Explosiveness Equation for Penn State Football

With risk comes great reward — as long as the pass is completed and the rushers don’t fumble. Through the air or on the ground, sparks of momentum are generated through explosiveness, but navigating the potential chance of error and staying conservative offensively is a balancing act.

An offense needs a strong artillery with weapons in the wide receiver and tight end positions. Running backs have to be tanks to break through a defensive line to generate an attack.

With Michigan marching into Happy Valley this week, already on the prowl, Penn State must figure out how to roar louder if it wants to win and take down the No. 3 ranked team.

So, what’s the equation for explosiveness?

Through the air, 15 or more yards; on the ground, at least 12.

The Nittany Lions haven’t played a game that’s relied on explosiveness. James Franklin focuses on the different ways his team can win and doesn’t worry about developing a highlight reel of jaw-dropping plays in the process.

On the flip side, the Wolverines beat their opponents with the punches. They have high-caliber playmakers that allow quarterback J.J. McCarthy to carve up the field.

Franklin said that the junior quarterback is a “differentiator” because he “has the ability to make plays with his feet either running for first downs or extending plays.”

Michigan and Penn State rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in scoring offense, but when looking at each team’s rate of explosiveness, the results are unsettling.

The numbers don’t lie when they compute the Nittany Lions’ lack of offensive flare. Instances of play-calling predictability and slower starts have placed a lot of doubt in the fans; however, after the unit’s performance against Maryland, some confidence has been reinstated.

On average, Penn State has seven explosive plays per roughly 77 total plays each game. Its highest rate of explosiveness was against Delaware at 14.3%, with 13 eruptive gains.

The maize and blue put that percentage to shame, with 17.4% of its offense allocated to explosiveness. Through the air, the unit picks up the most yardage and disorients the defensive secondary.

Sixty-nine of Michigan’s 99 total explosive plays have been through its passing game. With three receivers that have surpassed 400 yards, McCarthy has reliable options to persistently target.

On Monday, Franklin was quick to point out that “they have not been challenged.”

Penn State’s defense has the ability to hinder those large gains in a way that other opponents have failed.

With a striped-out Beaver Stadium, even in the noon slate, the environment is expected to be electric.

“When you can get penalties and get people behind the sticks, they have not had to play that way a whole lot this year. That will be a big part of the game,” Franklin said.

Against Ohio State and Indiana, the Nittany Lions have been in tighter situations that provided them with experience for some of the struggles they’ll most likely face from the Wolverines. Anticipating the game to be decided by one possession, as Franklin did, only puts more significance on potential explosiveness.

Achieving the threshold of 12 yards on a run or 15 through the air isn’t what the Penn State offense depends on.

But there are outliers to everything; for example, the 57-yard go-ahead touchdown to KeAndre Lambert-Smith to defeat the Hoosiers.

Penn State’s wide receiver room has been under careful watch, considering its demand for consistency to build that trust required to make those chunk plays. Several players were forced to step up in the absence of an injured Harrison Wallace III last week, and they executed five explosive plays in the effort.

Michigan, at its best, typically has 11 passing explosions per game, but sometimes it beats you with a run from players like Blake Corum, it can be even more of a shock.

It’s no secret that the Wolverines are explosive, so if Penn State can muster up thrilling plays, it will create the factor of unpredictability.

With the package of Beau Pribula and Drew Pribula finally unveiled, the Nittany Lions might offer more trickery than explosiveness within their playbook.

Catching the Wolverines off guard won’t be an easy feat, but Penn State will have to detonate their bomb before they go off and explode — that’ll be the equation to solve.

Amanda Vogt is a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact her, email amandaevogt@gmail.com.