T-Frank’s Film Room: Penn State offense vs. Iowa

Penn State football defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 31-0 on a rainy, cold night at Beaver Stadium. It was a historic performance for the home team, who held on to the ball for just over 45 minutes of game time. So how did the Nittany Lions run 97 plays and string together five drives of ten or more plays? Penn State head coach James Franklin discussed that after the game. He addressed the temptation to get bored with doing the right thing on offense. 

“I thought [offensive coordinator] Mike [Yurcich] did a really good job of calling the game and not getting bored. Again, against an Iowa defense that’s damn good, and not get bored of the plays that were consistently getting us five and six yards and coming back to them. Don’t get bored with them. Keep coming back to them until they’ve been proven they can stop it,” Franklin said after the game. 

Franklin called his shot on Tuesday

“There’s going to be games where we’ve got to grind it out. You guys know Iowa. This is probably going to be another one of those games where we’re going to have to grind it out,” Franklin said on Tuesday. 

The Penn State head coach called his shot early in the week, hinting at the game plan to come on Saturday. The numbers back up that grind and careful play calling from the Nittany Lions. 

Grinding game plan: Penn State played it safe and controlled

Quarterback Drew Allar threw a screen pass on 27% of his dropbacks last Saturday and had an average depth of target 4.4 yards downfield. Both of those, supported by 57 runs, show what Allar and company were tasked to do. Allar held on to the ball for the shortest time this season at an average of 2.5 seconds.   

“Again, I thought we were able to stay on schedule. You look at the two biggest stats of playing Iowa. First down efficiency for both sides, our offensive and defensive efficiency, getting them off schedule. We were able to stay on schedule for the most part; we were able to get them off schedule,” Franklin said after the game. 

With all of that laid out, we examine the plays that mattered in the deep library from Saturday evening. We discuss Allar’s best throws, his ability to scan a complex defense and make the right decision quickly, and then to make a play when needed. 

We’ll also examine the run game by looking at several individuals, including Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Olu Fashanu. 

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