Here's where PSU's offense must improve to be complete: One Big Thing
STATE COLLEGE -- As Saturday turned to Sunday on the Beaver Stadium turf, Penn State head coach James Franklin knew there was some time, but not much, to savor his team's 24-0 win over Indiana before moving on to preparations for Iowa.
The Nittany Lions could move to the No. 3 spot in the country today, and the Hawkeyes are expected to be right behind them ahead of a pivotal, top-five showdown at Kinnick Stadium next Saturday afternoon.
Penn State will likely be the favorite in a matchup of unbeaten teams, but it will need to be at its best in a challenging road environment. And, after a 5-0 start, they're pretty close to being at that point in the second week of October.
Franklin's team is not there yet, though, and that's not because the defense isn't suffocating (it is) or special teams are a problem (they're not). Instead, it's the offense that must be a complete package for 60 minutes so that the Nittany Lions can fire on all cylinders at all times.
They're close, but not quite there yet.
"It's consistency," Franklin said. "I think there are times where we do some really good stuff. We have to do it consistently. We throw the ball really well at times, we run the ball well at times, we just, we got to be more consistent in everything we do.
"The details really matter, but I think we're close. We found a way to be 1-0 this week, and proud of that."
Being 1-0 next week is never a guarantee, of course, especially when you're going on the road to play an extremely talented opponent that is known for a difficult stadium environment.
Penn State will need to be excellent in all three areas to remain unbeaten, and the biggest step forward has to come from its offense, which racked up 408 yards on this night but sputtered too often en route to victory.
Quarterback Sean Clifford was fine but had too low of a completion percentage on a 17 of 33 night that included two touchdown passes but also an interception. The run game got going some, but there are still too many failed conversions on short-yardage situations and a general inability to ground and pound whenever Mike Yurcich dials it up. The Nittany Lions did have 209 rushing yards, which was second on the season only to the 240 amassed against Ball State in Week 2, but it can and must be a more consistent weapon moving forward. That's the path to more joyous celebrations like the ones held four times here already in addition to the one at Wisconsin.
The good news is that Clifford thinks the attack is close to firing on all cylinders, but the buzz word used over and over again was consistency, and with good reason. Big plays are great, but not all nights will end well when eight of 13 drives end in five plays or less.
Fairly or not, many will wait to themselves just how close this offense is until after the Iowa game, which is a barometer that will shape how the rest of this so far successful season plays out.
Winning happens in many ways, and the Lions have found numerous ways to be victorious this season. With their biggest challenge yet on deck, it must put together all three phases if it hopes to leave Iowa City with 1-0 on the week and 6-0 on the year.
"The film's going to be really important to jump on," Franklin said. "I think you guys know I want to enjoy this win for a few hours, but I think we all realize Iowa is a really good football team, they always are, but they're playing on a different level right now.
"Going on the road is going to be challenging, so we got to get some things cleaned up and we're gonna have to take another step."
Penn State-Iowa kicks off at 4 p.m. ET next Saturday. FOX will televise the contest.
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