Hindsight 2020: PSU Offense vs. Michigan State

Not Wanting to be Upstaged by an Unexpected First-Half Sparty Party, Penn State OC Kirk Ciarrocca Finally Reached to the Top Shelf and Broke Out the “Good Stuff” in the Final 30 Minutes. 

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE

Thanks, Payton.

Who the heck is Payton, you ask?

Oh, that’s Payton Thorne, true freshman QB at Michigan State…you know the guy with cartoon stickers on the sides of his helmet – and probably his school Trapper Keeper — who lit up Penn State like a menorah in the first half. 202 passing yards. 12 consecutive completions. 3 passing TDs. Yeah, THAT Payton. That’s the guy. Thank him. 

Because without Payton’s performance, it’s likely we don’t get a glimpse of anything beyond the DEMO version of Kirk Ciarrocca’s playbook. Trailing 21-10 entering the 3rd Quarter, Penn State had no choice but to order plays off-menu, diverting away from the Soylent Slants, Inside Runs, and QB Keepers that paper-cutted Michigan, Rutgers, and most of our attention spans into submission.

In a brief but beautiful moment – like a comet racing across the night sky, or putting on your winter coat for the first time since March and finding $20 in the pocket – Penn State flung the ball all over the empty Beav. In the third quarter, 13 of 18 plays (14 of 19 if you count the 2-point attempt) were passes that amassed 129 yards – 37 more than the Nits tallied the entire first half. 

And then, POOF…like cotton candy on your tongue, it was gone. 

After an avalanche of 29 points, and puppies, and long passes, and rainbows and cool punt returns, Dorothy returned to Kansas and the beige-filter offense followed with a barrage of caveman calls, including 7 straight brutal Will Levis runs on Penn State’s final REAL drive. 

FORMATIONS

When it comes to Personnel Packages, Penn State Offensive Coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca is as unpredictable as your unemployed brother 4 beers deep. Seriously, can’t figure this guy out…which, as I think about it more, is probably a GOOD thing. 

After belly-bumping Michigan with a bunch of two TE looks in Ann Arbor, Ciarrocca used 11 Personnel vs. Rutgers like those plays had an expiration date and were close to spoiling. Then on Saturday, Ciarrocca flip-flopped BACK to what worked against the Wolverines by putting 84-Theo Johnson and 86-Brenton Strange on the field together for 13 non-6 OL HEAVY plays, including THIS new formation where both Strange and Johnson flexed out wide:

As counterintuitive as this appears in print, Penn State’s offense is MORE potent and MORE explosive when calling plays with 12 Personnel – specifically in a WR Twins look with Johnson and Strange creating an unbalanced line on the other side. Penn State ran 11 plays of out this formation for 149 yards and two touchdowns.   

Ciarrocca added THIS slight twist on what’s become his signature short-yardage Will Levis formation – ditching the sixth offensive lineman for a third wide receiver:

We’re also deep enough in the year that we’re beginning to see some reruns on big plays that worked in the past. For instance, take Sean Clifford’s 31-yard dash for 6 in the 2nd Quarter. Clifford has a run-pass decision on this play – and that decision is based upon the immediate reaction of Michigan State’s WLB 45-Noah Harvey. If Harvey stays put and doesn’t chase after 26-Caziah Holmes coming out of the back field, then Clifford flips the ball to the back. But since Harvey does shadow Holmes’ leak out, Clifford takes off. 

Left Guard 73-Mike Miranda pulls. When Harvey leaves the box, that’s Clifford’s cue to keep it. Watch 79-Caedan Wallace. This might be his best block of the season. The redshirt freshman does a great job assisting on a DT double team then absolutely ENGULFS All-Big Ten LB 34-Antjuan Simmons on the second level. This whole play is so well-blocked all Clifford has to do is beat MSU FS 24-Tre Person and then not trip before crossing the goal line. The sad truth of 2020: Clifford is Penn State’s most elusive healthy runner, so this one-on-one vs. Person is no contest.   

Oh, right…the rerun aspect. Can you guess where you’ve seen this before? Yeah, this is the EXACT same play, at almost the EXACT same spot on the field, Ciarrocca dialed up vs. Michigan. EXACT same result, too. 

