Penn State Football: three stats that will define success in 2022

Third down conversion rate

Even during some of the better offensive years of the James Franklin era, the Nittany Lions have struggled to convert on third down.

One of the loan outliers is the 2017 team. That squad scored more points per game than any Penn State team under Franklin – 41.1 points per game to be exact. That year, the Nittany Lions also had the fourth best third down conversion rate in the country at 47.95%. It’s no wonder they were able to put up so many points.

Perhaps not coincidentally, that year also saw the lowest points allowed per game rate under the current regime. While the defense certainly has a lot to do with that, it helps if the other team cannot possess the ball very often because the Nittany Lions keep moving the sticks.

This is where that time of possession statistic comes into play. Remember, cause and effect.

Cause: Penn State is able to consistently convert on third down, which in effect keeps their defense off the field and doesn’t allow the other team to have too many opportunities to score … which leads to winning the time of possession battle that can go a long way towards helping a team win a ballgame. It’s a simple chain reaction.

For the Nittany Lions to have a chance at reaching double-digit wins in 2022, they’ll need to vastly improve in this uber-important category that they ranked 64th in the country last year at just a 39.46% third down conversion rate.