The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Reviewing Penn State’s stunning 31-26 loss to Minnesota
James Franklin wanted his team to embrace the pain of Saturday’s loss.
He didn’t want his Nittany Lions to forget the 31-26 loss to Minnesota. He didn’t even want them to try. He preferred they use this, to remember, so something good might come out of the worst overall performance of the season.
“Everything in life is a learning opportunity,” Franklin said in his postgame press conference Saturday, when asked about his message to the team. “Take a minute, take a deep breath, and allow this feeling. Have this feeling. Don’t block it. And everything can be used for fuel.
“We can get better. That’s everybody. We can get better, and we need to use this emotion, this feeling, as fuel moving forward.”
The Nittany Lions were the touchdown favorites Saturday, but effective Minnesota RPOs combined with trouble in Penn State’s passing game led to the first blemish on the season for Franklin’s squad. Most players appeared stunned in the interview room Saturday — quiet, melancholy and hurt.
But, they said, they’d work to make sure they never felt like this again. Quarterback Sean Clifford said, if anything, the loss would make him “hungrier.” Tight end Pat Freiermuth vowed they’d fix whatever went wrong. And both of Saturday’s starting defensive tackles echoed their head coach’s mindset.
“This is adversity, and we have to use it as fuel,” DT Robert Windsor said. “This is pain. People are willing to change most when they’re in pain, so we got to use this and change and get ready for our next opponent.”
Added DT PJ Mustipher: “We got to use this. We can’t let it happen again; we have to use this as a step forward.”
Penn State will have its next chance this coming Saturday against Indiana, which was ranked No. 24 in the latest AP Poll. It will be the fourth ranked team PSU has played this season.
Good
Journey Brown’s career performance: While there was definitely a lot not to like about the Penn State offense, Brown clearly fell into the positive category.
The Pennsylvania native rushed 14 times for a career-best 124 yards and two touchdowns. He had two long runs — of 45 and 39 yards, respectively — and his first long run went for a touchdown, answering Minnesota’s score on the opening drive.
Brown’s performance didn’t just stop at those early runs that flashed his speed, either. He also converted a crucial third-and-2 in the third quarter, which led to a 10-yard Nick Bowers touchdown on the next play. And, in the final quarter, he converted another third-and-2 by running for a 6-yard score.
On a day when numerous players struggled, or turned in uncharacteristic performances, Brown shined. And he deserves a lot of credit for making up for the loss of true freshman Noah Cain, who did not play because of an injury.
LBs Jan Johnson and Micah Parsons: Overall, it was a day to forget for the defense. But both Parsons and Johnson still turned in solid performances and were part of the reason the run defense was so strong.
Each had 11 tackles, with Parsons racking up one sack and two tackles for loss and Johnson grabbing three tackles for loss. That means those two players combined for all but one of the Nittany Lions’ half-dozen stuffs in the backfield.
It’s not as if these two didn’t make quality stops, either. Seven of Johnson’s tackles came within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage, and Parsons was once again all over the field. His sack — Penn State’s only one of the game — came at an opportune time, transforming a second-and-11 into a third-and-21 in the fourth quarter. Oh, and he made the stop on that third down, too, to force a crucial punt.
It was Johnson’s fourth career game with double-digit tackles. And, for Parsons, it was his third straight such performance.
Fight in the fourth quarter: Forget that first half for a moment. At least try, OK? For all the warts and struggles Saturday, the Nittany Lions at least deserve credit for clawing back in a game that felt nowhere near as close as 31-26.
When Minnesota scored early in the final quarter, to go up 31-19, it didn’t look great. And when Penn State came up 5 yards short of the end zone on its next drive? That seemed like the nail in the coffin.
But it wasn’t.
The defense stood tall on the next drive and forced a punt, while quarterback Sean Clifford rebounded by leading Penn State on an eight-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. Penn State’s defense then forced another punt, and Clifford drove downfield again.
