Penn State 3-2-1: Wounded Nittany Lions vow response at No. 5 Ohio State

Penn State football knows the challenge it’s facing.

Headed to Columbus, Ohio to battle with the No. 5-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday evening at the Horseshoe, the Nittany Lions will look to rectify the wrongs of a two-game slide following a 5-0 start to the 2021 season. Plummeting in the national polls from a high of No. 4 down to No. 20, a 23-20 loss at Iowa acting as the injury with a 20-18 nine overtime loss to Illinois last weekend acting as the insult, Penn State has myriad problems and challenges to fix.

It also has an opponent standing in the way that represents the most difficult obstacle to overcome of the season.

Ranked No. 1 in total offense and No. 18 in scoring defense, the Buckeyes have steamrolled each of their past five opponents following a Sept. 11 loss to Oregon at home, 35-28. Reeling off explosive performances in which they’ve averaged 54.4 points per game against opponents’ 12.8 points per game scored, this is an Ohio State program actively proclaiming its superiority both in the Big Ten and nationally.

With their sights set on recovering from their internal struggles while playing spoiler to the Buckeyes’ skyrocketing trajectory, the Nittany Lions will get that opportunity soon enough.

Will it be enough?

We’ll look at the three things we learned, two big questions remaining, and make a prediction.

This is the 3-2-1:

This is one of those curious dynamics for Penn State head coach James Franklin and his approach to discussing injuries.

Avoiding anything that might give away a player’s injury status typically, Franklin was forthcoming this week in saying repeatedly on Tuesday and Wednesday at media availabilities that the Nittany Lions’ fifth-year senior starter was considerably healthier coming out of the Illinois game than he’d been at the start of the previous week.

“Last week we weren't sure. We were trying to see where he was going to be at,” Franklin said. “Sean is much further ahead now to being back to 100 percent, so that's a positive. We feel really good about that. I know Sean felt great physically on Sunday.”

Acknowledging the ever-present possibility of injury to his starter, however, Franklin’s plans could be flummoxed by questions to Ta’Quan Roberson that arose during the week.

Though absent from the portion of practice the media was permitted to see Wednesday afternoon, Roberson was said by Franklin to have practiced that week while offering no more detail about the backup quarterback’s status.

Instead, Franklin’s comments Tuesday remarking on the continued development both of Roberson and true freshman Christian Veilleux carried over to the week of practice.

“We expect to have a 100 percent Sean Clifford this weekend and those other two guys will continue to develop,” Franklin said Tuesday.

James Franklin shares Sean Clifford status update ahead of PSU-OSU

Landing on the area that might present the biggest potential for trouble for Penn State on Saturday isn’t especially straightforward with the Buckeyes.

Posting an aforementioned 49.3 points per game this season, tops in the country, the Buckeyes have been imposing their collective will on opponents throughout. Or it could be defensively, where the Buckeyes haven’t allowed more than 20 points since the second week of the season.

But in running back TreVeyon Henderson, now ranked No. 1 among all rushers with his whopping 8.79 yards per carry average on 78 touches (686 yards and 11 touchdowns the dividend), Penn State head coach James Franklin acknowledged the challenge at hand.

“He's changed them,” Franklin said. “They've always obviously been talented at the running back position, but he's made them just so much more explosive. He was a highly regarded guy out of high school and he is showing that he's been able to do it.

“I think the biggest thing where he's different is the speed. He's extremely explosive, obviously behind one of the bigger offensive lines in the country, and then obviously the threats that they have on the perimeter as well, it's a challenging combination of athletes to stop.”

Penn State, meanwhile, is still adjusting to life without three-quarters of its expected starting defensive line coming into the season, most recently losing nose tackle P.J. Mustipher to season-ending injury at Iowa.

Against Illinois last weekend, that amounted to 391 yards rushing, adjusted for sacks, allowed by the Nittany Lion defense.

Given the opportunity to touch on some of the younger players who have seen limited reps this season, but are making an impression within the program nonetheless, Franklin offered some interesting comments during his Thursday night radio show.

Noting a preseason camp injury to receiver Malick Meiga, before hinting at bigger contributions in the future past the two reps he’d earned last Saturday against the Illini, Franklin also discussed a pair of younger defenders and another pair of young offensive linemen.

On true freshman safety Jaylen Reed: “He's a confident guy. A young man that we got out of Detroit. Very, very confident. Very, very competitive. Got the body type you're looking for and the athleticism and speed. He's played a little bit on special teams, played a little bit on defense. I think you're gonna see his role continue to grow as the year goes on, especially when it comes to bumps and bruises and injuries that always come up in football.”

On redshirt freshman defensive end Zuriah Fisher: “I’m really proud of him. He had some significant personal issues that he was going through this summer that the team all rallied behind him and helped him with. He's one of those guys, kind of like Jesse Luketa that we recruited as a guy that we thought could play linebacker or defensive end.

“He's grown into the defensive end position. He's about 258 pounds right now. You know, but again, he's transitioning from a position a linebacker to a position never played before. So he's showing strides and is gaining confidence. And you're gonna see him continue to get more reps as the year goes on.”

