Hindsight 2020: PSU Offense vs. Ohio State

Winless After Two Weeks, Penn State’s Offense Can’t Play Out the Season for Pride Alone…They Need to Play Out the Season with Notable and Exponential Progression. 

 

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE

Not trying to get all Tony Robbins on you – frankly, I don’t have the enthusiasm or enormous teeth to pull off such phony positivity – but let’s start this week’s scout by taking a sip from a glass that’s half-full, not half-empty:

Maybe, just maaaaybe, 2020 Kirk Ciarrocca and 2016 Joe Moorhead are traveling the New System/New Coordinator Learning Curve at the exact same rate.

Because once each of their tenures hit the 90-minute mark, both guys’ offenses turned a major corner.

Hear me out.   

It’s easy to forget how putrid Joe Moorhead’s offense looked in its debut against Kent State. In that game against an overmatched MAC program that finished with just 3 wins, Penn State averaged a disappointing 5.1 yards per play, converted only 5 of 14 3rd downs and, up until an unnecessary late Mike Gesicki touchdown, scored a meager 19 points on offense (PSU’s D had a Pick-6).

Statistically, Kirk Ciarrocca uber-hyped debut eclipsed Moorhead’s but still failed to electrify the scoreboard like a tilted pinball machine – leaving us all a little letdown.

Week 2, first half – similar scripts for both coaches. Against Pitt, Penn State’s lack of protection left Trace McSorley exposed for punishment and poised for a blowout, down two touchdowns at halftime. Sean Clifford experienced just as much pain Saturday and looked shook as he entered the locker room down 15 points. 

Then, for whatever reason, something clicked. 

Chunk plays. Receivers making acrobatic catches – DeAndre Thompkins for Moorhead, Jahan Dotson for Ciarrocca. Rhythm. Flow. Pace. Athletes in space. Crisp execution. In the second half against Pitt, Moorhead’s group engineered three 60+ yard touchdown drives and looked like a different animal. In the second half against Ohio State, Ciarrocca and Co. engineered three 75-yard touchdown drives and looked like a different animal. 

But before we dream of what might be, we have to look back at what was…and do our best not to spit-take that sip from the half-full glass.

 

Formations

Move over, size. Make room for more speed and more space. 

No 6 OL HEAVY packages this game (7 vs. Indiana). Not a lot of two TE sets (1 this game, 18 vs. Indiana) and less positioning of the TE as a wing hugging a tackle (15 plays this game, 35 plays vs. Indiana). Much like he was in Rahne’s offense, Pat Freiermuth was flexed all over the place, often left solo near the boundary with 3 WRs in Trips on the field side. Late in the first quarter, Penn State tried to hit 87 on a one-on-one jump ball out of this formation, but Ohio State linebacker 5-Baron Browning showed off his 5-star athleticism and outleapt Baby Gronk to knock the pass away. 

Ciarrocca did offer a few looks we didn’t see in Week 1. Midway through the 3rd quarter, Penn State lined up Shotgun 4-Wide Tight (although not Sean McVay Tight, but Tight-ish) which helped create more congestion and natural picks against man coverage. On this play – photo below — Parker Washington caught a wide-open mesh route but unfortunately couldn’t make his defender miss in space, limiting the play to 6 yards. 

On the very next play – the only play with 12 personnel the whole game – Freiermuth and Brenton Strange lined up as bookend TE Wings. Both guys stayed for extra pass protection while Ciarrocca dialed up a two-route deep shot that never materialized. 

Ciarrocca added a new, successful wrinkle to a play that didn’t work once seven days earlier. Remember those swing passes to  Devyn Ford that never had numbers and died at the hands of uninspired WR blocking? Well, this week, Ciarrocca told Clifford to fake the swing to Ford (notice OSU LBs 5-Browning, 32-Borland and 20-Werner all dissect this play in a nanosecond and fight for an easy TFL) while Parker Washington slips through the backdoor for an easy reception and YAC opportunity. Fantastic play design. 

Here’s this week: 

Here’s last week: 

Clever, huh?

If you’re tired of us blowing sunshine up Ciarrocca’s backside, you’re in luck. Because as much as we loved that last play call, we equally despised his 4th and 2 concept on the first drive. Ciarrocca notes man coverage and calls an unorthodox man-beater (watch out boy, she’ll chew you up!) screen to Ford. It’s unorthodox because the linemen don’t release – they just pass protect – but it’s a screen, nonetheless. 

