Penn State’s offense is stuck, the run game is going nowhere, and the line is the first place Matt Campbell should look if he wants to shake things up. The clearest move? Give Vaea Ikakoula a shot at center over Brock Riker in Week 6.
After Friday night’s 34-13 loss to Northwestern, the problems were hard to miss. Penn State gave up 500 yards and 400 on the ground, so even a defense that looked solid in the Week 4 loss to Wisconsin is now in crisis mode.
On offense, the issues stack up fast: without star wide receiver Koby Howard, the passing game has no real vertical threat, and when offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser does create an opening, Rocco Becht has rarely been able to connect. The ground game was just as ugly at Ryan Field, finishing with 48 yards on 22 carries.
That puts the spotlight squarely on the offensive line, the unit that affects both the pass game and the run game more than any other. If Campbell is going to start making changes, center feels like the most logical place.
Riker came to Penn State from Texas State after being an All-Sun Belt performer last season at 275 pounds. To handle Big Ten football, he added about 30 pounds in one offseason, and he still looks like a player figuring out a bigger frame against a tougher level of competition.
Against Northwestern, he gave up four pressures and has now allowed seven pressures across his two Big Ten games. Penn State tried only three runs to the A-gaps beside him and got six yards out of those snaps.
The run game has been poor everywhere, but Riker hasn’t been able to generate the interior push this offense needs.
He’s not alone in struggling. Trevor Buhr has been shaky at left guard, and first-year starter Cooper Cousins had his worst outing at right guard on Friday night. Still, Riker has been the most obvious weak spot, and he has the cleanest replacement waiting behind him.
Ikakoula, a redshirt freshman and Iowa State transfer from Hawaii, played 52 snaps against Buffalo when Riker was dealing with an injury. It wasn’t a perfect test, and Buffalo isn’t Big Ten competition, but he handled himself well enough to earn another look. That was enough to convince Campbell and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton to start him against USC in Week 6.
There may not be a more practical change available right now. Penn State’s passing game has already taken a major hit without Howard, who changes how defenses have to play the offense by forcing them to respect the vertical game.
Brett Eskildsen has struggled badly on the outside over the last two weeks, and it’s fair to ask whether true freshman Amarion Jackson or another Iowa State transfer, Karon Brookins, would really move the needle. Zay Robinson has already started getting work on the outside, which was a surprise for a player who looked like a slot-only option at 5-foot-11.
The tight end group is deep, but its roles are already set. A quarterback change is something to keep in mind eventually, but doing that before games against USC and Michigan would be too abrupt and would likely put Alex Manske in a bad spot.
So if Campbell and Mouser are serious about changing the offense, the front line is where it should begin. That’s the spot with the best chance to affect everything else.
In Other News...
Penn State Fans Wont Like What An In-State Rival Coach Said
Pat Narduzzi had plenty to say after Pitts close win over Virginia Tech, and much of it was bound to land with Penn State fans as a familiar jab from across the state. The Pitt coach addressed a controversial missed field goal in that game, then turned his attention to the AP Top 25, questioning Penn States placement despite the recent losses that have piled up for the Nittany Lions.
Narduzzi also used the moment to make a case for his own program, pointing to Pitts undefeated start and current ranking as proof his team deserves more respect. It was the latest reminder that the tension between Pitt and Penn State remains very much alive, with Narduzzi continuing a public back-and-forth that has long carried extra weight in a rivalry shaped by him and former Penn State coach James Franklin. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Early Big Ten Slide Suddenly Looks Like A Bigger Problem
Two weeks into Big Ten play, the leagues shape is already starting to tell a familiar story at the top, with the conference heavyweights still looking the part while some of the preseason contenders are scrambling to catch up. Penn State is in that second group after an uneven start that has made the early standings feel less like a snapshot and more like a warning sign, especially with the Big Tens path to multiple College Football Playoff bids depending on its best teams stacking wins and avoiding the kind of stumbles that can linger all fall.
The Nittany Lions are not alone in that bind, but their position carries extra weight because expectations were so high before league play began. Washington is facing its own early trouble, and several coaching situations around the conference are already under a sharper spotlight, yet Penn States slide stands out because it changes the margin for error so quickly. If the league is going to earn the depth it needs at the top, the teams that were supposed to anchor it cannot keep giving ground this early. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Lost The Spotlight For A Huge Michigan Trip
Penn States trip to Michigan on October 17 no longer has the feel of a late-night showcase. The Big Ten announced the game at Michigan Stadium will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET, pulling it out of the prime-time window many had anticipated and shifting some of the national spotlight away from what had shaped up as one of the leagues more intriguing midseason matchups.
It still carries plenty of weight in the Big Ten race, though. Both teams are 0-2 in conference play, which is the first time that has happened to Penn State since it joined the league in 1993, and that makes the meeting even more important for two programs trying to steady themselves. Before that trip, Penn State gets its own marquee stage Saturday night, hosting No. 19 USC in a White Out game at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCs Big Ten Saturday Night. [Read more 🡒]