Blue White Illustrated

O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 17 During the first half of Penn State's game against San Diego State, it seemed that the offense had developed a rhythm and the beginnings of an identity. Fac- ing an Aztecs defense that deployed an unusual 3-3-5 alignment and an assort- ment of exotic blitz schemes, the Nit- tany Lions totaled 297 yards of offense in only two quarters of action and for a while achieved a true balance between the run and the pass. But the Lions' success quickly began to fade the second quarter when both Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch had to leave the game with injuries. Their ab- sence dramatically impacted the effec- tiveness of Penn State's offense in the second half against San Diego State. The Nittany Lions were only able to produce 103 yards of total offense in the third and fourth quarters. Christian Hackenberg passed for just 62 yards in that span and finished the game with 21 completions in 35 attempts for 296 yards. Over the final 30 minutes, Penn State's offense scored only three points. With three key players out of the lineup in the Army game – Barkley, Lynch and right tackle Andrew Nelson – James Franklin and his offensive coaches made the decision to rein in the offense, realizing its running game now had to be handled by inexperienced redshirt freshmen Mark Allen, Nick Scott and Johnathan Thomas. I have to admit, the approach that Penn State took caught me by surprise. Army had been allowing 261.8 yards per game through the air and 13.3 yards per catch. Penn State's offensive line had a size advantage of nearly 50 pounds per man against the Black Knights' defen- sive front. I fully expected Penn State to use a balanced game plan, not one that essentially turned Hackenberg into a mere game manager. But instead, the Lions took a very con- servative approach, deploying three- tight-end sets in an effort to run the ball between the tackles. Penn State ran 34 times for 108 yards, averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Allen, Scott and Thomas combined for 99 yards on 25 carries, av- eraging just under 4 yards per carry. The most curious aspect of Penn State's approach was that on only two occasions did it try to run outside the tackle box. In the third quarter, Allen ran a counter to the short side of the field in front of Penn State's bench, gaining 12 yards. Later in the game, Brandon Polk got the call on a fly sweep and gained 18 yards. The Lions' insistence on trying to run between the tackles surprised me be- cause it put a lot of pressure on the team's struggling offensive line, which found itself facing eight- and some- times even nine-man fronts. AAer the game, Army coach Jeff Monken stated that the Black Knights' main objective on defense was to shut down Penn State's running game. They accomplished that objective far better than I would have thought possible, but they owed their success in part to an approach by Penn State that didn't take advantage of what Army was giving up. The Knights used one-on-one coverage on first and second down, but Penn State rarely threw the ball on those downs. Even with essentially the first half of the game being played on Army's side of the field, Hackenberg completed just 6 of 14 passes for 43 yards, with his longest completion gaining 12 yards. It wasn't until the last two minutes of the third quarter that Penn State put to- gether a three-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki. Hackenberg completed three consecutive passes: a 9-yarder to Kyle Carter to open the drive, a 49-yarder to Chris Godwin down the middle of the field and the 33- yard TD pass to Gesicki. The last of those passes was a thing of beauty. Hackenberg took three steps to the right, faking a rollout in that direction, and then threw back to the leA to a wide-open Gesicki on a wheel route 15 yards downfield along the sideline. Amazingly, the passes to Godwin and Gesicki were just the second and third passes Hackenberg threw downfield in the game. Penn State made the decision to attack Army's suspect secondary only three times. Earlier in the third quarter, Hackenberg had failed to con- nect with DeAndre Thompkins on an out-and-up move down the sideline. That was the first pass I was able to lo- cate on which Hackenberg threw the ball downfield to challenge Army's de- fense. To a degree, I can understand the de- cision to rein in the offense against Army. With Barkley, Lynch and Nelson out of the lineup, why take any chances against a physically outmanned oppo- nent? But I have to wonder with Indiana coming up whether this game eroded the Lions' confidence. The Black Knights had seven fumbles in the game, three of which they lost. Given Army's sloppiness and Penn State's physical advantage, a six-point victory can't help but feel underwhelming. Penn State needs to develop a rhythm and find some semblance of an identity starting with its game against Indiana. The coaches need to find an offensive system that takes advantage of the team's assets on offense. I'm not saying it isn't a difficult challenge. But it's a challenge that has to be met. If it isn't met, victories are going to be hard to come by. Indeed, without more productivity from its offense going forward, Penn State might not end up playing in its second consecutive bowl game at the conclusion of this season. PSU will need a balanced offense if it's to thrive during Big Ten season PHIL'S CORNER

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