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O C T O B E R 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 17 Through its first seven games this sea- son, Penn State has failed to establish an identity on offense. True, there are a number of legitimate reasons for the team's struggles. The offensive line has been inconsistent, partly because of in- juries to starters Andrew Nelson and Angelo Mangiro. The backfield has had injury problems, too, as Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley both missed the games against Army and Indiana a@er getting hurt against San Diego State. Those set- backs have no doubt had a significant impact on the Lions' overall perform- ance. But there's more at work here. Except for the improvements in the running game, Penn State's offensive sta- tistics have either remained flat or de- clined in comparison to the 2014 season, both as a team and individually. In 2014 Penn State's rush offense ranked last in the Big Ten, producing just 101.9 yards per game. This season, with the emer- gence of Barkley, who is the fi@h-leading rusher in the Big Ten with 567 yards on 68 carries, Penn State is ninth with an average of 162.3 yards. That's a substan- tial and welcome bump in productivity. But in many other respects, the Lions have been in a downward spiral. For ex- ample, Penn State's pass offense was ranked fi@h in the Big Ten last year, av- eraging 233.4 yards per game. Christian Hackenberg threw for 2,977 yards and completed 55.8 percent of his passes with 12 TD passes and 15 interceptions. This year, despite having eight of his top 10 receivers back, Hackenberg has passed for just 1,206 yards with only five games le@ to play and is completing just 53.1 percent of his throws. The one area in which he has made a major improve- ment is with his touchdown-intercep- tion ratio. Hackenberg has eight TD passes and just two interceptions. In 2014 Penn State boasted the leading receiver in the Big Ten in redshirt fresh- man DaeSean Hamilton with 82 catches for 899 yards. Through seven games this season, Hamilton has only 19 catches for 220 yards. Except for Chris Godwin, whose numbers are up across the board from his freshman season, Penn State's wide receivers and tight ends have seen a major drop-off in re- ceptions. Last year tight ends Jesse James, Mike Gesicki, Kyle Carter and Brent Wilkerson totaled 57 receptions for 681 yards and five touchdowns. Through seven games this season, Carter, Gesicki and Wilkerson have combined for 20 catches for 199 yards with one touchdown reception. That type of statistical decline can't simply be explained away as the result of inconsistency or injuries. The Lions simply don't have an identity on of- fense. James Franklin and his offensive coaches don't seem to have made a final decision as to what type of offensive system best fits the personnel they have. Should they deploy a balanced, pro-style offense with a play-action passing attack? Or would they be better off using the kind of read-option of- fense that seems to be dominating col- lege football at the moment? I would describe the current offense as a mixture of both, and I wonder whether such a system really is able to capitalize on Hackenberg's talents. If you closely analyze his career at Penn State, you can't help but notice that Hackenberg has been at his best when he's been in a pro-style offense that takes advantage of the play-action passing game, one that allows him to get into a rhythm throwing the football. As a freshman, he was o@en very effective in the up-tempo "NASCAR" offense. He finished that season by throwing for 339 yards and four touchdowns in an upset victory over Wisconsin. As a sophomore, he en- joyed similar success at times, as in the Pinstripe Bowl, in which he threw for 371 yards and four TDs in a win over Boston College. Once Hackenberg gets into a rhythm throwing the football, he becomes almost unstoppable. It will be interesting to see what type of approach Franklin and offensive co- ordinator John Donovan decide to use Saturday against Maryland. Franklin stated during his news conference on Tuesday that coaches and players have to be more aggressive than they were in last Saturday's game at Ohio State. That means doing the things on the field that will enable Penn State to establish an identity with its offensive system, whether it's a pro-style attack featuring a play-action passing game or one that incorporates the option. The Lions need to come up with an aggressive approach that has a clear-cut mission and has a real opportunity to build some consis- tency on offense, one that has a truly recognizable identity that balances the run and the pass. I believe that a pro-style offensive system that emphasizes the play-action passing game is the one that best fits the talents of Penn State's skill position players, especially Barkley and Hacken- berg. I'm excited thinking about how effective Penn State's offense could be in its final five Big Ten games this season against Maryland, Illinois, Northwest- ern and even Michigan and Michigan State, with an offense in which Barkley spearheads a potent running game and Hackenberg plays off that running game with a play-action pass game that uses the entire field to operate. Some have argued that with only five regular-season games remaining, it's already too late to establish an identity on offense. I don't agree with that as- sessment. I believe this weekend's game against Maryland will provide Franklin and his offensive coaches with exactly the kind of favorable and unique oppor- tunity they need. As their offensive struggles continue, the Nittany Lions need an identity PHIL'S CORNER

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