ALTOONA, Pa. -- It was a big surprise when James Franklin moved on from Kirk Ciarrocca after only one season, but when Mike Yurcich became available, it seemed like a no-brainer to most people.
The Yurcich hire was met with universal praise, given his impressive resume as an offensive coordinator. One of the first stories I wrote here at DKPS was this piece on how Yurcich hiring will keep Franklin off hot seat.
We are eight games into the Yurcich tenure at Penn State. Ciarrocca got a total of nine games before being fired, and wouldn't it be fascinating if we could ever hear him speak honestly on how he felt about what went down?
One would have to think, looking at the numbers below, that Ciarrocca might be sitting back and getting a laugh out of how things have played out this season for the Nittany Lions.
Because it's crystal clear, up to this point, that the offense run by Ciarrocca last season was better than the one Penn State has had so far under Yurcich. Ciarrocca, by the way, is now an offensive assistant at West Virginia.
I'll get to the expansive numbers comparison from NCAA statistics in just a second, but here's what Franklin said when I asked him Tuesday about Yurcich and the dropoff in offensive numbers:
"I think you got to look at all of it, right. I think those points are very fair. I think you also got to look at the types of opponents that you've played, the type of defenses that you've played. I think all those things factor into it. For me, it's also how many guys are we getting involved? How many guys are we getting involved in the offense in terms of touches and spreading the field? I also would say, when you look at your higher-end opponents, what are we doing against those those type of opponents, as well. Ohio State, were we able to move the ball against Ohio State like we did last week?
"So, I think it's it's a fair point, and I get the question. But I also think it's like looking at records. Not all records are the same. If you have five wins, and you've played three ranked opponents, versus five wins and no ranked opponents. I think you have to look at all of it. But I do think it's a fair point.
"And I think when you look at analytics and you look at data, you have to be looking at it holistically, and that's part of it as well, right. If you played three unranked opponents to open the season non-conference and scored 60 points a game on those opponents, those numbers are going to skew your numbers the rest of the year in a positive way. So I think you got to look at it all, and that's kind of how I do."
OK, so without further adieu, here are the official NCAA offensive stats from this season and last, and where Penn State ranks nationally in each category. We'll begin with the most egregious comparison of all -- the downfall of the Lions' running game, which is really the downfall of the offense in general:
RUSHING OFFENSE
2021: 114th (108.1; 3.25 ypc)
2020: 55th (174.3; 3.90 ypc)
TOTAL OFFENSE
2021: 85th (375.1 ypg)
2020: 37th (430.3 ypg)
SCORING OFFENSE
2021: 78th (26.5 ppg)
2020: 54th (29.8 ppg)
RED ZONE OFFENSE -- this one has improved dramatically, because Ciarrocca really struggled in this area
2021: 38th (.889 -- 24-27 with 15 TDs)
2020: 107th (757 -- 28-37 with 19 TDs)
PASSING OFFENSE -- this one also has improved, slightly, with Sean Clifford playing better
2021: 34th (267.0 ypg)
2020: 40th (256.0 ypg)
TEAM PASSING EFFICIENCY
2021: 83rd (134.23)
2020: 55th (135.71)
3RD DOWN CONVERSIONS
2021: 85th (37.4 percent)
2020: 53rd (42.1 percent)
4TH DOWN CONVERSIONS
2021: 108th (38.5 percent)
2020: 77th (50.0 percent)
COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
2021: 59th (62.9)
2020: 70th (60.3)
FIRST DOWNS
2021: 81st (164)
2020: 38th (223)
PASSING YARDS PER COMPLETION
2021: 92nd (11.55)
2020: 61st (12.45)
SACKS ALLOWED
2021: 66th (2.12 per game)
2020: 109th (3.11 per game)
TFL ALLOWED
2021: 111th (6.25 per game)
2020: 62nd (6.11 per game)
TIME OF POSSESSION -- Franklin often says this isn't a big deal, but 112th means your defense is on the field too much
2021: 112th
2020: 9th; 33:41
TURNOVERS LOST
2021: 52nd (10)
2020: 103rd (17)
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PENN STATE SHUT OUT OF CFP RANKINGS
The Lions were ranked No. 4 in the AP poll a month ago, but the only poll that matters is the College Football Playoff rankings. At 5-3 and with three straight losses, Penn State was shut out of the initial CFP rankings, released Tuesday night.
Georgia is No. 1 and Alabama No. 2 in the rankings. Michigan State is No. 3 and the highest-ranked team from the Big Ten. Oregon is No. 4 and Ohio State No. 5.
Other Big Ten teams include: Michigan (7), Minnesota (20), Wisconsin (21) and Iowa (22).
Pitt is ranked 25th.
Penn State beat both Wisconsin and Auburn (13), but both of those teams are in the CFP rankings, while the Lions are not.
Here's the top 25:
1. Georgia (8-0)
2. Alabama (7-1)
3. Michigan State (8-0)
4. Oregon (7-1)
5. Ohio State (7-1)
6. Cincinnati (8-0)
7. Michigan (7-1)
8. Oklahoma (9-0)
9. Wake Forest (8-0)
10. Notre Dame (7-1)
11. Oklahoma State (7-1)
12. Baylor (7-1)
13. Auburn (6-2)
14. Texas A&M (6-2)
15. BYU (7-2)
16. Ole Miss (6-2)
17. Mississippi State (5-3)
18. Kentucky (6-2)
19. NC State (6-2)
20. Minnesota (6-2)
21. Wisconsin (5-3)
22. Iowa (6-2)
23. Fresno State (7-2)
24. San Diego State (7-1)
25. Pitt (6-2)
As you can see, there are only two three-loss teams in the top 25. One of them, though, is Wisconsin, which lost at home to Penn State.
But the Lions also lost to Illinois, which is awful, and that loss no doubt kept Penn State out of the rankings.
