Analysis: Comfortable Penn State win directs focus toward areas for growth

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sean Clifford had listened to nine minutes of questions about his Nittany Lions’ performance in a comfortable, 38-17 win over Villanova Saturday when he first broached the topic.

Penn State’s offense, having accrued 401 yards and four touchdowns passing under his direction with three sterling receiving efforts from Jahan Dotson, Parker Washington, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, had been the subject of some scrutiny by head coach James Franklin minutes earlier. And, by extension, the media that covers and fans that follow the program had similar questions of the nation’s No. 6-ranked team.

Why had the Nittany Lions failed to reach 100 yards rushing for the third time of the young, four-game 2021 season, for instance?

What issues existed along the offensive line or in the running backs room that led the Nittany Lions to finish with an average of just 2.4 yards per carry on the day?

“Obviously,” Franklin offered in his opening postgame remarks, “we got to get the running game going. That’s going to be something we’re going to have to continue to emphasize and get better in that area.”

Having endured a lengthy session with the media in which he acknowledged the shortcomings of the day’s performance for the offense, pointing to all of the areas the Nittany Lions will look to be better when they study the film Sunday, Clifford offered a brief retort, though.

Facing an FCS Villanova program that had effectively established its dominance defending the run in its first three games of the season, allowing just 29.3 yards per outing on the ground, Clifford gave credit to the Nittany Lions’ opponent.

“We do a lot of things. We have a pretty complex offense and we do a lot of different concepts and plays, and it’s a lot of different things that teams gotta scheme,” Clifford said. “I think Villanova did a very good job today. They gave us some different looks that we hadn’t seen from their film. They made plays when the plays were there. That’s a really good football team.”

Absent running back Noah Cain for the majority of the game, the Nittany Lions’ starter limited to just one 2-yard carry after seeing less practice time this week due to injury, Penn State’s offense saw that quality firsthand in the form of physicality in the trenches.

Struggling to keep the Wildcats at bay along the defensive front, Franklin pointing out a down day for the Nittany Lion tight ends’ help in run-blocking, the result was a three-sack day on Clifford and a failure to generate a single carry longer than 13 yards. Instead, Penn State turned to the quick passing game and screens to supplement its rushing attack as it has done all season, an element Franklin discussed as something of a counterbalance to his disappointment in the running game.

“The one thing I would say that probably isn't being talked about a whole lot - if people are going to outnumber you in the box,” he started. “We've had a lot of success throwing the perimeter screens. That's an extension of the running game.

“I thought we got the ball on the perimeter a decent amount… I think that's an extension of the running game as well if people are going to defend you that way.”

According to Penn State’s receivers, the primary beneficiaries of the Wildcats’ plan of attack defensively, that was very much the game plan Villanova showed Saturday.

Noting that Villanova came out “pretty much how they looked on film,” in this case stout upfront with vulnerabilities on the back end, Washington (five catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns) and Lambert Smith (two catches for 88 yards and a touchdown) both said that the Nittany Lions’ offense adjusted to what the defense was offering.

“We just made our adjustments and we were able to execute,” Washington said. “We knew they were going to come in and be physical, and we just adjusted and did what we could and just took what they gave us.”

Determined to use the experience as another opportunity to learn from mistakes and build on successes, Penn State will focus its attention this week on a return to Big Ten play when it hosts Indiana next Saturday for another primetime date.

This time a “stripe-out” at Beaver Stadium, the confluence of factors all converging on Penn State’s performance Saturday - a lack of “edge,” seeing press clippings, a better opponent than expected, and an effort not to the level the Nittany Lions expect - will all make for a week of renewed focus in the passing game and beyond.

“We need to be more detail-oriented,” Franklin said. “We need to be more physical.

“I think for us we took a step…. I don’t know if we had the same edge today that we’ve had the previous three weeks, but we found a way to win. There’ll be a lot to learn from this, there’ll be a lot to grow from this, and we’ll go from there, but we have found four different ways to get wins, and we’re going to need to learn from that and grow and take another step this week.”

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