For a while under coach James Franklin, Penn State was regarded as a finesse team with outstanding speed at its skill positions on offense and among its back seven on defense.
That is changing.
Over the last few years, the Nittany LIons have built a mightier team dependent on more powerful and deeper offensive and defensive lines.
“I think we are more physical than we’ve been in the past,” Franklin said Monday. “It’s something we’ve really worked hard at promoting. I think the guys are having fun with it right now and it’s growing.
“I think we’re starting to build a reputation of being a physical team, which is something we take a lot of pride in.”
No. 4 Penn State (2-0 Big Ten, 5-0) will try to flex its muscles against USC (1-2, 3-2) Saturday at 3:30 (TV-CBS) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Lions’ creative personnel groupings, formations and shifts look complex, but the purpose of the offense is simple. That’s to put the football in the hands of the best players, which happen to be running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and tight end Tyler Warren.
Singleton and Allen have helped Penn State average 217.8 rushing yards per game, 17th in the nation. Singleton missed last week’s win over UCLA with a leg injury, but Franklin sounded like he will be ready for the Trojans.
“He was very close to going last week,” Franklin said. “So as long as we don’t have any setbacks this week, I would anticipate him going. I also would anticipate him practicing Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out.
“We’re very confident and I think Nick’s very confident in talking to him on Sunday that he’ll be ready to go.”
Under defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, a former Penn State defensive back, USC has been vulnerable against the run, allowing 158.6 yards on the ground per game. Minnesota rushed for 193 yards last week in a 24-17 win over the Trojans, who two weeks earlier allowed 290 rushing yards to Michigan in a 27-24 defeat.
In its first two Big Ten games, wins over Illinois and UCLA, Penn State has rushed 74 times compared to 45 passing plays. For the season, the Lions have run 203 times compared to 114 passes.
“We’re more physical as an offense,” Franklin said. “That starts up front and always will. When I say up front, it’s the O-line and the tight ends. You watch our guys on the sideline. There have been significant runs punishing people that have gotten our sideline to erupt.”
He said he likes what he has seen from the wide receivers, who came under scrutiny last year and who were a question mark in the offseason after five of them transferred.
Warren leads Penn State with 23 catches for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Harrison Wallace III has the most receptions among the wide receivers with 14 for 230 and two TDs.
“I think we are doing a good job of getting the ball in our playmakers’ hands,” Franklin said, “specifically the guys who have been proven commodities already here at Penn State. I still think there are some guys (at wide receiver) who we have to continue to get the ball in their hands to develop that aspect of our offense.”
The Lions can be more patient and more physical on offense with a defense that ranks among the nation’s best and that has been dominant in all but one half this season. It’s the formula that Michigan used to win the national title last year.
“As a team, we know our identity now,” Franklin said. “We’re in a much different place than where we were for (the opener against) West Virginia. We know who we are.”
