Instant Analysis: Same old stuff from the Penn State offense
0The Penn State Nittany Lions lost to Michigan 24-15 on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. It's the second loss and the second poor performance by the offense in those games. Mike Yurcich's offense amassed 14 total points in non-late-game emergencies in those two games. The Blue White Illustrated crew covering the game give their thoughts in our Instant Analysis after the contest. Check out the full video either on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel or here on the site.
Penn State offense lost for words
When asked after the game what made the Ohio State and Michigan defenses so tough compared to a comparatively stout Iowa defense, tight end Tyler Warren didn't have much to say
"I'm not really sure I have an answer for that."
They're good defenses, and if you give him some things, you can't always bounce back from it. There's a part of that falls on us just executing," he continued.
Penn State head coach James Franklin made it clear that he wasn't pleased with how the game was called on that side of the ball.
"We gotta do a better job of calling a game to allow a quarterback to get into rhythm. That is critical. We've got to find easy completions to get a quarterback into rhythm. That's what everybody does."
Allar only attempted 13 passes before the fourth quarter, and the game pressure was on the line. Then, he went 3-10 in the final frame, with his team down by multiple scores and in a dire situation.
"I think the big thing is just instilling confidence early on. A lot of time, the first first down on drives is like really important. Because once you kind of get the first one, then you kind of get into a groove, but we just had too many three-and-outs. And it's hard to kind of get in the groove, and the rhythm feel comfortable when that happens," tight end Theo Johnson said after the game.
Penn State is 8-2, with it's two losses coming to top-five teams in the country. Still, there's a roiling frustration among fans that the team can't get over the hump and defeat their Big Ten East rivals in a meaningful game.
It wasn't exactly a difficult offense they faced on Saturday. Michigan threw one pass in the second half that resulted in a pass interference call. The Wolverines scored on two short fields thanks to a turnover and a failed fourth-down conversion attempt in the fourth quarter.