Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O P I N I O N THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K .C A R R @ O N 3 .C O M T he Penn State offense is a mess right now. Excluding a defensive touchdown, the Nittany Lions scored just 26 points in their first two Big Ten games, and a good chunk of those points came off short fields that the defense set up. Against USC in the third week of the conference season, PSU managed 357 yards and 23 points, but it wasn't enough to secure a win. Sophomore wide receiver Koby How- ard missed all three of those games with an injury he sustained in the nonconfer- ence finale against Buffalo. In the Lions' 34-13 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 2, it was clear from the first play that of- fensive coordinator Taylor Mouser had pivoted to redshirt senior Chase Sow- ell to lead the passing attack. Mouser lined Sowell up in the slot and attacked downfield in a way that closely mirrored what Howard did before his injury. Howard is expected to be back in ac- tion later this season. His return can't get here soon enough. Even with Sowell emerging as a reliable target, redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht has had difficulty getting the passing attack in sync. What's been the problem? Let's start with the easy throws. The run-pass option game generated a lot of Penn State's explosive passing plays in the nonconference season. It was obvious that those plays would get harder as the season progressed, but I didn't expect them to nearly vanish from the offense. That's exactly what has happened, though. The lack of a real running threat, combined with better safety play from opponents, has made these throws much tougher. Through the nonconference season, Becht completed 10 RPO throws for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. But in the opening weeks of Big Ten play, those numbers crashed. Becht completed just 2 of 5 attempts for 22 yards against Wis- consin and Northwestern. Even when the offense got a good RPO look, Becht misfired downfield. The intermediate passing game has also been a problem. A team becomes genuinely dangerous when it's able to consistently complete throws behind the linebackers and in front of the safeties. Northwestern didn't let that happen. The Wildcats played excellent coverage, as they have all season, tak- ing away intermediate throws over the middle out of their base look. What made Becht such an intrigu- ing quarterback at Iowa State was that he never seemed to lack confidence. He was selectively aggressive on deep shots, displaying a willingness to throw into the deepest window that was open. Since Big Ten play started, the fifth- year quarterback has looked skittish in the pocket and unsure of his own tools. He did get some genuinely surprising looks from Northwestern, but the real concern is that he didn't seem to pro- cess the coverage after the snap at all. The Becht we saw at Iowa State would have still tested Northwestern's corner- backs without hesitation. You have to wonder if his confidence has started to wane. In an effort to help Becht get into a rhythm, Mouser has pivoted toward more quick-game passes. But instead of providing a lift, that adjustment has led to a series of batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Mouser has also attempted to get Sowell more touches. He's tried to get redshirt junior Andrew Rappleyea in- volved, and he's done the same with one of Rappleyea's fellow tight ends, senior Benjamin Brahmer. Matt Campbell and Mouser are run- ning out of places within the offense to pivot. There are only so many schematic changes you can make before you twist yourself into a pretzel and make things worse. One change that could make a dif- ference would be to take a serious look at whether PSU has been inadvertently tipping plays to the defense. When you look closely at game film, you can see that redshirt freshman tackle Malachi Goodman has different tendencies on running and passing plays. On runs, Goodman holds the bottom of his face- mask cage. On passes, he has his hand down. This "tell" is primarily on first and second down when Goodman is in a three-point stance. On those plays, there's considerable ambiguity about whether it will be a run or pass. When the Lions go into shotgun formation or are in a must-pass situation, Goodman goes into a two-point stance. I'm certainly not in a position to tell anyone what to do, but investigating Goodman's potential giveaway could be a season-altering change. If the coach- ing staff has discovered something sim- ilar, simply fixing the problem would be a huge improvement. One certainty is that the staff needs to find solutions fast, because the Lions will have to put up points against their remaining opponents if they're going to reverse course in the weeks ahead. ■ PSU Running Out Of Ways To Upgrade Its Offense After a strong showing in the nonconference season, quarterback Rocco Becht saw his productivity decline at the start of Big Ten play. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL UPON FURTHER REVIEW