Where does Penn State football place in PFF’s power rankings?

Through two weeks of action, where does Penn State football rank according to Pro Football Focus?

The Penn State football program has to be thrilled with their progress thus far. As they went into the 2019 NCAA football season with many question marks surrounding their team, they found out a lot about themselves through the first two weeks. And a lot of what they found out is positive.

Granted, Penn State hasn’t faced a significantly tough opponent at this point, but their first two wins were big enough to instill confidence in a young team. Being that they have a first-year starter at quarterback in Sean Clifford, it’s good they are able to ease him into the job.

From what we know, the Nittany Lions are a reliable young team on both sides of the ball. Their defensive line has created some immense pressure for their opponents over time, and the secondary has made some big plays as well on defense.

On offense, the trenches aren’t the strength of the unit, and they could use some work. However, they have done a nice enough job of keeping Clifford reasonably protected while creating lanes for the backfield that’s filled with four productive running backs.

Through two weeks, Penn State has managed to win with a nice margin over Idaho and Buffalo. They started the season off ranked at No. 15 on the AP Poll, and their first blowout win didn’t increase that. But after their second victory of the season, Penn State saw a sweet little jump in rank as they moved up to No. 13 heading into a week three matchup against Pittsburgh.

What about Pro Football Focus?

So Penn State moves up to No. 13 on the official AP Coaches Poll. But what about Pro Football Focus’ weekly power rankings? In the eyes of PFF, Penn State is slightly better than what the poll voters say. At No. 12, Penn State places just behind Iowa.

As expected, Michigan and Ohio State are in front of them as well. So far, Penn State has had an easy road to get to this point, but many understand it doesn’t get any easier from here on out. “With the ninth-most difficult rest-of-season schedule, the Nittany Lions need to improve if they want to play for the Big Ten title,” writes PFF’s Ben Brown.

“Sean Clifford will need to improve on his play from a clean pocket. He could use some additional help on the outside, as over 65% of his yards came through the air. He is averaging 14.9 aDOT while throwing past the sticks on 50% of attempts.”

What we’ve learned about Clifford through two weeks is that his inexperience is still showing. Although he hasn’t turned the ball over at all, he is still leaving some meat on the bone in the passing game. Fortunately, he’s answered all questions surrounding his ability to move the ball on the ground with his rushing instincs — but he’s not a polished passer right now.

We will know what kind of quarterback he truly is soon when the defenses begin to toughen up. That will start as early as this week. Although Penn State is expected to roll over Pitt, they need to get off to much quicker start this time around or else they could be in some trouble by the time second half rolls around. We’ll see how they fare against the Panthers this week.