Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M hen Urban Meyer speaks, I listen. Most of the time, he's telling the truth, and in his new gig working with FOX Sports and by exten- sion the Big Ten Network, he's been providing some tremendous insight. Sitting with Gerry DiNardo in advance of Penn State's recent game against Michigan at Beaver Stadium, Meyer spent time discussing his disdain for playing in the White Out, and more im- portant, the reality of facing defenses as good as the ones that the Nittany Lions and Wolverines have been fielding lately. Those defenses love nothing more than to create offensive pre- dictability by limiting yards or forcing teams backward on first and second down, and Meyer revealed his funda- mental philosophy for such situations. "I had a theory about third-and-long or extra-long, and I shared it with our team," Meyer said. "Stay out of it. It's very hard to execute it." Penn State, of course, finished the game on the winning side of a 28-21 de- cision, mostly to the delight of the fourth-largest crowd in stadium history. But the Nittany Lions, much as they tried, were not able to stay out of the third-down situations Meyer so strongly advised against. They got off to a good enough start, converting their second third-down opportunity of the night to help set up a touchdown just two plays later to open the second quarter. The Nittany Lions also hit pay dirt on their fourth third down when quarterback Sean Clifford connected with K.J. Hamler in one-on- one coverage for a 25-yard touchdown to take a 21-0 lead at the midpoint of the second quarter. The Nittany Lions' early offensive success wouldn't last, though, as Michigan's defense gradually found its footing, eventually leading to a string of five consecutive third-down opportu- nities without a conversion. With the wisdom of a three-time national cham- pionship-winning coach, Meyer prog- nosticated what took hold of the Nittany Lions' offense. "The Wolverine defense and Penn State, they would like nothing more than for you to run, run, pass. If you get in that flow, which we've all been there… that's not a good feeling on the sideline," Meyer said. "When you con- trol them by keeping them off-balance by throwing when you're not usually throwing, that's how to neutralize a great defense." The other way, as Penn State has come to prove this season, is by establishing a lead through explosive plays, using turnovers and special teams to set up prime field position, and then not look- ing back. Against Purdue, the Nittany Lions built a 28-0 lead in the game's first 16 minutes of action, thanks in large part to a 23- yard Clifford-to-Hamler touchdown strike, a 72-yarder to Jahan Dotson, and a 48-yard catch-and-rumble for tight end Nick Bowers to set up their fourth touch- down of the afternoon. Against an Iowa defense that was de- termined to take away the big play com- pletely, Hamler's 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter gave the Nittany Lions a lead they wouldn't relinquish, one that they built upon with another 10 points off turnovers deep in the Hawkeyes' territory. And against the Wolverines, nine ex- plosive plays, three of which went for touchdowns, and a key interception helped build a lead that Michigan's of- fense couldn't overcome. "We didn't play our best in all three phases tonight, but we played well enough to win the game," head coach James Franklin said. "We played really good complementary football. We made plays when they were needed. We made big plays on defense when they were needed. We made big plays on offense when they were needed. And the same thing on special teams. "We were able to win the field position battle, we were able to win the turnover battle, we were able to win the penalty battle, and we won the explosive plays battle by a very small margin. So just a bunch of good stuff. There's no doubt that we have to get better, we all do, but it was a great win and I couldn't be more proud of our team, I couldn't be more proud of our program." At the midpoint of the conference season, the Nittany Lions' average of 34.8 points per game ranked third be- hind Ohio State and Minnesota, while their scoring defense, at only 10.0 points per game, was good for second against Big Ten opponents. And simplistic as it might appear, those numbers are the basic math equation that will continue to generate wins against the majority of the opponents re- maining on the Nittany Lions' schedule. Of Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio State and Rutgers, which opponents can hold this dynamic Penn State offense to fewer than 21 points? At present, only the Buckeyes hold that distinction for this season. Of those same upcoming opponents, how many can reasonably be expected to produce more than 21 points against a Penn State defense that had allowed that many only once in seven games? In conference play, only Ohio State and Minnesota have shown that type of consistent scoring potential. For a team that had been widely pre- dicted to lose three or four games in a bridge season before the higher expecta- tions of 2020, it's been an effective for- mula, particularly in the Big Ten, and that will likely continue to be the case. ■ A formula for success W

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