Film Study: Penn State pushes past shaky performance to notch another win

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Nothing has been easy for the Penn State football team this season.

Four of the Nittany Lions' last five games have been decided by a touchdown or less, including their 34-27 win over Indiana on Saturday. Why did the Nittany Lions struggle to dispatch the Hoosiers despite being more talented team playing at home?

We’ll start with the offense.

WIN UGLY

Some things aren’t complicated. The moment K.J. Hamler was planted into the ground by his facemask on this first quarter kickoff return, the game changed for the Nittany Lions.

Let’s start with the fact that Hamler is the centerpiece of the Penn State offense. You can logically assume that there are a hefty number of plays and packages that are specifically designed to get the ball to Hamler that offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne was planning on using Saturday. Those are now gone.

Also gone is:

- 31% of the teams receiving yards

- 35 first downs (16% of team total)

- Eight touchdowns (33% of team total)

It’s not like subtracting Hamler from the lineup immediately then subtracts a third of the offensive output from a game. There is a cascade effect to the way teams attack Penn State when Hamler is in on a play-by-play basis.

Let’s take a moment to pause and explain how Indiana plays defense. While they are not nearly as aggressive or as extreme as Michigan, head coach Tom Allen wants to play man coverage. They play a mix of man and zone, but much like the Wolverines, want to force you into third and long, then attack with blitzes and man coverage.

I believe you remember what happened when Michigan tried that approach.