Penn State Football: What Went Wrong in 2014 and How Can Nittany Lions Fix It?

This fall, Penn State will go beyond what most reasonable observers expected, while also failing to live up to preseason expectations.

How is that possible? Thanks to the NCAA’s unexpected lessening of sanctions connected to the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the Nittany Lions are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011.

But following Saturday’s ugly 16-14 loss at Illinois, Penn State is 6-5 (2-5 in Big Ten play) and will be an underdog in the season finale against No. 11 Michigan State.

So what went wrong? Why has a team expected to improve on 2013’s 7-5 mark instead regressed? And how does first-year coach James Franklin fix the issues?

At first glance, sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg looks like the issue. A year ago, Hackenberg looked like one of the nation’s top young quarterbacks, throwing for 2,955 yards with 20 touchdowns against 10 interceptions.

This fall, with one regular season game left, he has thrown for 2,411 yards with just eight touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Penn State entered Saturday averaging just 20.6 points per game, which ranked No. 110 nationally.

That said, it’s hard to do much when you don’t have time to throw. Hackenberg has been sacked 39 times this season (entering Saturday, he had been sacked more than any power-five quarterback).

He is working behind one of the worst, least experienced offensive lines in the FBS, which hasn’t recovered from losing four starters from 2013’s line.

And the only returning starter, junior left tackle Donovan Smith, has been beat up, too. He missed a pair of games with injury before returning for last week’s win over Temple.  Left guard Miles Dieffenbach also just returned from injury to create a solid left side of the line beside Smith.

Franklin told John McGonigal of the Philadelphia Daily News this week that stability will help the offensive line gel:

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It allows us to get some guys back to maybe their more natural position. It also allows us hopefully now to get five guys and leave them at those positions, and try to work with some consistency and building that chemistry and communication within each other.

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The line simply hasn’t given Hackenberg time to work and hasn’t opened up enough holes for the Nittany Lions backfield.

Penn State entered Saturday averaging 103.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked No. 119 nationally. Tailbacks Bill Belton and Akeel Lynch have had their moments: Lynch has rushed for 267 yards and two touchdowns over the past two games. But neither has been a consistent every-down, bell-cow back behind the patchwork offensive line.

Offensive line coach Herb Hand is well-regarded, but he has been forced to shift players around this season. Junior Angelo Mangiro has played guard, center and tackle this fall. For a line that had no starts outside of Smith entering this season, such instability is difficult to overcome.

Solving the Lions’ issues might not be possible this season. But with all five offensive line starters projected to return next fall, a winter in the weight room and a spring effort to build chemistry will be vitally important.

Penn State’s defense has been impressive: The Lions entered Saturday yielding only 16.2 points per game, which ranks fourth-best nationally, and they have only three senior starters (defensive end C.J. Olaniyan, linebacker Mike Hull and safety Adrian Amos).

It has kept the Lions in games, but thanks to an anemic offense, that hasn’t been enough. Fix the leaky line, and the offense should improve, allowing Penn State to take a step forward next fall.