SUBSTITUTIONS

So something’s up with former starting Right Guard 69-CJ Thorpe. Second week in a row he’s been All-Milk Carton Team. Haven’t heard anything about an injury – although James Franklin is usually tightlipped about such matters –so we’re left to assume it’s something non-medical. Tyler Donahue of 247 Sports/Fight on State reported Thorpe was absent during pre-game warmups on Saturday. 

Elsewhere on the offensive line, 70-Juice Scruggs started the second half over 73-Miranda. Fifth-year senior 62-Michal Menet played every snap on Senior Day, as did 53-Rasheed Walker and 71-Will Fries (who we think should come back for a FREE year of school and football).

28-Devyn Ford didn’t play for the second time in three weeks, leaving true freshmen 24-Keyvone Lee and 26-Caziah Holmes all the backfield snaps – of which Lee outnumbered Holmes roughly 3 to 1. Neither guy gained more than 6 yards on a single carry, though, as both Lee (31) and Holmes (8) tallied less on the ground than 14-Sean Clifford (48) and 7-Will Levis (36).

Only Penn State’s starting wide receivers – 5-Jahan Dotson, 13-KeAndre Lambert-Smith (KLS) and 3-Parker Washington – were targeted in the opened-up passing game.  6-Cam Sullivan-Brown, 10-TJ Jones and 11-Daniel George are all prime Portal prospects this off-season (Fair Warning: It’s a crowded transfer market, guys) as their playing time and opportunity to make plays has never really materialized in 2020.    

RUN/PASS BLOCKING

Despite scoring points “On Script” for the third week in a row, Penn State’s offensive line struggled with Michigan State’s Front Four – a big Level Up from the squads the Nits faced the last two weeks – early and often, including the very first play from scrimmage.   

Sparty DT/340-pound Grown-Ass-Man 93-Naquan Jones splits a weak Wallace-Fries double-team, and pushes Fries up on 1 leg while waiting for 24-Lee run his direction. Once he does, Jones easily disengages from the baseless Fries and tackles the ball carrier at the LOS.  79-Wallace also doesn’t get a piece of 34-Simmons (his responsibility) at the second level. Other than the aforementioned Clifford TD run, the undersized Mighty Mouse Simmons was a problem ALL day for Penn State.

Example…the blocking on this play screams big-play potential…but watch 34-Simmons in the middle.

Simmons is listed (LISTED) at 225 pounds…but because Media Guide measurements are as trustworthy as Tinder measurements, he’s probably only 218 pounds in real life. 62-Michal Menet is listed at 306 pounds…so regardless of what he actually weighs, Menet is MUCH bigger than Simmons. Plus, Menet has forward momentum. 

Doesn’t matter.

Simmons stones Menet, causing 26-Holmes to collide with the blocker’s backside. Simmons doesn’t get a tackle in the box score, but he’s the reason this wasn’t a chunk play for Penn State.  

How about the second half run blocking? That had to be better, right?

Eh, not really. 

Disaster. 70-Juice Scruggs involuntarily takes a 3-yard ride into the backfield. 53-Walker throws a weak shoulder into the DE on the first level then doesn’t really block the LB on the second level. Finally, if 24-Lee tried to Houdini backside, 79-Wallace’s non-block on the other DE takes that option off the table. 

Credit Ciarrocca for making second-half adjustments in pass protection, because things got ugly early. See:

Clifford operated from what we labeled a “Disturbed Pocket” on 4 of his initial 7 dropbacks. From then on – thanks largely to 7- and even 8-man protections (see the Parker Washington TD in the WR Section below) — Clifford/Levis were only harassed on 4 of the remaining 26 designed pass plays. 

Penn State did not surrender a sack for the first time in 2020.

QUARTERBACK PLAY

In the voice of The Count from Sesame Street: “TWO, TWO PASSING CHARTS!”

*Does not include 4 Throwaways/Batted Balls. Chart DOES include passes negated by Penalties and 2-pt. Conversions.

Huge fan of In-and-Out (check the knife-carved notches in my belt for proof) but not a huge fan of Clifford/Levis In-and-Out, especially during active drives. To us, it just clunks up an already clunky offense. Plus, all that rotation…that’s got to mess with a QB’s rhythm, timing, confidence, chemistry/connection with pass catchers, doesn’t it? Makes us wonder whether the coaching staff is TERRIFIED of Levis transferring if he doesn’t play a Baker’s Dozen snaps or so per game? Look at us just tossing out random, baseless speculation into the universe. Feels good.

Noting the early pass protection issues, coupled with Clifford’s ability to make strong, accurate throws out of the pocket, Ciarrocca designed a few plays on Saturday that purposely called for Clifford to roll out right at the snap. This new wrinkle (which we hope sticks around) conceals two of Clifford’s most prevalent weaknesses – his poor pocket presence and his ability to make progressions. It also put Penn State’s best playmakers (Dotson and Washington) in space…but Clifford’s low throws nixed any RAC possibilities. 

Stop me if you’ve heard this before…Clifford was a bit erratic to start the game. Here, with the perfect chance to make MSU coach Mel Tucker pay for accepting a penalty instead of making Penn State punt, Clifford doesn’t give 3-Parker Washington – who’s open, BTW – a chance to make a play on 3rd and 17. 

Second half different story. When presented with opportunities to stretch the defense, Clifford did just that – and did it without committing a turnover or getting sacked. A lot of the Clifford throws you’d expect to see here we saved for the next section, the PASS CATCHING section…but there is one throw that likely isn’t included in many highlight reels we want to breakdown.

Third drive of the 3rd Quarter. Sparty just kicked a FG to up the lead to 24-18. Clifford is back in the game after Levis connected with Dotson two plays previously for 36 yards. 

Play Action. 73-Miranda pulls but has a ton of trouble with MSU 86-Drew Beesley. The pressure forces Clifford to bail left, but he doesn’t freak out. Eyes stay downfield, ready to throw. Washington works the crossing route and is wide open after a defender slips. Clifford releases an OFF-BALANCE THROW OFF HIS BACKFOOT – which I feel is our No. 1 Talking Point in all our FTB Film Study videos – but this time, the ball doesn’t sail high. In fact, it’s perfect…and affords Washington the chance to embarrass a defender in space. 

After serving as a human battering ram for two games, Ciarrocca offered Levis a cookie and let him throw twice. Those two throws were…um…a bit of an adventure and could’ve (should’ve) been INTs.

Levis also handed the ball off to the RB once – another break from the norm. Speaking of the norm, Penn State better LOVE its third-string QB next season if it plans to utilize Levis in similar demolition-derby fashion. Because, man, this dude is crushing defenders abut also getting crushed. No clue how Levis hasn’t separated both shoulders by now. How long can he withstand montages like this?

PASS CATCHING

Does this route concept look familiar? 

Well, it should. During Bill O’Brien’s two-season stint in Happy Valley, his “Bunch of Fighters” ran this fake-screen-wheel concept a handful of times…although O’Brien called it out of 2×2 4-Wide Shotgun look on both sides of the field. Still, same premise: 

*Chart doesn’t include uncatchable passes (5)

That might have been 3-Parker Washington’s longest catch of the day, but it definitely wasn’t his best. No, that distinction goes to his OTHER touchdown catch – a sequence where he showcased his uncanny ball skills and underestimated toughness on the same play. 

Sucks there wasn’t a camera shot from ground level, because I’d love to see how high Washington had to get to snag this rocket from Clifford. It’s a slant. Clifford finds a window in zone coverage and lets it rip. Only strong, sure hands can handle this, holding on after getting smoked mid-air by MSU DB 10-Michael Dowell and surviving a hard landing. 

Lastly, I want to make myself perfectly clear before I talk about 5-jahan Dotson. The junior receiver has had a very, very good season – including back-to-back miraculous catches against Ohio State and an electrifying 81-yard punt return three days ago. BUT, I don’t think it’d be a wise move to leave college early and declare for the NFL Draft. He’s just not ready. His speed is good enough to play on Sundays, but it’s not going to make scouts double-check their stopwatches. Sans the double-move TD vs. Iowa and the coverage bust vs. Indiana, he’s not getting a ton of separation on deep balls. His hands are above average, but not 100 percent reliable – we charted 2 drops on routine catches this season. His blocking could use some work. And really, ever since the Maryland game, we haven’t seen Dotson make a lot of 50/50 catches even though opportunities to do so are there. 

To reiterate, fantastic junior season. Stats. Memorable moments. Dotson’s got all that. But what’s the rush? If he left now, he’s a 4th Round pick, at best. Why leave for that? Stay. Work on your craft. Catch balls from the same guy(s) who threw to you this year, in the same offense that put you in a spot to even consider this stay-or-go scenario. Leave a year later and make a lot more money in August 2022 than you would in August 2021.