Penn State playmakers shined when it mattered most against Wisconsin

ALTOONA, Pa. -- The Penn State offense was dormant and on the sidelines for nearly all of the first half having only been in possession of the football for a little over 8.5 minutes. 

The Nittany Lions forced a Wisconsin punt and then, at long last, the home run capabilities the offense is capable of as well as the players capable of doing it were on full display. 

Penn State's drive began with three Sean Clifford completions two to Jahan Dotson for nine and six yards with a 12-yard reception for KeAndre Lambert-Smith to round out the trio of plays. A pass interference on the Badgers came next before Dotson slipped behind the Wisconsin secondary.

The Badgers were in an inverted Cover 2 defense meaning cornerback Faion Hicks had the deep left portion of the field while safety Collin Wilder had the deep right half of the field. Decent coverage, but the tricky part here is tight end Theo Johnson is the only receiver on Hicks' side and when that happens, Hicks comes to play Johnson leaving Dotson wide open down the field running a post and Wilder is left out to dry 

Cover 2 is a simplistic defensive coverage, but easy to beat with the players Penn State has especially when deployed like Dotson and Johnson were in this setting. It's the type of play design that's made offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich known for his big play offense and it showed a lot in the second half Saturday.

It really could have been way worse for Wisconsin as Clifford did happen to overthrow quite a few receivers in the first half, but that changed in the second half as Yurcich made adjustments in taking the Badgers' linebackers out of the equation which allowed Penn State to avoid the middle of the Wisconsin defense and get the ball to players on the perimeter including this pitch and catch from Clifford to Lambert-Smith for 52 yards. 

Lambert-Smith just blew past the secondary and Clifford hit him stride for a third down conversion and way more. The drive would end with a Jordan Stout missed field goal, but again the big play potential is something defenses will have to be wary of as Penn State was far from done and Clifford and Dotson were not yet finished linking up.

This time a 42-yard reception, though if Clifford hits him in stride it's another touchdown. At this juncture of the game keeping the ball in bounds and chewing up any sore of clock was paramount and it set up an eventual Noah Cain touchdown for the game's final score.

The under throw was a positive in this instance, but that Cain fellow just mentioned? Well, he again proved what he was capable of and what Penn State missed with him being injured last season. 

Cain's elusiveness and speed is on display at the 1:54 mark on the video. But as you'll see in later in the video, Cain is just as dangerous as a pass-catcher as he is running the ball and he's got an innate ability to not only be able to escape tacklers with the aforementioned speed and elusiveness, but also bowl would-be tacklers over with his brute strength and power. 

The return of Cain and growth of Dotson into one of the premier wide receivers in the country is a welcome sight and a danger to opponents and especially so when this offense starts to actually click, something it really hasn't done just yet. When it does though, look out, this offense has some serious weapons at its disposal.