What has led to Nittany Lions 8-0 start?

Ten weeks into the college football season and the Penn State Nittany Lions are undefeated at 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten).

To many, the Nittany Lions being undefeated after their recent three-game stretch of Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State is surprising, especially with Penn State having to go to Iowa City and East Lansing.

As noted above, Penn State has wins over quality opponents as well.

A 17-10 victory over Pitt at the time didn’t seem very impressive, but the Panthers have been playing pretty good football since, upsetting Central Florida the week after its loss to the Nittany Lions. A win at No. 19 Iowa is always a good win in that tough environment, and a win at home against No. 14 ranked Michigan — which has started to figure things out — has been Penn State’s signature win. Just last week, the Wolverines dominated then top 10 ranked Notre Dame 45-14 in Ann Arbor.

This week – a bye for Penn State – comes at a perfect time for the Nittany Lions to rest and reload with yet another gauntlet of tough opponents. Penn State will go to No. 13 Minnesota next week, which will probably be the biggest game for the Gophers at home in a very long time, host an Indiana (6-2) team that is playing well of late and will be coming off a bye, and then the game that everyone is currently looking forward to at Columbus against No. 3 ranked Ohio State.

So, 8-0 looks great now, and I’m sure there are some pundits that believe the Nittany Lions will drop a game to Minnesota or to Indiana, thus killing the gigantic match-up with the Buckeyes, but as this season with Penn State has taught everyone, only time will tell. I happen to believe Penn State does take care of business and heads to Columbus at 10-0, but I’ve already addressed that in my preseason prediction for the Nittany Lions.

Undefeated with such a young roster and a first-year starting quarterback. How have the Nittany Lions been able to do it? What has been the main contributor?

Coming in, we knew the defense was going to be good, was going to be able to get after the quarterback, and as always, would be good against the run. The defense hasn’t disappointed, holding teams to just 9.63 points per game, just under 70 yards rushing per game and has come through with 30 sacks and is top five in the country in tackles for loss per game. Of course, the defense is a big reason why this team is still unscathed, but in my opinion it is not the main reason.

Is it first-year starting sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford? Deservingly so, there was a lot of fear and reservations of Clifford taking over for Trace McSorley, who owns most of the Penn State passing records after his time in State College over the past few seasons, not to mention he was a winner. McSorley was the signal caller for teams that finished 11-3, 11-2 and 9-4 and helped them win a Big Ten championship in the 2016-17 season. But Clifford has been great. He leads the Big Ten in total offense with 1,931 passing yards and 280 rushing yards, and he’s second in the conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns with 20, and has only thrown three interceptions. Clifford’s big-play ability and his ability to move around in the pocket remind me a lot of McSorley, but in my opinion, he’s not even the main reason why Penn State is undefeated.

If you’ve read my column over the years, I’ve always pin pointed Penn State’s issues with not being able to finish offensively as a reason why it hasn’t been able to get into the College Football Playoff.

There have been times where they could just not get the push up front to run the clock out or put together a game-clinching drive at the end of games with the lead. That was, in my opinion, because of the play of the offensive line. The offensive line just always seemed to be worn down at the end of a big game, and a lot of times Penn State came out on the losing end because of that.

However, this season — Coach Franklin’s sixth in Happy Valley — it looks like the offensive line has turned the corner. In close games against both Iowa and Michigan, the Nittany Lions were able to end the game on their terms running out the clock by running the football, which is something they have not been able to do in the five years prior.

The offensive line has flat out been good all season long. The rushing game is averaging a very solid 170 yards per game, and for the most part, Clifford has been able to stand in a clean pocket, even against good pass rushing defenses in Pitt, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State. Penn State has only given up 14 sacks all season long.

In my opinion, it’s been the Nittany Lions offensive line that is the major reason for their 8-0 record. Youngster left tackle Rasheed Walker (Fr.), left guard Steven Gonzalez (Sr.), center Michal Menet (Jr.), right guard Mike Miranda (So.), and right tackle Will Fries (Jr.) have bene the unsung heroes for this Penn State team. CJ Thorpe (So.) at guard and Des Holmes (So.) at tackle have also seen significant time as well and have helped keep everyone fresh.

If the Nittany Lions offensive line can continue to play at this level, coupled with the strong play of the defensive line, Penn State will be heading into Columbus undefeated.