Penn State had 'glaring lapse' on offense in CMU win; will the Lions move up in the polls?: What they're saying
Penn State topped Central Michigan 33-14 on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The Lions are now 4-0. But, unlikely the three triumphs that came before it, this win left many without a warm and fuzzy feeling as the September portion of the schedule wrapped up.
“I think most importantly, we are 1-0,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “We had a good week of practice and preparation, but the game left you sitting there. Whether it was our focus, whether it was seeing, whether it was big play potential. When you look again at the statistics sheet, you feel good about it, but it did not necessarily always feel that way during the game.
“We were not as consistent as we need to be with some of the things that we are doing in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams. I thought we had a good week of practice. We did enough to be 1-0 this week and we will celebrate that. But to your point, there is a lot that we still must get corrected between now and next Saturday.”
Here is a look at what local and national media members are saying about the Lions after the win.
Penn State had a ‘glaring lapse’ on offense
That was the take of Sports Illustrated’s Mark Wogenrich. To echo Franklin’s point, the Lions had good statistics on offense throughout the win. But, they also had long lulls with little productivity and were aided by an extremely short field after a Chippewas turnover that led to one of the touchdowns. Starting quarterback Sean Clifford had an up-and-down game in the win.
“Following a pair of effective games vs. Ohio and Auburn (72 percent completion rate, no turnovers), Clifford didn’t take advantage of Central Michigan’s defense Saturday. He recognized that immediately afterward, as did head coach James Franklin,” Wognerich wirtes. “Clifford was effective on short- and medium-yardage passes, going 11-for-12 on attempts of 5-14 yards. But then Central Michigan began stacking nine defenders near the line of scrimmage, and playing no deep safeties, to stop Penn State’s run and short-passing game. The offense didn’t respond.
“Clifford was 1-for-10 on attempts of 15+ yards. And he was 1-for-5 on attempts of 20+ yards, completing a 29-yard pass to Mitchell Tinsley.”
Read the full story here.
Turnovers were the takeaway
Penn State forced four turnovers on Saturday. It could have had six if two interceptions did not count due to the receiving defender being out of bounds. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has made clear that he was his unit to focus on taking the ball away from its opponents. Mike Poorman of Statecollege.com zeroed in on that following the game. Poorman writes:
“Every week in the Penn State defense’s meeting room inside Lasch Building, first-year D-coordinator Manny Diaz shows a tape of what the Man Who Invented the Turnover Chain calls havoc plays.
“The stuff that really terrifies offenses: interceptions, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries. It’s the kind of horror film that his turnover-hungry defenders love to watch.
“He shows a turnover tape each week. It’s more like a havoc tape,” said Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs, whose fumble recovery of a muffed punt catch by Central Michigan set up an easy third-quarter touchdown by the Nittany Lion offense.
“We see plays where the other team has gotten the ball loose or they’re running with the ball loose or someone is getting tackled in the backfield or getting sacked. Being able to see that and envisioning yourself making those plays is incredibly important. It’s cool.”
Kaytron Allen runs were ‘the perfect plan’ for Penn State
Kaytron Allen dazzled for Penn State on Saturday. The freshman running back ran for 111 yards and scored a week after finding paydirt twice at Auburn. He brought the Lions’ offense out of a lull with quick, decisive runs. That was the focus of a column from PennLive’s David Jones.
“The freshman from Norfolk has commonly been used as a changeup to Nick Singleton and Keyvone Lee to this point,” Jones writes. “But it’s notable that Allen started the second half after Singleton and the PSU offensive line struggled against that stacked front.
“And he definitely gave the Nits a boost. Part of it is his style. He has a knack for finding time to set up his blocks by sidestepping here or there even when the defense penetrates. And when he sees what he wants, he hits holes with authority and busts through tacklers to finish runs forward.”
Lions did not inspire confidence in win
This seems like a universally agreeable point. And, it may not matter in the long run. This could be a game that is mostly forgotten about if things go well the rest of the way. But, it was as disappointing as a 19-point win can be.
“The not-so-good news is that Penn State, which was favored by 28 points, looked pretty blah for a good portion of the game and didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence with this performance,” Cory Giger writes for DKPittsburghSports.
“The players, to their credit, agreed and didn’t try to sugarcoat the relatively ho-hum performance.
“A lot of sloppy play,” tight end Brenton Strange said.”
Where will the Lions go in the polls?
Each week, CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson predicts the new Associated Press top-25 before it is released. Penn State was No. 14 last week. He sees the Lions moving up to No. 12 now.
“There was definitely a potential for a hangover following last week’s big road win at Auburn, but what followed was a fairly nondescript 33-14 win against Central Michigan,” Patterson writes.
“The Nittany Lions got up by 14 early and just held the Chippewas at arm’s length the rest of the way.”
