What Happened to Penn State's Big-Play Passing Game?

The Lions' deep-passing game has gone dormant. James Franklin wants to revive it by Saturday.

Penn State's offense, long reliant on the big play, has shifted roles this season. The once-explosive passing game has taken a backseat to the newfound big-play run game.

Which prompts a few questions: What happened to that big-play passing game? And do the Lions have a No. 1 receiver to deliver one?

Penn State heads to Michigan on Saturday needing to revive its deep passing threat. Head coach James Franklin admitted that outright this week, saying, "We have to be more productive in the explosive plays in the passing game."

But what's missing? Quarterback Sean Clifford has been capable; he converted 14 completions of 40+ yards last season. This year, the Lions have two through five games.

One difference, of course, is Jahan Dotson. The first-round draft pick caught 91 passes, a team-high five of them for 40+ yards. He made trick-play catches and turned mid-yardage throws into big gains. Penn State has tried to fill Dotson's role with a group of receivers who have performed well, but one hasn't emerged as the alpha.

Receivers Parker Washington (20 catches, no touchdowns) and Mitchell Tinsley (19 catches, three touchdowns) have delivered plays, but neither has ascended to the No. 1 role. Meanwhile, Penn State's most threatening pass-catcher has been tight end Brenton Strange, who has turned four of his 15 catches into touchdowns.

So do the Lions need a No. 1 receiver? Or can the passing game capably threaten offenses by spreading the ball? Franklin and Clifford answered the question like this.

"We think we have three guys [in Washington, Tinsley and KeAndre Lambert-Smith] and possibly more that have the ability to be what you're describing [as a No. 1 receiver]," Franklin said. "But obviously we've got to get it done on Saturdays."

"I’m very confident in all our receivers," Clifford added. "... I think that they're a hungry group. It's week 7 now, and they're still the same, if not better, than they were in the beginning of the season. They're continuing to develop, and that gives me a lot of confidence as a quarterback."

The change in Penn State's big-play offense has been striking. True, the Lions have 28 plays of 20+ yards, same as they did through the first five games of 2021. And the split isn't that much different: 23/5 run/pass last season to 19/9 this season.

But the real change comes in the truly explosive plays of 40+ yards. Last season, Penn State had completed eight passes of 40+ yards through five games: three to Dotson, two each to Lambert-Smith and Washington and one to Strange.

This season, Penn State has just two pass plays of 40+ yards: Strange's 67-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against Purdue and Washington's 43-catch on a lovely ball from Clifford against Northwestern.

Meanwhile, the rushing offense has upgraded its explosive game notably behind freshman Singleton. The Lions had two 40+ runs, just one by a running back, during the entire 2021 season. This year, Singleton has five alone, including Penn State's longest play from scrimmage, a 70-yard touchdown run vs. Ohio.

Meanwhile, Kaytron Allen has a 37-yard rush, giving the freshman backs six of the team's eight longest plays this season.

"We lacked the explosive play in the run game last year; we’ve been able to get that back," Franklin said. "We were extremely explosive in the passing game [last] season, and we need a little bit more of that this Saturday."

That could take a variety of forms. Tinsley, Washington and Strange all have demonstrated the ability to gain yards-after-catch. Lambert-Smith caught five 30+ passes last season. Though Lambert-Smith was injured against Northwestern, Franklin said he's "hopeful" the receiver will return against Michigan.

But Penn State must improve with its deep shots. Against Central Michigan, for example, Sean Clifford called out every instance of the opponent's cover-0 defense and tried several times to throw against them. Then he went 1-for-10 on passing attempts of 20+ yards.

Clifford has been exceptional as a pre-snap quarterback this season. Franklin praised Clifford's ability to identify defenses, manage the offense and protections and get the team into the right plays. But Franklin also looks to get from Clifford "those four to six plays a game that you need your quarterback to make."

To beat Michigan, that will include completing a few of those deep shots. In that regard, Franklin sounded a note of confidence in his quarterback.

"His entire career and his entire season keeps building up and leading up to moments like this and opportunities like this," Franklin said

No. 10 Penn State visits No. 5 Michigan at noon Saturday on the Fox Big Noon broadcast.

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