Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
2 0 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State assembled an offense this offseason that promised plenty on paper. Redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht arrived after making 39 consecu- tive starts and winning 26 games at Iowa State. Two transfer running backs — se- nior Carson Hansen from Iowa State and junior James Peoples from Ohio State — joined redshirt sophomore Quinton Martin Jr. in the backfield. Sophomore wide receiver Koby Howard appeared poised for a breakout year, with help from Iowa State transfers Chase Sow- ell and Brett Eskildsen. The tight ends looked like a strength. Even an offensive line that had never played together as a five-man unit offered reasons for opti- mism. But at the midway point of the season, there are questions about every part of coordinator Taylor Mouser's attack, and few encouraging answers. Following a 31- 23 loss to USC on Oct. 10, Penn State was averaging 30.5 points and 392.8 yards per game, ranking 12th in the Big Ten in total offense. Those season averages masked a sharp decline against conference op- ponents: 18.7 points and 293.7 yards per game in three consecutive losses. Neither level of production is good enough, as Becht readily acknowledged. "I'm a perfectionist, and I need to be better," he said following the loss to the Trojans, in which Penn State posted its highest scoring total in Big Ten play but too often settled for field goals when it needed touchdowns. "I felt like we took a small step today, but we've just got to be Redshirt senior Rocco Becht completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 1,397 yards and 11 touchdowns through six games, but he had just 2 touchdown passes in Big Ten play. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Searching For Answers PSU seeks fixes for an inconsistent passing attack and a struggling ground game G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M MIDSEASON GRADES OFFENSE