Scouting Report: Penn State

daddyhoosier · Oct 23, 2020

Photo Wikimedia Commons

Daddy Hoosier | October 22, 2020

Penn State has quietly been one of the best teams in the country for the past few seasons. They have won 11 games in three of the past four years, finishing in the AP Top 10 all three of those years. Their run of success has been somewhat obscured by the fact that they have only made one appearance in the Big Ten Championship game (2016). The Nittany Lions can’t seem to get over the Buckeye hump and, though it’s probably not fair, nationally they aren’t really viewed as an ‘elite’ program.

But make no mistake this is a very good football team. Defense is their strength under Defensive Coordinator Brent Pry. They are big, strong, fast and deep at every position group. Their defensive front is very stout and tough to run against. In 2019 they allowed only 95.3 rushing yards per game (5th in FBS) and only 2.6 yards per attempt which led the country.

The secondary is also deep and experienced. Penn State defensive backs are very good overall but last year they had some breakdowns on several occasions and seemed exploitable. The Nittany Lion’s will have new faces at Linebacker in 2020 after All American Micah Parsons opted out of 2020, but PSU isn’t known as Linebacker U for no reason.

Offensively Penn State made plenty of explosive plays last season but they could also be feast or famine at times. As ESPN’s Bill Connelly points out, “They scored more than 40 points four times and fewer than 20 points three times.”

The Nittany Lions Offensive Line is perhaps the best in the Big Ten and is probably one of the best units in the country. Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen noted earlier this week that the two best O-Lines they faced in 2019 were Penn State and Tennessee.

Their number one Running Back Journey Brown will also not be playing this year but it’s next man up for PSU.

Commenting on Journey Brown’s possible absence Coach Allen said,

“He’s a tremendously talented player but they have a stable full of running backs that are extremely talented. The bottom line is they’re a great football team. Their offensive line makes them go…and I know they’ve recruited at an extremely high level at (the running back) position so if he’s not there they’ll have somebody else that’s an extremely talented future NFL running back taking snaps.”

Sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford are likely to get the majority of carries for Penn State on Saturday.

Sophomore Tight End Pat Freiermuth is already one of the top Tight Ends in all of College Football and is effective as both a pass catcher and a run blocker. First year Offensive Coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca comes to State College from Minnesota where he was the architect of the Golden Gopher’s potent 2019 attack.

Junior Jahan Dotson is PSU’s number one option at Wide Receiver but it is not entirely clear who will emerge as the next best option at that position. Freshman Parker Washington and Junior Cam Sullivan-Brown were recently listed as the starters on Penn State’s depth chart.

Junior Quarterback Sean Clifford had a modest 11 completions for 179 yards and a touchdown against Indiana last season but he also hurt IU with his feet. Clifford rushed for 55 yards and 2 TDs and his wily runs helped Penn State eke out a victory against the Hoosiers.

Penn State is 22-1 all-time against IU, with Indiana’s lone win coming in 2013 when PSU was clearly in a rebuilding phase. Penn State has since won six straight though the last two contests have both decided by five and seven points respectively.

Head Coach James Franklin is one of the best in the country and in the last four seasons he is gawdy 42-11, including wins in the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls.

This will be a tough test for the Hoosiers but Indiana seems to match up pretty well on paper and has the depth to still be competitive deep in the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Indiana 37 – 34

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