PSU preview: Running backs in the spotlight for Lions, Aztecs
A year ago, it would have sounded like a bad joke coming from an opposing coach. This week, it was a compliment.
“We have not been tested with this kind of running game yet,” San Diego State coach Rocky Long said. Of Penn State.
Yes, a Nittany Lions offense that ranked 117th nationally in rushing a year ago is suddenly making other teams rethink their strategies.
And now today’s first-ever matchup between Penn State and San Diego State will focus heavily on a pair of running back tandems — the Lions’ Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley vs. the Aztecs’ Donnel Pumphrey and Chase Price.
Amazingly, the biggest buzz coming into the weekend is not on Pumphrey, who was the nation’s leading rusher outside of the Big Ten a year ago, finishing with a whopping 1,867 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Instead, Barkley is commanding the most attention as the true freshman has ripped off 310 yards and three touchdowns in the last two weeks to resurrect Penn State’s offense.
“I don’t want to curse the kid,” Lions running back coach Charles Huff said when asked to compare Barkley to another running back. “But in his own ability, I think he’s special. I don’t know if anybody specifically has what he has.”
Well then.
Head coach James Franklin’s plan heading into the game will be to alternate Lynch and Barkley drive for drive. But as was the case last week against Rutgers when Barkley took over for long stretches, the Lions will go with the hot hand.
Though Franklin has vowed to ultimately balance out the offense and rebuild his passing game, that might not be the plan this week.
San Diego State allowed 241 yards on the ground last week in a stunning home loss to a fledgling South Alabama program.
The Aztecs are expecting to see more of the same today.
“We’re going to put a bunch of (defenders in the box) and see if we’re good enough to hang in there and keep the game close,” Long said. “They feel like they have the advantage physically up front and at running back.
“Size-wise, it’s not even close. They’re a lot bigger. Now, that doesn’t always mean that the outcome is going to be in that direction, so we’ll see. I think we’ve got good players. I think we’ve got tough guys. I think we’ll stand up and fight. Let’s see if we’re good enough.”
THREE AND OUT
Planning for ‘chaos’
Another reason Penn State may stick to the ground today is based on the Aztecs’ scheme.
Long has been a pioneer of a 3-3-5 base formation throughout his coaching career, one that can interchange linebackers and safeties and line them up all over the field.
“They play what I would call a chaos defense,” Franklin said. “You see those defenses where they don’t even line up, they just kind of walk around and do all those things. They blitz from every angle possible. So we’re going to have to continue calling and managing the game the way we are right now.”
All of that pre-snap movement is designed to confuse quarterbacks while bringing pressure from unexpected places.
“They like to bring exotic blitzes,” quarterback Christian Hackenberg said. “Sometimes they’ll have the three high safeties in there and you have to focus on their rotation. We’ve done a good job in the film room studying what they like to do and look for tendencies.
“It’s obviously a quirky look for us at times. It’s a pretty good challenge in terms of the looks we’re gonna get.”
Help from out West
Hackenberg has gotten a bit of help from California this week as well. As in Berkeley.
Cal quarterback Jared Goff had a very successful game against the Aztecs two weeks ago, throwing three touchdowns in the Golden Bears’ 35-7 win.
As it turns out, Hackenberg is friends with Goff, as the two were in the same recruiting class and met through the camp circuit and at the prestigious Elite 11 showcase.
Hackenberg has swapped messages with his Cal counterpart looking for pointers.
“He’s an awesome dude. One of my better friends,” Hackenberg said. “Just been able to shoot him things with him and kind of see what he saw, get any type of keys from texting him.
“Just being able to pick up some things from him and how he exploited it was good.”
Counting miles
San Diego State’s trip to Happy Valley checks in at 2,230 miles, which turns out to be the second longest road trip any FBS team will be making this season inside the continental United States.
Only UCF’s game at Stanford two weeks ago (Orlando to Palo Alto) was longer at 2,427.
The good news for the Aztecs is that kickoff will be at 3:30 rather than noon, which would have felt like a 9 a.m. start. The bad news is that they are 2-11 all-time playing in the Eastern time zone since 1969.
Nationwide, West Coast teams are 1-3 playing on the East Coast so far this season, with Washington State beating Rutgers for the lone win.
PSU GAMEDAY
San Diego State (1-2)
at Penn State (2-1)
Beaver Stadium
State College
: BTN
Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter
