Penn State Offense Shows Signs of Life in USC Loss

Brett Eskildsen slowly walked off the field with his arms hanging as if they were numb. He had just fumbled on Penn State’s final drive in front of a record 114,419 fans in attendance. Had he not fumbled, Penn State’s offense was a touchdown and a two-point conversion away from tying the game.

Instead, the Nittany Lions fell to 0-3 against the Big Ten in the second one-score defeat of this losing streak.

It was a crushing moment for the junior receiver. Eskildsen had his best game since suiting up in the blue and white for the first time, catching four passes for 70 yards. That shouldn’t be overshadowed, nor should the loss overshadow the fact that Penn State’s offense looked improved against No. 19-ranked USC.

It was a step in the right direction, but the Nittany Lions are still far from their destination.

Saturday’s loss was the first time since the start of the three-week losing streak that the offense kept Penn State in the game. Taylor Mouser’s unit matched Lincoln Riley’s top-30 offense until the end.

“I felt like we just kept playing no matter what happened,” said quarterback Rocco Becht after the 31-23 White Out loss. “We went down 7-0 early, and we were able to drive the ball right down the field, and we did it again. So, I think the tenacity and the conviction that we had today were a lot better. We just got to be able to finish the games, and we’re not doing that right now.”

Becht had his best game since the start of the losing streak. The senior completed 66% of his throws for 289 yards and a touchdown. The last two games saw Becht throw for a combined 357 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

“I think the growth we made offensively was that we played in a better rhythm tonight and that allowed him to play the style of quarterback that Rocco, when he’s playing great football, is playing,” said head coach Matt Campbell.

Even though his play improved, Becht still expressed disappointment in his performance.

“I felt like we took a small step today, but we just got to be able to finish,” he said. “We’re not there yet. We’re far from it. And I know that these guys are going to continue to come to work. But for me, I’ve got to be better.”

There were three main reasons for Becht’s improved productivity against USC: the emergence of Chase Sowell, Eskildsen, and Andrew Rappleyea. Sowell has been Becht’s favorite target since the injury to Koby Howard, but this was the most yards he’s totaled all season, and Eskildsen and Rappleyea were pleasant surprises.

Sowell was Penn State’s leading receiver with four catches for 95 yards, with two of his grabs going for more than 35 yards, while Rappleyea had a career-high seven catches for 63 yards and a touchdown, and Eskildsen had his most yards in a game in nearly a year.

“It makes our energy go up,” Becht said. “Having explosive plays within a game and the passing game is huge, and we haven’t had those in a while. It was great to see that tonight. But as I said, it’s a small step. We have a far way to go.”

While the air attack looked improved, the ground game still held the offense back. It was another tough showing from the running back corps that averaged 2.2 yards per carry against USC.

Carson Hansen was the leading rusher with 14 carries for 28 yards and a 3-yard touchdown. His longest run went for seven yards. Additionally, James Peoples had seven carries for 20 yards, and Becht contributed with 10 runs for another 20 yards.

It’s halfway through the regular season, and the Nittany Lions still don’t have a 300-yard rusher. The lack of a ground game persists. Penn State’s offense cannot be productive in a pass-heavy offense, and the USC game showed that.

“We just gotta find the rhythm,” Hansen said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. If we can find the rhythm, we can be a special offense. We just gotta find that right now. We’ve got to go back to work and practice and figure out the little details and make sure, in the moments, we’re just executing.”

The offense caught a snag in the second half when the Nittany Lions were held to field goals on consecutive red zone drives. The eight points left off the board challenged Penn State to drive 65 yards in its final offensive possession.

Becht fired perhaps his best pass of the night to Eskildsen 25 yards over the middle across midfield, layered between the second and third levels of the defense. It looked as if Penn State’s offense was about to take that next step and force overtime until Eskildsen’s turnover seconds later.

“You can have a great game, and then that one play can kind of just put you in a hole,” Sowell said. “I think the biggest thing was getting guys around him to tell him that we still believe in him because he made a lot of great plays today. I told him, ‘You can’t just look at that one play that lost us the game. We had plenty of opportunities to score and push the ball in.'”

Just like the turnover, Penn State can’t let a close White Out loss disrupt the offense’s growth.

“It shouldn’t change anything,” Sowell said. “It shouldn’t put you into panic mode. It shouldn’t make you think that things are falling apart. But just go back to work. Just grind.”

Main Photo: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images