Penn State football’s offense falls flat in Outback Bowl as defense fights through opt outs
Penn State’s defense fought its way to a good first half against the odds. The Nittany Lions held Arkansas to seven points and only 105 rushing yards despite missing two starting linebackers, two starting defensive linemen and two starting defensive backs.
That group includes the two best defensive players on the roster, safety Jaquan Brisker and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, who skipped the Outback Bowl to prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft.
With everything going against them, the Nittany Lions hung around, but much like it’s been all year, it wasn’t enough.
The Penn State defense held its own against a tough opponent but a poor offensive showing — once again — prevented the team from earning a win by scoring a season-low 10 points in the team’s 24-10 Outback Bowl loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Despite being marred with absences, several players stepped up defensively. The team mixed and matched at linebacker with only one starter left at the position in sophomore Curtis Jacobs, who was proud of his group’s effort despite the outcome.
“I’m incredibly proud of how we played today,” he said. “Obviously we were shorthanded, we had some coaching changes, but my guys went out and battled. ... No matter what, even if we lost 10 players, 11 players, everybody would’ve came out there and fought.”
His position group was the only one that lost the majority of its players and faced the most adversity, with it being charged with filling gaps opened up by the offensive line and preventing big gains in the running game. Its efforts in the first half not only kept the team in the game but it gave it a lead at 10-7.
Then the tide turned and Arkansas broke through.
“In the second half they made an adjustment and made a commitment to run the quarterback,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “...That was obviously a major factor in the game.”
Normally the defense would have a solution. Former defensive coordinator Brent Pry would make an adjustment to limit the solution the offense found, usually relying on his veteran defenders to think and adapt on the fly.
But on Saturday Pry wasn’t there, after taking the head coach job at Virginia Tech, and neither were most of those veterans on the defense.
The lack of continuity impacted the group’s ability to make adjustments once the quarterbacks started rolling.
“They were just able to execute and we weren’t,” Jacobs said. “With young guys in it’s hard to be able to account for people being in their gaps and everyone being perfect every play. Obviously everyone is going to play hard, but that doesn’t equate to execution. We’ve just got to execute better as as a defense.”
And roll they did. Quarterbacks KJ Jefferson — who won the game’s Most Valuable Player award — and Malik Hornsby ran the ball 24 times for 177 yards in the game despite Jefferson taking five sacks that resulted in 24 lost yards.
Once the Razorbacks found their groove offensively, things began to snowball for the Nittany Lions. Not only did they not have their usual defensive coordinator to make those changes or the players to execute them, but they also didn’t have the sheer number of players to keep pace.
Arkansas kept the tempo up and wore out the Penn State defense by getting to the line of scrimmage and snapping the ball before the Lions could catch their breath — and eventually it took its toll.
“I think (it wore us down) a little bit,” redshirt junior Nick Tarburton said. “I think their tempo was pretty impressive. I think defensively we were on the field a pretty good bit. As soon as they snapped the ball, they were right back on the ball.”
Whether it was the fast pace, the lack of depth or the talent on Arkansas’ roster, Penn State couldn’t keep up. But it did hang around, and for at least a half of football it did its job to win the game.
It forced two interceptions, both by senior safety Ji’Ayir Brown. It earned five sacks, three of which were by redshirt sophomore Smith Vilbert. It allowed 24 points, not a dominant performance, but nothing to scoff at given the circumstances. The unit did enough to make it a game Saturday afternoon.
The same can’t be said for an offense that was anemic for the most part. Redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford, who was removed from the game in the fourth quarter — a decision made by the medical staff, according to Franklin — struggled at times to find open receivers and gave the ball to the Razorbacks twice with interceptions. The running game, as it has all season, struggled to get positive momentum going.
Sophomore wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith said the biggest leap the group has to make — with an entire offseason to make it — is with its chemistry as it heads into its second year under offensive coordinator and play caller Mike Yurcich.
“I feel like it’s just about chemistry,” Lambert-Smith said. “We’re gonna build a bond as an offense, make it greater, and I feel like that’s gonna help a lot.”
If that’s all that needs to be changed, the Nittany Lions will be in good shape next year. But all signs point to there being more.
The passing game needs more playmakers, the running game needs to exist in some form or fashion and the play-caller needs to push the right buttons at the right times.
Otherwise it will be more of the same.
The same defense leading the charge as the program seeks its first College Football Playoff appearance — scratching and clawing its way no matter the personnel or play-caller.
And the same offense flashing the occasional exciting big play, and then wilting when it comes time to put points on the board and support a defense worthy of a championship.
This story was originally published January 1, 2022 at 6:19 PM.
