Penn State Football vs Auburn: Nittany Lions’ reasons for optimism and to worry

Penn State Football reason for optimism – Mike Yurcich

Mike Yurcich was very diverse with his play-calling against Ball State, and I expect that to continue against Auburn.

Yurcich showed a lot of different looks through the first two weeks, and there is no doubt in my mind he has even more up his sleeve for the Tigers.

Clifford might struggle against this secondary, but Yurcich is creative enough to find different ways to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers (namely Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington) on the outside.

So far this season, the Nittany Lions have had a lot of success with screen passes, to get the ball out of Clifford’s hands quick and into the hands of his playmakers. They were even able to counter that against Wisconsin, with a fake bubble screen that got the defense to bite, then hitting Jahan Dotson deep over the top.

Penn State also struggled to run the ball in week one against a very good Wisconsin team, is there a chance they struggle to run the ball against SEC athletes? If so, Yurcich still has different ways to get the ball into the hands of his running backs in space. Noah Cain has been excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield, and Keyvon Lee had a great catch on a wheel route this past week against Ball State.

Yurcich also showed a lot of different looks when it comes to running the football, from under center, to 2-back sets, and everything in between. He had a great play design against Ball State in a two back set where he had Devyn Ford get out in front and be a lead blocker for Noah Cain on an off-tackle run to the left side for a touchdown.

Mike Yurcich is sure to keep the Auburn defense guessing as he changes up tempo, formations, personnel, and play type constantly.