What's the Matter With Penn State?
On the first Saturday in September, as college football games began kicking off elsewhere, Penn State coach James Franklin visited a farmer's market in State College. He conducted an interview with the athletic department's official podcast from his car, saying he was "just trying to enjoy what the day brings" and hoping for Big Ten football's return.
On Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, his arms folded and has face gaitered, Franklin seemed to long to return to that day.
"There's a lot of things we have to get corrected," he said..
Penn State is one of college football's most perplexing teams in 2020, having started 0-3 for the first time in 19 years. The Lions began the season ranked No. 7, having won 11 games in three of the last four years, and returned a roster seemingly capable of challenging Ohio State for the Big Ten title.
Sure, Penn State signaled at some points of concern, from installing a new offense via video chat to hoping that All-American linebacker Micah Parsons would return to losing top running back Journey Brown to an undisclosed medical condition.
But even those constraints couldn't predict just how Penn State's season would unravel from the beginning, punctuated by a loss to Maryland that is the most inexplicable of Franklin's seven seasons as head coach.
Penn State entered the game a 25-point betting favorite against a team that had scored just 20 total points in the teams' last four meetings. Maryland led 28-7 at halftime, and Penn State lost for just the third time in the 44-game series.
Afterward, players sounded lost and frustrated. Tight end Pat Freiermuth suggested some teammates aren't holding themselves, or each other, accountable. Receiver Jahan Dotson cited "distractions" (he didn't elaborate) preventing Penn State from retaining focus.
"Right now, to be completely honest, we're not a good football team," Dotson said.
So what happened? It's a complex mix of miscues, new and old, along with continuing questions that Penn State has fought for years. In the middle is Franklin, who has never been 0-3 as a head coach, a career that included three years fighting the SEC at Vanderbilt and two post-sanctions rebuild seasons at Penn State.
And it starts with the most important position.
1. The struggles at quarterback
Penn State has made Sean Clifford the center of its offense, even more than it did with Trace McSorley, who could rely on Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders in the backfield. Having lost his top two backs certainly changed the dynamic, but Clifford is being asked to shoulder too much.
That's proving to be a strain, because Clifford already shoulders too much on his own. He ranks 10th in the Big Ten in pass efficiency and 13th in completion rate (56.6%) after one of the most grueling games of his career.
Penn State is struggling to block for its run game, making Clifford apprehensive on his reads and more reliant on tucking to run. He led Penn State in carries (17) for the second consecutive week.
Defenses know to align against the run (Maryland did that well) and dare Clifford to throw. He's doing that inconsistently this season.
Clifford completed 6 of his first 20 passes Saturday, threw two more interceptions and, as the last insult, was squeezed into a sack-fumble sequence that led to a defensive touchdown.
Clifford, who overthrew 6'5" tight end Freiermuth several times, needed a break. But Franklin stayed with him, partly for field-position reasons but primarily because Clifford's his starter. The quarterback ended up throwing a school-record 57 passes.
"In the second half, we still felt like we had an opportunity to go out and get this thing swung in the other direction," Franklin said. "And at the time we felt like it was the right decision."
2. The offensive line hasn't progressed
Penn State's front delivered some assertive moments against Indiana, particularly on the opening series, but has been maddening since. Maryland arrived at Beaver Stadium having made one sack in two games. The Terps sacked Clifford seven times.
Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca tried shuffling personnel, tried deep shots to stretch the defense and tried running his tempo offense. Little worked to help the line consistently. Even at game's end, with consecutive run plays from the 1-yard line, Penn State gained nothing.
Certainly the backfield is different without Brown and the injured Noah Cain. But this was Penn State's most experienced line under Franklin with its best collection of recruits. And it has underwhelmed.
"At the end of the day, if you can't block the guy across from you, then it's not going to work," Freiermuth said.
3. A shocking defense
For the second consecutive week, Penn State's defense allowed a 62-yard play in the first quarter: one on a jet-sweep run to Ohio State, the other on a crossing route to Maryland.
Both underscored Penn State's lack of defensive speed, something Franklin and defensive coordinator Brent Pry expected to be an asset this season. But the breakdowns run deeper.
Penn State's back seven, beyond missing Parsons, often find themselves playing catch-up in space. Maryland running back Jake Funk ran past two linebackers on a shockingly easy 38-yard touchdown run. Slot receivers get open, and run free downfield, with ease: Maryland's Rakim Jarrett caught touchdown passes of 42 and 62 yards on the same play call.
Counting the Cotton Bowl, Penn State has allowed 30+ points in four consecutive games for the first time in school history, according to sports-reference.com. That includes Maryland's second-half defensive touchdown.
"We’ve got to get more pressure on the quarterback, we’ve got to contest more balls and tighten coverage," Franklin said. "And then, when people do make catches, we've got to get them on the ground. And we've got to consistently wrap."
Quite the list.
4. Something deeper
Before the Ohio State game, Franklin looked wistful during an ESPN College GameDay interview as his family appeared on television. Franklin's wife and daughters are living at in the South this football season to protect daughter Addison, who has sickle cell disease.
Certainly that sacrifice has been difficult, made worse by Penn State's 0-3 start. But Franklin has pointed to other casualties of the COVID-19 season, those which Penn State uses for bonding.
Coaches haven't been able to entertain players for dinner, and the preseason featured no team-building breaks. Penn State isn't alone in missing these grace notes. But maybe the Lions have allowed their absence to affect them more.
Some players said Saturday they felt a disconnect on the field, as though teammates were trying to make plays independently. Franklin noted that in the locker room, suggesting the Lions have to find some unity.
"Right now we have a lot of individuals," Dotson said. "A lot of guys thinking about things they shouldn't be thinking about right now."
Added Dotson later, "We're not a unit right now."
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