Penn State looks to rebound after difficult 2020 season
James Franklin took over the Penn State program in 2014 and before 2020 had never experienced a losing season. Then last year’s pandemic-shortened season came, and one could argue the Nittany Lions were one of the programs hit hardest by the impacts of the pandemic. From opt-outs, injuries, and no time to implement a new offensive scheme, Penn State finished with a 4-5 record.
Now as the Nittany Lions prepare for the 2021 season, James Franklin and his revamped staff will work to ensure last year was an anomaly of a season.
So with that said, we are going to look at a few areas the Nittany Lions need to improve on if they are to succeed in 2021.
Redzone Performance
If you strip football to its basic principle you must score more points than the other team to win the game. For coaches, any time their team enters the redzone they know it’s imperative to come away with points. It’s why you hear about teams preparing their redzone offenses or defenses in camp.
For the 2020 Nittany Lions, their redzone performance could be described the same way their season ended – disappointing.
Penn State finished the 2020 season ranked 107th in the country for redzone offense. Obviously the pandemic-shortened season presented fewer chances at redzone opportunities, but the issue is the scoring percentage on the right.
That number 75.7% is a significant drop off from the 2019 team that finished 16th in the country in redzone offense.
This drop in redzone efficiency could be one reason Kirk Ciarrocca is no longer offensive coordinator. Fans of Penn State will hope Mike Yurcich, who replaced Ciarrocca this off-season, will be an improvement at OC and can bring the scoring percentage in the redzone back up to 2019 levels. I for one, believe that he will.
Penn State’s defense last year also had their share of problems in the redzone.
The Nittany Lions were tied at 104th in redzone defense, compared to 2019 when they were tied for 11th.
Many excuses can be made for the drop off in production for Penn State’s defense in 2020, such as having star linebacker Micah Parsons opt out of the season. Now moving into 2021 though, defensive coordinator Brent Pry needs to get back to the 2019 form or Penn State will fall short of their lofty goals for the season.
Success Starts Up Front
One unit offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich and head coach James Franklin will want to see improvement from is the offensive line. Since Franklin took over the program in 2014, he has put an emphasis on improving the line play, but 2020 fell short of expectations.
Perhaps a large part of that was the pandemic preventing proper prep in a new scheme. Whatever the reason though, it needs to be addressed.
The 2020 season saw the Nittany Lions finish tied at 109th in sacks allowed. When you compare it to 2019, the unit gave up on average almost an additional sack per game. Even playing four less games in 2020, the line almost gave up the same number of sacks in 2019.
Yurcich’s spread and RPO based offense should assist with bringing that sack average down. If the team struggles protecting the quarterback again though, be prepared to see another run heavy offense like we did late in 2020.
Affect The Passing Attack
Penn State struggled early in 2020 at stopping the opponents’ passing attack, but settled down as the season progressed. The Nittany Lions ended the year ranked 24th in passing yards allowed, giving up an average of 198.6 yards per game.
Still, there are areas in which the defense can look to improve and return to an elite form this season.
Start with defensive passing efficiency. The Nittany Lions fell from 8th in the nation in 2019, to 49th in 2020.
With teams airing the ball out more than ever thanks to spread and air raid concepts, defending the pass has never been more important. Having experienced players return to the secondary like Jaquan Brisker and Tariq Castro-Fields should help improve this area of the defense.
Penn State however should look to improve one other area that disruptes the opponents’ passing game, and that’s the pass rush.
In 2020 Penn State finished 50th in team sacks, whereas in 2019 they finished 1st in the country.
Does Penn State need to finish number one again in the country? No. Should they look to improve their 50th ranking from last year? Yes. If Penn State can improve in both of these areas, the other schools in the Big Ten better watch out.