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T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N There's also the question of execution. In those instances in which they're prop- erly placed and aligned against the de- fense, the players need to ful6ll their assignments. "O8ensive football is about rhythm and getting comfortable with each other," Rahne said. "Our o8ensive line is very comfortable with each other, and Miles [Sanders] has done some good things, so we've got a pretty good rhythm there. In the passing game we don't, and there are a number of di8erent [reasons why]. It's details and fundamentals in the releases [of wide receivers]. It can be footwork by the quarterback and timing there, all the way to the protection up front and things like that. When we go back and watch the tape, it's one guy [making a mistake] here and one guy there – and that one guy in o8ensive football can mean a world of di8erence." That's shown most acutely in the pass- ing game. Prior to facing Rutgers and Maryland, Penn State's rushing attack had improved its output by 32 yards per game from last season, thanks to a combined ef- fort from Sanders, McSorley and com- pany. But McSorley's passing yardage was down nearly 88 yards per game. Likewise, his completion rate had taken a 12 percent hit. While both McSorley and Rahne, who is also the quarterbacks coach, have ac- cepted a share of the blame, their veteran receivers have taken steps back this year. Through 10 games, Penn State was aver- aging nearly three drops per game. Fur- thermore, two of the team's three leading pass-catchers (wideout K.J. Hamler and tight end Pat Freiermuth) are in their freshman year of eligibility. Upperclass- men Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thomp- kins and Brandon Polk all have struggled at times this season, and Johnson had missed nearly four full games heading into Penn State's visit to Rutgers. Rahne said in October that he believed they would turn it around. "I'd say it's not a personnel issue," he said. "It's just how people have chosen to defend this year." When it isn't working, that's when Rahne is tasked with finding other ways to get the ball moving. The run game has made statistical improvements since last year, but it has been bottled up at critical junctures. Against Michigan State, which at the time was fielding the na- tion's top-ranked run defense, the Lions totaled 205 yards thanks mainly to a couple of long runs by Sanders. Against Indiana the following week, they went back to Sanders, but in a different way. He caught six passes for 54 yards, and Penn State outlasted the Hoosiers, 33- 28. In the two games that followed, Sanders totaled one catch for 9 yards, but the Lions are determined to make the most of his potential. "We need to continue to get Miles in- volved and get him on the perimeter, be- cause he can make plays in space," Rahne said. "It's my job [to] get him in those spots." It's a job that he admittedly is still growing into. His 6rst season as a full- time play caller is not yet complete, and some of the defensive coordinators he's going up against have decades more ex- perience than he does. But a9er each game, whether he's resting easy or lying awake in bed, he's striving to learn what he can and sharpen his skills. "As a coach, a lot of times it's easier to ask others to do something. But when your feet are to the 6re, you're challenged to do it yourself," he said. "So that's what I've been trying to do: maintain a con6- dence and make sure we all know that I'm growing as we go through this. Every sin- gle guy on our team is. Even Trace McSor- ley, with his vast experience, is going to grow from game to game and get better. When you stop [trying to get] better, that's when you have to look at yourself in the mirror. I need to make sure that I con- tinue to grow from a number of di8erent areas and hope to do that until the end of my career." ■

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