UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Just because you could beat a team by 50 points doesn't necessarily mean that's what you want to accomplish in the game.
Penn State hammered Ball State on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, 44-13, and it could have been worse. A lot worse.
The Nittany Lions easily could have hung 60 points on the overmatched Cardinals from the MAC. But if they had done that, it would have meant not getting as much work in some areas as they actually were able to get.
Here are my 10 takeaways from the victory.
1. Fast start helped dictate the entire day
Slow starts have long been an issue for the Lions under James Franklin, but that was not the case Saturday. Penn State scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, and that quick 14-0 lead allowed the Lions to accomplish pretty much everything they needed to accomplish against this caliber of opponent in a tuneup game.
"We started fast, which was huge," quarterback Sean Clifford said before later adding, "Good week of practice. Starting fast in practice, I think that was a big point of emphasis this week."
The ideal plan for this game had to be build a lead, take control of the game and then get a lot of backups as much experience as possible the rest of the day.
The 14-0 lead, therefore, was exactly what Penn State needed. And even though the Lions didn't do a whole lot offensively the rest of the half, they were up 24-6 and the defense had shown it could shut down Ball State.
"This week on first and second down offensively, we were more effective, so it created more advantageous third-down situations," said James Franklin, who lamented repeatedly throughout the week that the offense was consistently behind schedule at Wisconsin.
The Lions no doubt were energized at the start by getting to play in front of 105,000 fans at Beaver Stadium, after fans were not allowed to attend games last season.
"It is just exciting to see the fans," receiver Parker Washington said. "It is exciting to see them here at Beaver Stadium. Like I said, it started fast and that helps us. Seeing them is like a momentum thing and it just keeps us going and makes us excited to play."
2. Clifford, Yurcich show out early on
Clifford completed 12 of his first 13 passes, and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich did an outstanding job with playcalling, mixing things up and finding holes in the Ball State defense.
And there were lots of holes, with Penn State scoring 17 points on its first three drives.
"I just thought we were more balanced, we were more efficient," Franklin said of the offense. "Part of it is how they played. They played soft. They were not gonna allow us to throw it over their head. I think that was obvious in their game plan on the defensive side of the ball. But by doing that, you create some free access throws, and I think we threw for a pretty high percentage there in the first quarter, first half."
Clifford went under center several times in the first half, a look the Penn State offense just never showed the past few years. But Yurcich mixed things up well, not only in that regard, but also by implementing tempo in key spots to keep the defense off balance.
All of that was utilized in the first few drives, as the Lions jumped ahead 17-3.
Yurcich also called a couple of pass plays to the tight ends in the first two drives, which was a good sign, since the tight ends did not have a catch in the win at Wisconsin. In this game, the tight ends caught three passes for 39 yards, and it would be good to get them even more use.
3. Penn State made every attempt to establish the running game
Getting back to theme of it could have been even worse, the Lions made a concerted effort in the third quarter to get the running game going, something that had to be done in this game.
Yurcich could have just kept letting Clifford throw the ball and take a bunch of deep shots, and that would have resulted in a 60 burger. But that is not what the offense needed out of this game.
The offense needed to work on run blocking, getting the running backs a lot of carries and to build confidence that they can move the ball on the ground. Penn State ran the ball 48 times for 240 yards, averaging 5.0 per attempt.
Noah Cain led the way 69 yards on 20 carries, but Keyvone Lee was more impressive with 68 yards on only eight carries (8.5 per attempt). Clifford also took off for a nice 43-yard run.
Going so heavily to the run did kind of bog down the offense in the third quarter, as Yurcich was calling for runs even on passing downs.
"The O-Line played a big part," Lee said. "We motivated them. We pushed them. We believe in them. If ya'll getting started, we getting started."
4. The Lions played a whole bunch of backups
Penn State took advantage of the lead it had by making sure to get a lot of second- and third-teamers in the game. All of that can only help going forward, and again, it's exactly the reason you play this kind of tuneup game.
As Franklin said, all of that is good for the locker room, too, because it helps keep backups motivated and buying in.
5. The Luketa pick 6 was impressive -- and well-timed
Jesse Luketa spent the first half playing linebacker, with Ellis Brooks sitting out because of his targeting penalty last week. When Brooks returned in the second half, Luketa moved to defensive end. That versatility was big for Penn State on Saturday and will need to continue to be the rest of the season.
Luketa came up with a big play when he snared a one-handed interception and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. It was an excellent individual play and gave Penn State a 31-6 lead. The running game had not helped PSU score any points in the third quarter, so that TD kept things on schedule with a growing lead to allow the coaches to keep playing backups down the stretch.
And talk about perfect timing. The video board at Beaver Stadium had just played a clip from Franklin yelling to the fans, "Get up, get up, we need you!" And two seconds later, Luketa got the pick 6.
"I see how hard he works day in and day out from even working mike (linebacker) and defensive end and being able to make those big plays from the linebacker standpoint and from the defensive end standpoint," linebacker Brandon Smith said. "It means everything because you know all he puts out. He is definitely selfless and not selfish."
6. Ta'Quan Roberson finally got some good experience
Franklin wanted to get backup QB Ta'Quan Roberson into the game a little bit earlier, but Ball State had gone on a long drive. Still, Roberson came into the game with about eight minutes left and was able to get two series.
