "even tonight, where their scheme was to use the low angle punt, which are hard to get returns on."
*****
Granted, these were all pretty positive notes to take away from a Georgia State game that really offered little in the way of resistance. A certain former coach around these parts used to say something to the effect of never being as good as you think you are after a win (especially one like last night) and never as bad as you think you are after a loss.
But, for now, those are some of the trends I'm seeing and thought were worth talking about this morning after Penn State's 56-0 win last night.
