A stalled drive to start the game. No points off of turnovers. A punt in a crucial spot of the game that was immediately followed by a long run, essentially undoing the punt. The inability to make a backup quarterback’s life miserable. Players not ready to sub in, which caused the coach to burn a critical timeout. Baffling turnovers from a player who played more college football than almost anyone in the country.
Small details needed for success in Big Ten play.
Yet once again, Penn State wasn’t ready. Individuals, sure, but the collective team – as evidenced by its outcomes – does not look ready for this level of play.
The problem is, it’s the fourth game of the Big Ten slate. It’s the seventh game of the season.
Penn State just isn’t ready.
Seven games into the season, Penn State lost its fourth straight Big Ten game, 21-18, to Michigan on Saturday afternoon. It marks the first time since the 2003 and 2004 seasons — the height of the Dark Years — that Penn State has started Big Ten play 0-4 on back-to-back years.
The Nittany Lions opened the game with one of their best drives of the season, patiently marching down the field on a drive that took nine minutes. Yet by the time Penn State reached a goal-to-go situation on the six-yard line, it mustered just one more yard.
Penn State entered the game 77th in the country in red zone offense. Its touchdown percentage in the red zone was 107th. Drives going to waste when critical points mattered.
Meanwhile, Penn State’s defense held Michigan’s offense to 0 points in the first half, creating two otherworldly interceptions thrown by Bryce Underwood. The quarterback’s play was so rough that Michigan made the decision to replace him at halftime.
But instead of making backup Tommy Carr’s life miserable, Penn State’s defense recorded just one sack against the Wolverines. The Michigan offense came to life. The defense’s problems in defending the run game then added on to it, creating two separate 40-plus yard runs in the second half.
The most backbreaking came when Matt Campbell elected to punt a 4th down with less than five yards to go, down yet again. It was a familiar position for the coach who could have changed the game with a pickup. Instead, Campbell punted to Michigan, backing them up deep in their own territory, but Michigan’s Savion Hiter ripped one of those 40-plus-yard runs to waste the punt.
While Penn State’s defense was able to get a stop, on the ensuing, potential game-winning drive Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht put the ball on the ground – his third turnover of the afternoon.
Penn State held Michigan to a third-and-long but in an obvious running situation for the Wolverines, Penn State’s defense was outblocked again. Carr scored a touchdown that effectively ended the game.
They were big things and they were small things that compounded for Penn State.
But those are things that can’t happen when you want to win in the Big Ten.
Seven games into the season, Penn State still has no offensive identity. It ran the ball 30 times on Saturday. It picked up just 65 yards. Its passing offense relied heavily on Chase Sowell, who had 151 yards receiving. But that passing game also relied on Becht throwing the ball, and his two interceptions were decisions no starting quarterback, regardless of seniority, should be making.
Penn State’s secondary may be the brightest spot on the team but when the passing game is taken away, that opens up the running game. And Penn State ranks 102nd in the country in defending the run.
There were coaching decisions and game management issues that also seem confounding, including another burned timeout that would have been critical in the final moments of a fledgling comeback bid.
Whether it’s the misjudgment of transfer talent ready for this level or it’s poor in-game decisions, this program does not appear to be ready for what it was supposed to accomplish — even in year one of Campbell. It’s a concerning situation that Penn State will now have to think about over a long bye week
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