Even with cramps, and an obvious limp, Clifford guided Penn State to the Minnesota 10. Sure, the Nittany Lions came up short — we’ll get to that a little later — but there’s something to be said about a team that keeps fighting even when the odds are against it. The Nittany Lions nearly pulled off the unlikely comeback, and they showed they have the right mentality. This isn’t a team that’s going to give up.
Call the end result what you will. But that fight at the end? That definitely falls under the “Good.”
WR KJ Hamler and TE Pat Freiermuth: You might notice that nearly all the “Good” this week was pointing out individual performances. And a big reason for that is because, outside of the fight Penn State showed in the fourth quarter, there wasn’t a whole lot for the team to hang its hat on. It was outplayed in numerous facets of the game.
But with Hamler and Freiermuth? Those two won their matchups nearly every time they were called upon. They were consistent.
When QB Sean Clifford targeted them, he was 14-of-21 passing for 220 yards. When he didn’t? He was 9-of-22 passing for 120 yards.
Freiermuth was especially important to the passing game; Clifford looked his way on virtually every crucial down. The sophomore tight end converted four third downs and one fourth down. In fact, Freiermuth even set a career best with 101 receiving yards — his first-ever 100-yard game — on seven catches.
Hamler’s stats were even better: He had seven receptions for a team-high 119 yards, his fifth career 100-yard game. He wasn’t a third-down staple like Freiermuth, but he kept the chains moving and did most of his damage on the early downs.
Without those two, Penn State likely would’ve been blown out. They kept this game respectable with two solid performances, and they undoubtedly deserve a shoutout under the “Good.”
Bad
Sean Clifford’s three-INT performance: Prior to Saturday’s game, Clifford had thrown just three picks in 216 attempts. In Saturday’s game, Clifford threw three interceptions in 43 attempts.
It was the worst performance of Clifford’s young career, and he didn’t try to make excuses Saturday. He knew he was off.
“You can’t help but blame yourself, especially after my performance today,” Clifford said.
He underthrew a number of balls in the first half — one of which would’ve been a sure touchdown to TE Pat Freiermuth — and finished the opening two quarters 9-of-21 passing with two picks.
It was an uncharacteristic showing, especially after a bye week. And it allowed Minnesota to do what it does best — play with the lead and control the clock.
WR drops and mental errors: It wouldn’t be fair to mention Sean Clifford’s struggles if we didn’t also address the sub-par play by receiving targets not named KJ Hamler or Pat Freiermuth. It was almost as if David Corley made a guest coaching appearance this weekend. (Harsh? Yes. Warranted? Also yes.)
Wideout Justin Shorter was targeted on three occasions. And it was a disaster each time. (He dropped two passes, and another was intercepted.) Speedster Dan Chisena dropped a long pass that likely would’ve been a touchdown. And WR Daniel George, who finished with one catch for 8 yards, committed an offensive pass interference that, depending on your outlook, either made him the scapegoat or saw the officials make a lousy call.
With less than 90 seconds left in regulation, Penn State found itself just 10 yards from the end zone. Clifford then tossed an 8-yard completion to Journey Brown, making a Penn State win seem probable at that point ... before officials disallowed the play because of George’s offensive pass interference. Instead of getting the ball on the 2, Penn State was forced to move back to the 25.
“You really hope that call late in the game — I hope it’s clear as day because to make that call in that critical of a situation,” Franklin said, cutting himself short and simply adding it was well-officiated game.
Clifford threw his final interception two plays after that flag.
Even if the OPI was questionable, the fact is the more the season progresses, the more it seems as if Penn State has only two true WR threats in the passing game. There is no dependable WR3. Although Clifford wasn’t perfect, if Penn State’s receivers were, this still could’ve been a win.
So, flags or not, performances from targets not named Hamler, Freiermuth or Jahan Dotson still clearly fell under the “Bad.”