On paper, this is what’s supposed to happen: Freiermuth blocks Ford’s defender (legal because the block and the reception both take place behind the LOS) while Freiermuth’s defender doesn’t switch and gets caught up in the wash resulting in an easy pick-play for a first down. In reality, Freiermuth makes a C- block on 32-Borland and 5-Browning sniffs out the pick and switches to Ford. Clifford doesn’t like what he sees and bails – but there’s NO PLAN B on this play! And that’s why we don’t like it! This is too high-leverage of a situation (which sounds crazy four minutes into the 1st quarter, but it is!) to not have a second option if the first option blows up…which it did. 

 

SUBSTITUTIONS

Less rotation all around. 

The offensivee line remained Fries-Thorpe-Menet-Miranda-Walker until the final drive of the first half when Caeden Wallace replaced Fries at right tackle for three plays. Des Holmes didn’t get his first taste of action until the 1-minute mark of the 3rd quarter. Holmes played both right guard and left guard in this game. Menet and Walker never subbed out. Again, no noticeable injuries up front, so expect more of the same this week against Maryland…at least until the game gets out-of-hand, which it damn well better! Without Rent-a-Win directional schools on the slate, blowing out the Maryland’s and Rutgers’s of the college football universe might be the only live action 2nd and 3rd-teamers see this fake season. 

Less run for true freshmen Caziah Holmes (no carries) and Keyvone Lee (no carries) largely because Penn State reverted to Pass-Only Mode after spotting OSU two quick touchdowns. Devyn Ford lacks a lot of the splash Journey Brown and Noah Cain bring to the table, but the guy is a plus in pass protection. 

Cam Sullivan-Brown is our Milk Carton Lost Child again this week, although The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder spotted him on special teams. Daniel George wasn’t targeted once this week and might scoot to the Transfer Portal in December since even Ray Charles can see the coaching staff fully trusts freshmen Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith. No Rudy Lutz this week. I don’t remember Dotson missing a play, but I could be wrong. Tight end Brenton Strange’s playing time took a serious cut. No other tight ends saw offensive snaps.  

Quarterback Will Levis entered the game when Sean Clifford lost his helmet. He gained three yards on a keeper and didn’t fumble. Around here, we call that progress.

 

RUN/PASS BLOCKING

If Offensive Line play vs. OSU was a 2nd Grader’s drawing, Mom wouldn’t waste the magnet or fridge space and toss that sucker right in the trash. It was THAT hideous. 

According to our charting, Mike Miranda is the only Lion who graded out in the black…here Miranda (+2) gets great push and absolutely bullies Ohio State DT 6-Taron Vincent  (with an assist from Rasheed Walker (+2), who then gets a nice second-level block). Miranda escorts Vincent 5 to 6 yards downfield for Penn State’s lone 20+ yard run of the game.

When analyzing CJ Thorpe’s night, we’re gonna let Thumper from Bambi serve as our Spirit Animal, close our lips, bite our tongue, and just show some clips without commentary.

Still not saying a word.

Repeats to self, ‘Don’t say something mean…Don’t say something mean.’ Checks WWTD (What Would Thumper Do) bracelet for strength.

Exhales loudly. So that was CJ Thorpe. Moving on.

Right tackle Will Fries wasn’t terrible (comparatively) in pass protection for the second week in a row, but struggled mightily when assigned to block second-level defenders on Zone Reads. Here Fries whiffs completely on the too-quick, too-heady 32-Borland, dooming Clifford. If Fries gets even a piece of Borland, this run might pop open.

Left tackle Rasheed Walker played OK (again, comparatively) until the 4th quarter. His poor protection on Clifford’s trying-to-make-a-play INT is the reason the Penn State QB had to leave the pocket and run for his life. On the next Penn State possession, Walker’s post-sack body language speaks volumes on how this night went for the entire offensive line.

As much as we love Pat Freiermuth for not bailing on this craptastic season like Micah Parsons did, we have to keep it real and point out his blocking through two weeks has been subpar. Although we didn’t clip them, last week, Freiermuth earned a sampling of minuses for less-than-spirited run blocks. And now this week, Jonathan Cooper snatched Freiermuth’s soul on the last play of the 3rd quarter – one of five sacks Penn State allowed.  

On passing downs against the Buckeyes, Clifford operated from a clean pocket on 65 percent of all dropbacks (26 of 40) down significantly from the 80 percent (32 of 40) posted against Indiana. 

 

QUARTERBACK PLAY

Accuracy was more of an issue this game than last…which is easy to explain. Better team. Better talent. More chaotic pocket. 