On Olu Fashanu and true freshman Landon Tengwall: “There are some guys that we have played on Saturdays a few reps that are gaining some experience out there. Olu is an example of that, Landon is an example of that, guys that are really close to playing more significant roles in games but are getting great experience at practice every single day. So I think there's been a tremendous value in that.”

Franklin has been less subtle this week about a topic that he has gently danced around through the course of the season regarding Penn State’s scheduling this year.

But with a major theme coming to the forefront since the Iowa game, that being injuries and their impact on the Nittany Lions not just at quarterback but at positions all over the field, Franklin was more direct about how the choice by the Big Ten to open the season with Wisconsin and Penn State to choose to play Auburn in the nonconference, have set the table for challenges.

“From a scheduling philosophy, whether it's the Big Ten scheduling philosophy, whether it's our scheduling philosophy; our beginning of the season was very challenging, was very physical, was against very physical style teams, and with that, comes wear and tear and an importance of development from a depth perspective.”

The outcome has been that of something of a double whammy to the Nittany Lions this season.

Not only did Penn State have to endure the early season grind of games that took a particularly physical toll on front-line players, none more damaging than the swath of injuries that occurred to the Nittany Lions at Iowa, but the lost opportunity for developmental reps against lesser opponents also has reared its head. Less prepared to pick up where the starters left off, that the backups are now needed for Penn State football given the injuries sustained has also played a role.

“One of the other things that we've been able to do in years past is playing a lot of guys early on, develop them for depth later in the season, and you really didn't get to do either early on this season; so, that's the nature of it,” Franklin said. “We knew it was coming. We need to be prepared for it throughout summer, throughout the offseason, and things like that once we decided to go with that type of schedule.”

Forgetting the Nittany Lions’ 100th-ranked rushing offense for a moment, a game-by-game look at the offense’s performance in that category should offer some instruction to this answer.

Held to fewer than 110 yards on the ground in five of seven games this season, outbursts of 240 and 209 yards on 40-plus carries against Ball State and Indiana the lone exceptions, the Nittany Lions have admittedly had difficulty establishing that element of the offense this season.

Held to a season-low 62 yards on the ground last weekend against Illinois, the Nittany Lions’ rushing output has been just 383 yards on 147 carries in games against Wisconsin, Auburn, Villanova, Iowa, and the Illini. Not adjusted for sacks, that’s just 2.6 yards per carry in those games, though Franklin attempted to summarize the issues this week in their totality.

“When you average and you look at it from an efficiency standpoint, from an average standpoint, we are probably better than we think,” he said. “We haven't run the ball in critical situations the way we need to. I also think we have to be willing to throw the ball in some of those short-yardage situations too, to keep people honest and show people that we're willing to do that. I think that's an important aspect of all of this.

“I know Coach Phil Trautwein has done as much work on this as anybody. I know the O-line, where their heart is, and where their mindset is. I do think there's an aspect of us straining and finishing blocks a little bit more at the offensive line position, at the tight end position. I also think it's running backs consistently being able to make people miss or break tackles. You have to be able to do one or the other at a high level. And we got to put the players in the best positions possible.”

However, Franklin also took pains to note one of the missing pieces of the conversation this season as Penn State has seen its initially minor problem turn into a big topic through the course of the year.

“I think it's really a combination of all those things. It's not one specific thing,” Franklin said. “And to be honest with you, when you go back and study Mike and the success he's had over his years, he's been very highly successful with a good running game, but it's not like it's been a dominant aspect. It's been a balanced offense. And that's really what we need to get to.”

Penn State struck an optimistic tone through the week as it continued its preparations for Ohio State while trying to put the setbacks of the past three weeks behind it.

Framing the game as an opportunity rather than something to dread, Franklin offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday that the team had responded well to its current batch of adversity.

“I thought we had a really good practice and meetings on Sunday and discussed those things in detail. I think our guys have responded well,” Franklin said. “We got a tremendous challenge to go on the road against Ohio State, one of the most explosive teams in the country. We have been in these types of battles before and I know our guys will respond well and so will our staff.”

That might be true.

But, the result for the Nittany Lions is likely to be hamstrung by the simple reality of the team’s past two performances playing hurt at quarterback.

Unless Sean Clifford truly is 100 percent healthy and then produces a performance well beyond anything he’s done to this point in the season, all in conjunction with teammates on offense stepping up and a defense that can force punts and field goals, not touchdowns, out of the Buckeyes, the results are going to stay the same.

Even an elite performance from Penn State’s defense could still require four-plus touchdowns from the Nittany Lions through any avenue available, be it offensively, special teams field position capitalization, or defensive takeaways.

“Our practices were excellent, the energy was excellent. They know we have a tremendous challenge, but also we look at it as an unbelievable opportunity,” Franklin said this week. “Being able to go on the road against Ohio State, in the Shoe, it's gonna be a tremendous challenge, but we're excited about it and our mentality was great all week long.”

Facing adversity, Nittany Lions in need of points: James Franklin notebook

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