Penn State Football: 5 overreactions from win over Pitt
3. Penn State didn’t make the right adjustments at half time
Penn State wasn’t able to get much going in the first half of their week two game against Pitt.
Pitt’s offense consistently matriculated the ball down the field with a variety of short passes, power running plays, jet sweeps and the incredibly effective shovel pass.
Penn State, on the other hand, never really had a chance to get anything going.
The Nittany Lions’ offense is predicated on deep vertical passing routes and long runs, but Trace McSorley’s inconsistent play effectively stopped the offense in its tracks by only completing 6-of-15 passes for 44 yards in the entire first half.
Related Story: Penn State Football: Is Trace McSorley holding Nittany Lions back?
And after halftime the team delivered more of the same.
After being plauged by an inconsistent aerial assault, an inability to consistently run the ball with star back Saquon Barkley, and an incredibly porous defensive front seven in the first half, Jim Franklin’s squad didn’t make the right adjustments at halftime and continue to struggle in these departments for much of the second half.
After only having the ball for eight minutes in the first half, Penn State finished the game with less than 22 minutes of offense for the entire game.
On offense, Penn State never attempted to call more quick passing concepts or run the ball between the tackles in an attempt to milk the clock and give its defense a breather after an intense 22 minutes of action in the first half, but instead continued to attempt 20, 30, and 40-yard passing plays for much of the second half without much success.
McSorley did finish the game by completing 15-of-28 passes for 164 yards but had the team changed to a simpler short-yardage offense, the Lions could have easily put away the Panthers early on, instead of allowing them to stick around until late in the fourth quarter, when a Marcus Allen safety effectively ended the game.
Related Story: Penn State Football: Is Marcus Allen the Nittany Lions’ next great safety?
While it’s unrealistic to expect Penn State to suddenly change to a six minute, I-formation offense or deploy an entirely different defensive philosophy after a 20-minute halftime, it’s alarming to see just how similar the Nittany Lions’ second half game plan was to their largely ineffective first half.
Last season, James Franklin’s squad was infamous for having inconsistent first halves only to come out after halftime and put teams away.
But that didn’t happen in Saturday’s game.
While it’s unrealistic to expect Franklin to bench his starting quarterback after an inconsistent first half, it is worrisome to see McSorley attempting the same deep passes in the fourth quarter that weren’t effective in the first quarter and expecting different results.
If Penn State wants to have any chance of making a run at the playoff this season, it will need start making better adjustments at halftime, and not feel married to a game plan if it isn’t working.