Penn State offensive pressure mounts amidst personnel losses

Five times during the 2021 season, Penn State couldn’t outscore its opponent in a 12-game schedule.

On every one of those occasions, it wasn’t due to a particularly high bar set by any of Penn State’s opponent’s, either.

Falling by an average of 4.2 points per loss, the Nittany Lions’ failings were not of the shootout variety. Rather, in a season dominated by close games in both directions, Penn State’s successes were largely thanks to stout defensive performances.

Saturday, Penn State might not have that luxury.

Losing five defensive starters to opt-outs ahead of the Outback Bowl against No. 23 Arkansas, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich is aware of what that means for his group.

“Well, you have to outscore everybody, right? I’m with you, though. I hear what you’re saying,” Yurcich said. “I think some things go without saying, right? Our team is mature enough. We’ve got good enough leadership. I think we understand the importance of our role and what we have to do.”

That role and its importance were magnified throughout the 2021 campaign. 

Despite owning the nation’s No. 7-ranked scoring defense, allowing an average of just 16.8 points per game to opponents, only allowing Michigan State to crack 30 offensive points posted in the final game of the year, Penn State’s scoring output was consistently underwhelming. 

While not so low as to crack the bottom end of the program’s points scored average, the Nittany Lions managed just 21.1 points scored per game offensively in the Big Ten. Worse, the Nittany Lions topped out at 28 points scored offensively in any Power Five game during the season. 

Not a subscriber? Follow Penn State football for $1

Turning in a 23-20 loss at Iowa, the Nittany Lions could claim an undeniable impact of the injury sustained by starting quarterback Sean Clifford against the Hawkeyes. Meeting with the media Thursday, the fifth-year senior signal-caller acknowledged the value of the time between the end of the regular season and the bowl for recovery.

“It’s huge. You get that month off and you actually get to rest and recover,” Clifford told reporters. “Playing the Big Ten for as long as I have, you learn that you’re gonna take hits, your body’s gonna feel some type of way by the end of the season.

“But being able to take a full week off, the coaches did a really good job making sure that we had our time off where we could just actually unwind. I think that that helped me and my teammates a lot. So I’m excited for Saturday now.”

Even absent his most trusted target in senior receiver Jahan Dotson, who also opted out, Clifford said he remains confident in the opportunity ahead of the Nittany Lions.

A season beleaguered by inefficiency, injury, and missed opportunity, in the Razorbacks, Penn State has a final chance to make good on its preseason potential. And in the face of a particularly vulnerable situation for the Nittany Lion defense, that chance could be critical to the game’s outcome. 

“Any time there’s a loss in personnel, whether it’s injury, whether it’s opt-outs, whatever it is, other guys have to step up. It also provides an opportunity,” Yurcich said. “Adversity is an opportunity. This is a great chance for our guys to put the pedal down and have fun and let it flow.”