The first series did not go well. He missed on a quick timing route and was tackled near the line on third down of a three-and-out.
The Lions got the ball back quickly, though, and instead of just going all handoffs to run out the clock, Franklin allowed Roberson a chance to make one big play. Roberson rolled out and hit tight end Theo Johnson for a 23-yard TD, marking the first college completion for the quarterback.
Penn State fans have to hope they don't see much of Roberson this season, because that would mean something happened to Clifford. But the snaps he was able to get Saturday certainly will help the backup QB, and he'll likely get a lot more in two weeks when Villanova visits Beaver Stadium.
7. Another targeting penalty for PSU, on another controversial play
Safety Tyler Rudolph was ejected after a targeting penalty in the second half, the second such penalty on a Penn State in two weeks. This play was an interesting one in the grand scheme of the targeting discussion.
The Ball State running back lowered his head as he approached Rudolph, who was getting set to make a tackle. Rudolph went low on his tackle attempt and would not have hit the ball carrier in the head, except for that the ball carrier lowered his own head.
That's a tough penalty, because a case could be made that the offensive player actually initiated the head-to-head contact with his own actions. And as Franklin said last week, college football needs to take a look at offensive players when it comes to targeting penalties.
What is the defensive player to do in that situation? It's all part of the ongoing targeting dilemma in the sport.
8. Penn State's tackling has been much better this season
The Lions have tackled very well through two games -- one a tough opponent in Wisconsin, the other a lesser opponent in Ball State. Tackling was such a big issue during last year's 0-5 start, but clearly defensive coordinator Brent Pry has placed a greater emphasis on the need to lock players up.
9. A beef to pick with Ball State coach Mike Neu
The Cardinals faced fourth-and-goal at the Penn State 5 in the final seconds of the first half. Instead of giving his offense, which had some success throwing the ball, a chance to try and get into the end zone, Mike Neu called for a field goal. The kick was good, making it 24-6.
Look, I understand getting some points there, and going into the locker room with at least somewhat of a good feeling, as opposed to being bummed out even more if the fourth-down attempt had failed.
But man oh man, I hate that call.
Ball State got $1.4 million to come play this game. It had already won because of the financial standpoint, so why not come in and throw everything you've got -- including the kitchen sink -- at Penn State.
The Cardinals were never going to win this game. At least go down swinging, saying you gave it your very best shot.
Again, Penn State could have scored 60 on this team. But Neu had a chance at the end of the half to give his offensive players a big confidence boost if they had gotten into the end zone, and he took that opportunity away from them.
10. The Ohio State loss doesn't help the Big Ten
I know Penn State fans will see that Ohio State lost to Oregon, 35-28, and love it. Anything bad that happens to Ohio State is always cheered by PSU fans.
But the Buckeyes' loss is not good for the Big Ten.
It helps having one powerhouse program that always has a great chance to reach the College Football Playoff. And yes, the Buckeyes still have that chance if they win out.
But if Ohio State loses again, it's done in the CFP race. That's not something the Big Ten wanted to see.
UPDATE: I had some fans question this in the comments section, saying they love seeing Ohio State lose regardless. So, I decided to add a detailed response. Here's what I added:
I hear your guys about my Ohio State comment. I get where you're coming from as a fan -- you always want to see something bad happen to Ohio State. Your favorite teams are Penn State and whoever is playing the Buckeyes (or Pitt, LOL).
I'm just saying that Ohio State's loss is not good for the Big Ten because, without question, it weakens the league's hopes by a bit of making the playoff.
Can Penn State get there by going undefeated? Obviously.
Can Ohio State still get there with one loss. Sure. But not definitely.
Can Ohio State's loss hurt Penn State? Yes.
Say PSU beats Iowa and its only loss is at Ohio State by a few points. IF the Buckeyes were to go undefeated, they'd be in, and Penn State would have a very good argument at a second spot from the Big Ten. But Ohio State's resume gets a little weaker with the loss to Oregon at home, so if PSU loses a close game at Columbus, it loses a bit of luster coming against a one-loss Ohio State team.
I know, I know, I'm getting pretty deep in the hypothetical game here. There's LOTS of season left. But we have to keep these things in mind when looking over the whole picture for CFP berths.
If Alabama goes undefeated and Georgia's only loss is to Bama, then both those teams probably get in.
Clemson can get in by winning out.
That would leave only one more spot -- between Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, etc. If there's only one spot left and Oregon is involved, then it would get the benefit over Ohio State by virtue of the win.
That's how the Big Ten could get left completely out of the playoff.
Alright, everybody got all that? LOL. Yeah, a whole bunch to unpack there, and my head's spinning now! Sorry to try and predict the future with 100 moving parts still.
'GAMEDAY COMING'
It was announced late Saturday night that ESPN's "College GameDay" will be coming to Penn State next week for the showdown against Auburn. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be a whiteout.
Here's my post game thoughts straight from Happy Valley:
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE SCHEDULE
Penn State welcomes Auburn to town next weekend for the annual White Out game. The Nittany Lions will kick off against the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. from Beaver Stadiu.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
