The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Reviewing Penn State football’s 41-12 win over Auburn
Penn State was inching closer and closer to what it wanted to be. The defense was making things happen under Manny Diaz in the first two weeks of the season but it wasn’t closing on all of its opportunities.
That quickly changed Saturday evening, but it wasn’t anything drastic.
It was more about comfort than anything else.
“I think it’s our guys getting more and more comfortable and more confident with the tweaks to the scheme,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “... I’m not necessarily sure what the difference was, we’ll talk about it but we gotta build on that. That’s obviously what we prefer.”
The Nittany Lions came away with four turnovers Saturday in their 41-12 win over the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
They picked two passes off, they forced three fumbles and came away with two of them, and they made life difficult for the Auburn offense for 60 minutes.
Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown, who previously told the Centre Daily Times he wants to lead the nation in interceptions by himself after tying for the lead last season, said it was nice to finally have a ball come his way.
“About time,” Brown said with a smile. “I haven’t been getting much action at all. Finally somebody threw it my way and I got to make a play. I’m gonna continue to do that.”
Good
Pass rush: The Penn State pass rush hadn’t gotten home much over the first two weeks of the season. The team’s edge rushers were a beat or two off as Purdue and Ohio made a point to get the ball out and do it quickly. That clearly wasn’t Auburn’s gameplan as T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford stood behind the line of scrimmage, searching for an open receiver no matter how long it took. That allowed Penn State to take advantage. First it was Chop Robinson, then it was Adisa Isaac, then it was Dani Dennis-Sutton.
The Nittany Lion pass rush got whatever it wanted and played the type of complementary football that can open up a game. Robinson and Isaac each require so much attention that even linebackers Curtis Jacobs and Abdul Carter got in on the action, as did Brown. Isaac and Robinson came to play against Auburn and if that’s how they’re going to play the rest of the year, this is a pass rush that should be feared even against the best opponents.
Forcing turnovers: It was only a matter of time. Brown tied for the lead in the country in interceptions last year. Diaz is a coordinator who doesn’t just want turnovers — he seeks them out. The aggressiveness he’d been instilling in his unit since his arrival in December finally came with results this week. Zakee Wheatley hauled in a pick after Finley took a hit from safety Jaylen Reed on a throw. Brown saw a pass coming and ran right into the throwing lane to pick it off. Robinson, Brown and Abdul Carter all forced fumbles because they went after the ball.
This was the first real iteration of what the Diaz defense was supposed to look like at Penn State. The first two games showed flashes of what it could be, but it came together at Jordan-Hare Stadium. I’ve said it more than once. This is not a great defense, it is an elite one. It’s the kind that takes a good team and makes it great. Diaz may not be in Happy Valley for long, but it sure looks like he’s going to make quite the impression anyway.
Offensive line: Well, well, well, if it isn’t the most controversial position group on the team absolutely mauling a very talented Auburn defensive line. It’s hard to imagine a world where the o-line plays better than it did Saturday. They were not just beating guys — they were moving them. It’s not easy to make enormous humans go a direction they’re actively fighting against, but they did it time and time again.
Penn State will face similarly talented groups when it takes on Ohio State and Michigan, so this is a nice test for the Nittany Lions. They more than passed it, too. The Tigers looked helpless in the trenches. Like they had their will to fight stripped away from them because of the physical and emotional exertion they faced snap after snap. Penn State’s offensive line didn’t win every single play, but there weren’t many where they clearly lost.
Sean Clifford: Some people have been fairly critical of Clifford this season (it’s me, I’m the one who’s been critical), but Saturday night he was exactly who Penn State needed him to be. The veteran quarterback made good decision after good decision in what was nearly a flawless performance. I was a firm believer that his performance against Auburn last year was the best of his career. Well, this one overtook that one. Ignore the stats. He’s put up bigger numbers. But rarely has he ever been so on point with his decisions, with his poise and with his presence.
And this after Owen Pappoe hit him so hard in the first quarter that his levitating body was parallel with the grass 4 feet beneath it. A hit so big the entire press box let out an “ooooo.” But Clifford remained calm. He didn’t leave the field for a snap until the game was well in hand in the fourth quarter. Some have suggested that Drew Allar is already at or near his level (again, it’s me, I said this), but Saturday night is the kind of performance that’s hard to replicate and, in some ways, it’s hard to even articulate why it was so spot on.
Bad
Third down conversions: Penn State’s defense was really good but Diaz has to have a gameplan for quarterbacks who can take off and run on third down. He wants to bring pressure and disrupt plays in third-and-long, but giving up avenues for good runners to take off for big plays is not a good thing. Finley was able to take off up the middle because it didn’t seem like anyone was spying the quarterbacks in those situations. Essentially, there was no linebacker or safety mirroring the quarterbacks’ movements to prevent big runs.
That’s not that big of a deal if you’re going to consistently put teams in third-and-long situations anyway, but you still don’t want teams knowing there are going to be openings up the middle. It’s a minor issue that really only shows up when your defense is awesome on first and second down.
Chances of playing high-level nonconference games: Franklin shot this one down quickly. No, he doesn’t want to see more matchups like this one. He wants his team to focus on winning its conference and if that’s the case, he’s right for not wanting them. Three easy nonconference matchups can set teams up for more wins and more success down the road. Now, I’m a little sad about it. This experience was fun. Jordan-Hare is a great stadium with a great atmosphere. Of course I want to go more places like this.
Same for the fans. They should want more experiences like this one. The kind where you’re singing the alma mater to your favorite team after they just defeated a high-profile opponent. That doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for the program to make those things happen. While they’re fun and everyone seemingly enjoyed it, don’t count on Penn State traveling down south for more nonconference games.
Ugly
Points off turnovers: Penn State turned Auburn over four times in the game but only came away with 10 points. The offense was really good and really efficient but if there’s one flaw it’s this one. While it may not be “ugly” it’s still not ideal. The Nittany Lions had too many opportunities with short fields or newfound momentum to only come up with 10 points on those four turnovers. Who knows, maybe next time they’ll win by 39 instead of 29 if they finish those chances.
I don’t really want to end this on that negative, though. Penn State was really good. And the ugliest thing about the game was not the team wearing their road white uniforms.
