Penn State preparing for run heavy offense, heat and environment ahead of matchup with Auburn
Penn State’s matchup with Auburn will be very different than the ones the Nittany Lions have had through the first two weeks of the season. The Tigers are near polar opposites with the Purdue Boilermakers, who Penn State defeated in its first game.
Purdue was looking to gash Penn State in the passing game, with throws underneath designed to open up the field vertically and give them a chance to make a big play.
Ohio was just an outmatched opponent, with neither the system or talent to keep up with the Nittany Lions.
Auburn is neither. They are both talented and schematically different, ready to grind down the Penn State defense with the run and wear it out over the game’s 60 minutes.
That presents a different challenge for Penn State head coach James Franklin’s team this week.
“This is going to be a challenge, there’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “You make a mistake against this crew and it has a chance to cost you. ... We’re gonna have to be sound. We’re gonna have to make sure that fundamentally we’re prepared and executing the way we’re going to need to execute.”
There will be one specific position group that must prepare itself for the game, too. The team’s linebackers haven’t been tested much against the run. They had to operate in coverage more against Purdue and then weren’t tested much at all against Ohio.
This week, they’ll need to be ready for the difficulties of facing a strong and physical opponent who wants to attack them on every play. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs said his group knows the challenge ahead and is ready to take it on.
“They’re a really great running game,” Jacobs said. “... We’re definitely gonna have to strap up our hard hats and come with our A game on Saturday.”
His preparedness was something Franklin emphasized. Having the group’s most experienced player ready and up for the challenge should mean the entirety of the room should know what lies ahead.
“I love that Curtis is approaching it that way,” Franklin said. “I think he does have the right mentality that we need at LBU. ... That approach this week, not just with Curtis but with our entire front seven, our defensive line, our defensive tackles and our entire linebacking corps will be tested this week.”
Preparing for Jordan-Hare
The Nittany Lions are on the road for the second time in three weeks and are once again heading into a hostile environment. They opened the year in West Lafayette against Purdue and will now head to Auburn to play in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The program has already taken plenty of steps to prepare for the crowd noise, even doing so before game week.
While Franklin usually emphasizes focusing on one week at a time, he said the team started working with a silent count during practice last week to prepare for the noise.
That’s just one of many measures Franklin and his staff have employed.
“We know it’s gonna be challenging,” Franklin said. “... We’ll show them some pictures of what the locker room looks like, what the stadium will look like. We’ll show them some videos, obviously of the War Eagle before the game, the band. ... We’re gonna try to prepare for it the best we possibly can but at the end of the day we still have to go out and execute it.”
There were extra changes made during practice prior to the season as well, taking the game prep back as far as August for the game. The Nittany Lions tested several measures to help get prepared for all of the issues they could face — whether it’s the crowd noise, the heat or just being in a new environment.
“We messed around with Holuba, closing the doors and turning the heat on there,” Franklin said. “... There’s some things we’re gonna talk to the team about today just to be prepared for. We’ve got a plan for it, but it’s a little bit different than the way we normally operate.”
Drew Allar’s development
One Nittany Lion who isn’t likely to see the field Saturday unless circumstances drastically change has been the talk of the season through two weeks and for good reason. He’s flashed the type of excellence you’d expect from a former five-star recruit and has already risen up the depth chart plenty over the last eight months.
Franklin said Drew Allar’s arrival, which came in January after he graduated high school early and enrolled, played a big role in helping him along in his development.
“Spring ball is invaluable for these guys that are able to come early,” Franklin said. “...So having him here early, as well as our other quarterbacks, to learn the system, to study the system, fit comfortable and get familiar so they have a chance to truly compete.
Despite his development, Allar still seems like a long shot to see the field Saturday. He only played against Purdue after Sean Clifford left the game with cramps for a drive, and came in against Ohio because of the team’s sizable lead.
Still, he’s taken the steps to prove he’ll be ready if he’s called upon again, and would be able to handle himself in the most difficult situations.
“I think he’s done a really good job of how to prepare, how to study the game,” Franklin said. “...I think he’s already at a point where the game is slowed down to him a little bit. He’s able to anticipate what’s gonna happen from a coverage perspective or from a pressure perspective.”
Quick Hitters
- Penn State is discussing Sander Sahaydak taking field goals from 52 yards out and longer.
- Franklin said the team has more depth than it did at wide receiver prior to the season opener when he said the group had five or six players he thought he could trust to play.
- Defensive end Adisa Isaac is nearly where he was prior to tearing his Achilles but Franklin said he still has a little bit left to do in terms of adding weight.
