How concerning was the slow start on offense?
Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to your opponent. For as much optimism I have about the Penn State offense in 2021, things certainly looked a little discouraging in the first half. Penn State’s offense was dominated by Wisconsin’s defensive effort, as Badgers defensive coordinator Jim Leonard was getting the better of Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich heading to halftime.
But the Nittany Lions opened things up a bit after the break and Sean Clifford started to get some time to scan the field. As a result, opportunities began popping up for big plays and simply moving the chains.
Penn State’s offense will face more stiff challenges this season against teams like Iowa and Ohio State, and it may not be pretty then either. But don’t let one half of football dictate the entire outlook for the Penn State offense this fall.
Where was Jake Pinegar?
Penn state’s approach on special teams has typically come down to allowing Jordan Stout to handle the long-distance field goals with his strong leg and Jake Pinegar to handle things closer to the end zone with better accuracy inside of 40 yards. But it was Stout who missed a 24-yard field goal and an extra point in the second half that led to the game being a bit more tense in the final minutes than it needed to be.
So what was the deal?
After the game, James Franklin noted Pinegar did travel with the team and was available, but there was no explanation for the decision to use Stout instead.
Something feels a little fishy there.
Penn State’s defense was bent but did not break
Penn State’s defense was on the football field for just under 43 minutes and only allowed 10 points to the home team. The Nittany Lions came up with three takeaways inside the red zone in the game, and the special teams blocked a short field goal attempt by Wisconsin.
The Badgers did have times when it was chewing up yards with a good push on the line of scrimmage against a titring Penn State defensive line, and Chez Mellusi totaled 121 yards on the ground as a result for the Badgers. And there were times when Wisconsin took advantage of Ebiketie being out of the game and Penn State using freshman cornerback Kalen King (King immediately was called for pass interference when he came into the game at one point).
Despite all of that, Penn State allowed just 10 points and made the biggest plays of the game.
Let’s see what happens in Week 2 against Ball State.
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