Clifford vs. OSU	Accurate	Inaccurate	Wild-Off Target
Easy Throw	7	1	0
Moderate Throw	8	5	3
Difficult Throw	3	0	3

*Chart doesn’t include 2 Throwaways/Batted Balls but does include two throws negated by penalties

Clifford didn’t get on the edge as much as he did versus Indiana…and when he did get on the edge, he didn’t look like the same guy we witnessed throw dart after dart in Bloomington. We already saw Clifford fail to make chicken salad out of chicken feces on the 4th and 2 aborted screen – the first of his Wild/Off Target Difficult Throws (a category he posted a big, fat, incredible 0 in last week).

The last of his Wild/Off Target Difficult Throws was the interception late in the 4th quarter…and honestly, we’re a little surprised Clifford missed this one so badly. Clifford wisely escapes the pocket to his right (an easier throw than scrambling to his left), and spots Freiermuth working back against the grain. 87 has great separation…giving Clifford a larger margin of error on this throw. But, man, it’s not in the galaxy.

Clifford also needs to trust Ford more in pass protection. Maybe not the other RBs, but definitely Ford.

On this snap – which had big-play potential – Ford absolutely STONES blitzing OSU LB 20-Werner, but instead of hanging tough and throwing the shot to Freiermuth across the middle OR the 1-on-1 deep ball to Dotson, Clifford runs right into a sack when a sack isn’t eminent.

Finally, Kirk, lay off the designed QB runs until the Michigan game. Please. They shouldn’t be needed this week (Maryland), next week (Nebraska) or the week after (Iowa). Clifford is tough, but he’s not immortal.     

 

PASS CATCHING

Wait, THAT’s what Jahan Dotson can do??!?!?! My God. BTW, I would have typed that same opener even if Dotson didn’t go full Odell (sans poop stuff) in the 4th quarter. 

	Routine Catch	Contested/Tough Catch	Incredible Catch
Dotson	4/5	2/2	2/2
Freiermuth	1/1	2/4	0/1
Washington	4/4
Lambert-Smith	1/1	1/2
Ford	1/1	0/1

*Chart does not include 8 Uncatchable Passes

If you’re wondering, Dotson’s only missed ball occurred when his cleats quit and he slipped. Blame the equipment manager.

It’s not just that Dotson caught 8 balls for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns. It’s that he put up those insane numbers against Ohio State DB Shaun Wade. The same Shaun Wade PPF’s preseason NFL Mock Draft anointed the No. 22 overall pick next April. Dotson destroyed this dude from start to finish.

Chill out. Don’t worry. We’re gonna show the one-hander, but first let us highlight some plays you haven’t seen 4,038 times already, OK? 

Dotson’s route-running is easily the most improved aspect of his game in 2020. On this RPO shot, Wade has inside leverage but Dotson turns the tables on the future millionaire with a great jab step to the outside. That subtle move gets Dotson a step-and-a-half separation and lets him shield Wade on the slant, putting his body between the defender and the ball. 

It’s a great route, but not a great pass. If Clifford hits Dotson in stride he might run for another 20-25 yards. Still, Dotson handles the high-and-behind ball and carries Wade for an additional 3-4 yards until a band of Buckeyes unload on him. IT TAKES 6 FREAKING GUYS TO BRING DOTSON DOWN! Tough little dude. Gold star for Dwight Galt.

Another A+ route coming up. Dotson closes the gap on young OSU corner 7-Sevyn Banks so quick it seems like a Go Route, causing Banks to bail and flip his hips. Dotson plants and pivots out for an uncontested layup. Sell the deep ball. Hit the brakes. Send the DB flying. None of it happens if Dotson half-asses the beginning of the route. 

The Dotson catch before THE CATCH unfairly will be forgotten because of the ridiculousness of what came later…but man, this was a helluva catch, too! And it’s the type of catch we haven’t seen in three years. We all love KJ Hamler, but if we’re being honest his hands were suspect, his leaping ability was average, and he won about 2 of 10 50/50 balls. Not the case with Dotson. 

This looks like Chris Godwin vs. Ohio State 2016/DaeSean Hamilton vs. Michigan in 2017 here.

3rd and a mile prayer. Dotson doesn’t let Wade get physical, fighting off the All-Big Ten defender’s attempt to pin him to the sideline. Though he’s got a step, Dotson has to slow up, outjump Wade at the apex, and exhibit extreme body control and hand strength to not lose the ball when he tumbles to the turf. 

Now, here’s THE CATCH.

Love how physical Dotson is on the play. Aggressive not passive. Proactive not reactive. It’s HIS ball, and he just goes and gets it.