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Penn State Football tops Rutgers 23-7 | Finally a winning streak

By Lawrence Santa Maria

Dec 5, 2020; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Penn State wide receiver Parker Washington (3) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith (13) and quarterback Sean Clifford (14) during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2020; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Penn State wide receiver Parker Washington (3) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith (13) and quarterback Sean Clifford (14) during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 5, 2020; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford (14) throws the ball as Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive lineman Mike Tverdov (97) is flicked by offensive lineman Rasheed Walker (53) during the first half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2020; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford (14) throws the ball as Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive lineman Mike Tverdov (97) is flicked by offensive lineman Rasheed Walker (53) during the first half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

Red zone Woes Continue

Penn State football came into this game ranked 120th out of 127 FBS teams in red zone scoring this season, cashing in on only 11 touchdowns on 25 red zone opportunities.

Today’s victory at Rutgers wont do much to help those numbers as Penn State scored one touchdown on three red zone trips this afternoon, converting on field goal attempts on the other two trips inside the twenty.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the struggles this season, and in this game in particular. On the first red zone trip today, Clifford threw the ball high on a slant route to wide receiver Parker Washington. It was a ball Washington could have caught but once again, a poorly thrown pass, a bit high by Clifford resulted in a field goal attempt.

Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca did not dial up any red zone fade routes this week, however seemed to get very conservative down near the end zone, only attempting two passes on all three trips. As effective as the running game was, it gets tough to run once the defense packs in tight as there is less ground to cover.

Whether it is starting with a short field, or finishing off an impressive offensive drive, not capitalizing down in the red zone is not only deflating, but allows the opponent to stay in the game. The Nittany Lions dominated all sixty minutes against the Scarlet Knights, but only had a 16 point victory to show for it because of inconsistent play when the end zone draws near.

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