Sunday Column: Chunk Outweighs Junk Against Villanova, But is it Sustainable?

I’ve always hated the “If you take away these (insert number) big plays, the offense only has (insert more paltry number) total yards” trope. I understand that it is often used to point out a lack of consistency. But it also diminishes the execution and the value of those big plays. If 100 yards come in 10 plays of 10 or one play of 70 and nine plays that total 30 … it’s still 100 yards, right?

The goal Penn State’s offense sets each week, after all, is to pile up those chunk plays, as the Nittany Lions did in Saturday’s 38-17 win over Villanova. The hosts had four plays of more than 50 yards, which is what you would expect against an FCS opponent but also rarely ever happens because, well, damn.

So (close your eyes and hold your nose) take away those four plays (all of which would have gone for more yards had not it been for that pesky end zone), which accounted for 254 total yards, and Penn State had 255 total yards on its other 61 plays, with only 80 of those yards coming on the ground.

It added up to a feast-or-famine afternoon for an offense that, even factoring in a hangover from one of the most memorable night games in State College in recent memory, should have been more feasty given the competition. Penn State’s first-team defense had no trouble feasting, allowing all of three points and 109 total yards until giving way to the backups midway through the fourth quarter.

The offense? It was more a series of giant bites mixed with dainty nibbles and the occasional dry heave. A lot of offensive linemen standing around while the guys they’d been trying to block were climbing off the running backs. Sean Clifford, so marvelous last week, just as good for much of this week’s game yet also taking sacks he probably didn’t have to and missing a couple of on-time throws. Throw in a few ill-timed penalties and the offensive staff will have plenty to harp on this week as Penn State gears up for the meat of the Big Ten schedule.

It was a game that Penn State controlled from start to finish, but it was also a game that amplified a nagging question that is, after four weeks, more of a mild yell than a whisper:

This offense can get you 50 yards, but can it get you 5? Or 2?

Common wisdom — usually dispensed by the same sort of folks who love to spout the “If you take away these plays” line — says that if you can’t run the ball, you can’t win in the Big Ten. You could, without looking very hard, find plenty of evidence to support this very broad claim, and maybe this unbalanced Penn State team will prove it true during the next few weeks.

But what if you can? What if an improved version of Clifford + game-breaking receivers + the mad genius of Mike Yurcich + (usually good) pass blocking + swarming and aggressive defense is enough to compensate for the lack of a consistent — or even existent — running game?

Sure, there might be some late-game leads Penn State will have this season that will be easier to protect if the offense is able to salt the clock away by grinding out four or five yards between the tackles. But what if a screen to Parker Washington in the flat accomplishes the same purpose? What if Yurcich and James Franklin and Clifford decide to take advantage of a defense that’s selling out against the run by dropping Brenton Strange or Theo Johnson past the linebackers and throwing to put the game away for good when common sense dictates you don’t risk stopping the clock with an incomplete pass?

What if the defense and the chunk plays make it so they don’t have to salt away clock in the fourth quarter, because the lead is already so big it doesn’t matter?

OK, there’s an element of exaggeration to the last few graphs, but you can’t rightfully criticize the disaster that Penn State’s run game has been without giving credit to the big plays the passing game has produced. We’ve seen too many Penn State teams over the years with elite playmakers who were wasted by conservative play-calling, mediocre quarterback play or both. This team has the playmakers, has no intent of being conservative with the calls and, with a few exceptions, the quarterback play has held up, too. Throw in a confident and versatile defense and this team is going to be a tough out in the Big Ten the rest of the way, even if the running game doesn’t wake up.

Would all the Nittany Lions’ strengths benefit if their one glaring weakness improved between now and December? Of course. But it would be sort of fun if it didn’t, just to see how the people who are so absolutely certain that you can’t win if you can’t run would handle seeing a team that can’t run but wins anyway.