Breaking down Penn State's plan against Rutgers to find out what's changed
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The Penn State Nittany Lions football team faces off against Michigan State on Saturday for the team's final game of the 2023 season. It's also the second game without offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Head coach James Franklin fired Yurcich after the team's loss to Michigan earlier this year.
So what was different last week, and what can we expect in the upcoming game against the Spartans? We'll discuss the plan of attack for the team when quarterback Drew Allar was under center before he was knocked out of the game in the third quarter.
We'll also discuss how the game changed in the second half when backup Beau Pribula came into the game and operated the offense.
Penn State game plan altered last week
While Franklin declined to discuss the specific issues with Yurcich's style during his Monday press conference, he did expound on how to build a good offensive game plan in college football.
"How tight can you get the game plan to allow the players to get enough reps versus all the looks in the game to play fast and assignment sound, but not too small that there is not enough things in the plan to give the defense challenges and issues.
So that is always the constant battle. I remember when I first became a coordinator, coming from a west coast system the game plan was massive," he said.
But with a collaborative effort on the offensive staff, led by tight ends coach Ty Howle and running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider, Franklin said he was pleased with the plan. They kept things lean and effective, which is what he learned in his career.
Lean is effective
Multiple times during his time at Penn State, Franklin reinforced the idea of Yurcich not trying to reinvent the offense each week.
"Not just the number of plays in the game plan, how many of those plays are new concepts, not the same play run from a different formation with a different motion. That's fine. How many of those plays are new concepts as well?
What's the sweet spot for that as well? Typically that may show up on third down and red zone or with a trick play or shot.
So all those things have to be factored in, and to me, that's where the best ones are. They're as tight as they can be with the game plan, but not so tight that it becomes simplistic and easy for the defense."
On today's show, we'll describe how that played out on the field and give examples of Penn State's offensive staff putting the quarterback in a position to succeed more often and earlier in the game.
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