How Penn State football is making offensive progress heading into its marquee matchup with Auburn
Penn State’s new offense couldn’t have faced two more contrasting obstacles in its first two weeks. The unit needed the answers to two completely different questions.
Wisconsin brought pressure in passing situations, trying to cause panic in the backfield and in the mind of Sean Clifford while playing plenty of man coverage behind it. Ball State stayed tried and true to its principles, trying to bend but not break, giving up short throws and runs while not being beaten over the top with big plays. The Nittany Lions needed to show it could win in multiple ways under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
In both scenarios, Penn State had answers. In both games, Penn State got the win.
The Nittany Lions will need to show the offense has continued its progress and that it’s in position to build off its early successes in order to defeat Auburn Saturday night in Beaver Stadium.
Penn State head coach James Franklin said the two games have allowed the offense — especially Clifford and Yurcich — to learn more and the exposure to the two styles could allow for more growth.
“You would like to gain both of those experiences,” Franklin said, “and be able to learn from them and grow from them and evolve and start to formulate your identity and Mike getting a good feel for what we do well on offense and, specifically, what Sean does well. Sean getting a feel for Mike and how Mike calls the game and how he wants to attack the defense. ... Every game and practice you go through that, you get more of a comfort level. I get more of a comfort level. Mike does with me. Sean is involved in that as well. It’s all of it. It’s all those things that factor in in how we operate.”
The chemistry between the quarterback and offensive coordinator is of the utmost importance on the field. The quarterback must understand exactly what the coordinator wants out of a play, and see exactly what the coordinator sees.
That’s a difficult task to master with only two games under their belts together, but Clifford and Yurcich have begun the process, with the coordinator already helping out the quarterback.
“He’s pushed me in a lot of different areas,” Clifford said. “I’ve learned a lot from each offensive coordinator that I’ve had. ... I think Coach Yurcich has brought a lot of different philosophies to me and to this team.”
Clifford’s improvements have been subtle in some areas — his pocket movement has been better, albeit imperfect — and more obvious in others. The redshirt senior quarterback has yet to turn the ball over after averaging an interception per game in 2020.
He attributed his ability to take care of the ball to working through his progressions and being smarter with the football. Those attributes can help an offense look effortless as it moves the ball down the field.
The two weeks of game action have already allowed Clifford to prove he has made that progress, and it has allowed the rest of the offense to learn more — not just about Yurcich and his style — but about what their best football looks like.
“We’ve learned being efficient on first and second down is a huge factor in the game,” Clifford said. “I think that we’ve seen that play out pretty well. Once we get in third-and-shot, we’re pretty good there. ... I think that the other big thing is securing the football and no turnovers. That was a point of emphasis in the offseason.”
The first two steps that spurred that offensive progress have been important. The Nittany Lions knocked off a good Wisconsin team at Camp Randall Stadium and dominated the defending Mid-American Conference champions at Beaver Stadium while they were still learning about themselves on offense.
The third step, however, is likely to be the most important in finding out just how good Penn State can be. Auburn is more dynamic than Wisconsin and more likely to hurt the defense with explosive plays if the offense goes three-and-out. The Tigers play fast on defense with one of the better defensive coordinators in the country — Derek Mason — calling the plays and drawing up a unit that can be versatile.
To take the next step, Penn State’s offense will have to be better than it was in Week 1 and better than it was in Week 2. The strides it has to make are necessary when navigating an early schedule as difficult as its current one.
Time will tell if the group can push forward as it needs, but according to offensive tackle Caedan Wallace, it’s on the right track.
“We have a saying in the room that we’re just stepping,” Wallace said. “We’re just continuing to go. Obviously we’re not where we can be yet, but every week we’re getting better and we’re just learning. That’s what Coach Yurcich is all about. Improving every week, coming out every day at practice and getting better. That’s the approach that we take, too.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 2:09 PM.