Clock (mis)management: Another week, another Big Ten game, another addition for the “clock mismanagement” file. Except, this time, it contributed to a Penn State loss.
Late in the first half, within the final minute, Sean Clifford found Pat Freiermuth for a 20-yard completion to give Penn State first-and-goal from the 7. With about 18 seconds left, James Franklin elected not to use his timeout.
Instead, he spiked the ball and cost his team a down — one it could’ve used since the Nittany Lions followed that spike up with an incompletion and a 4-yard run. Penn State then settled for a field goal.
In that situation — and this really isn’t up for debate — conventional football knowledge says you use the timeout immediately, which gives you three chances at the touchdown. Get sacked? Then spike the ball. Otherwise, aim for the end zone.
Those weren’t the only clock issues. In the first quarter, Penn State also had a delay-of-game penalty on third-and-3 at the Minnesota 15. (Franklin said he didn’t call the timeout because he thought Clifford would still snap it in time.) That wasn’t anywhere near as egregious as the first-half spike, but it still fits a clear pattern with Franklin.
This is an issue multiple time every season.
Late-game play-calls: Offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne earned some “Good” praise after a few recent wins. But he’s back in the “Bad” category after some head-scratching play-calls.
Rather than nit-pick about a play here or a play there, let’s just focus on the most important plays down the stretch — the first-and-goal series in the final quarter.
In case you don’t remember, or passed out while yelling at the TV in a rage-induced haze, here were Rahne’s four play-calls from first-and-goal at the 9: Run up the middle, run up the middle, run up the middle (fake jet sweep), pass in the corner to 5-foot-9 KJ Hamler.
The Nittany Lions got 2 yards, 3 yards, minus-1 yard and an incompletion out of those calls. For such a crucial series of plays, one would think that would be the time to dial up a play you had prepared for that very moment — or, heck, just go with what was working. Sean Clifford was 3-for-3 for 50 yards on that drive, and TE Pat Freiermuth was unstoppable.
Instead, Rahne got away from what was working and, well, it didn’t work. Welcome back to the “Bad,” Rahne.
Ugly
Entire secondary/defending the RPO: In case you were wondering why the defense wasn’t listed somewhere in the “Bad,” this is why. The secondary — and the defense of Minnesota’s RPO — was so embarrassing that it deserved its own category.
Minnesota QB Tanner Morgan finished 18-of-20 passing Saturday for 339 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Let’s put that into some perspective: Morgan completed 90 percent of his passes, which was the highest completion rate allowed by PSU this century. (Well, unless you count 2015 Army’s 100 percent completion rate, when it finished 1-for-1 passing. In that case, Saturday was only Penn State’s second-worst pass-defense performance since 2000.)
On top of that, it was the first time since Sept. 29, 2018 — against Ohio State — that the Nittany Lions surrendered three TDs through the air.
James Franklin dismissed criticism about the lack of a pass-rush, explaining there’s usually not a pass-rush against RPOs because the defensive line is defending as if it’s a run. And he estimated about 75 percent of Morgan’s passes were single-read RPOs.
The thing is, if that was the case, Penn State sure did a lousy job adjusting in the secondary — especially if Minnesota essentially did the same thing all day.
No defensive backs were made available to the media Saturday, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The entire defensive backfield looked confused. Blown coverages were the norm, long plays became commonplace, and the Nittany Lions had no answers for 6-foot-2 wideouts Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson.
Bateman set a stadium record with seven catches for 203 yards and a score. Johnson had seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Altogether, Morgan targeted the pair 15 times — and threw just one incompletion to them. That’s mind-boggling.
Penn State couldn’t stop either of them. On the fifth play of the game, Morgan connected with Bateman for a 66-yard TD — and that proved to be a harbinger instead of an exception. Morgan went on to complete seven more passes that went for at least 20 yards on the afternoon.
It was arguably the worst performance by this secondary in the James Franklin era. If not longer. Pass-defense performances don’t get much uglier than that.
