Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Expect Penn State and Pitt to open up the playbook

PITTSBURGH - Coaches say they like to maintain a routine while preparing for every football game and not deviate from the norm, but that doesn't seem to have been the case this week as Penn State and Pittsburgh prepared for the renewal of their intrastate rivalry.

PITTSBURGH - Coaches say they like to maintain a routine while preparing for every football game and not deviate from the norm, but that doesn't seem to have been the case this week as Penn State and Pittsburgh prepared for the renewal of their intrastate rivalry.

By the time the highly anticipated game kicks off Saturday at Heinz Field, the staffs of head coaches James Franklin and Pat Narduzzi will have seen just about every formation and play ever called in the careers of first-year offensive coordinators Joe Moorhead of the Nittany Lions and Matt Canada of the Panthers.

Because neither team was seriously threatened last week in its season opener, the theory is that both Franklin and Narduzzi kept their offenses limited and did not really tip their hands on any trick plays or jazzy formations. On Saturday, however, look for each team's playbook to be emptied out looking for an advantage, if there is one to be found.

"We've watched every game they had at Fordham, which is where coach Moorhead came from [as head coach], and obviously the game last week," Narduzzi said. "We've got their spring game. We've got just about every tape you can get into. We've got every trick play and every formation they've run over the last three years at Fordham."

Not to be outdone, Franklin and his Penn State assistants have rummaged through tapes of Canada, who was North Carolina State's offensive coordinator for three seasons before being hired last January by Narduzzi.

"We know he came from North Carolina State and Wisconsin, so you do a lot of film study on those years," Nittany Lions cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said. "When you look at his history and the first game, he's pretty consistent to who he is. We know what we're going to see so we just have to go out there and stop it."

In particular, Franklin is concerned about Pitt sophomore safety Jordan Whitehead, who saw action on offense last season and rushed 12 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Whitehead did not compile any offensive statistics in last week's win over Villanova, but Franklin is expecting to see him carry the ball, particularly on the fly sweep.

"We've spent a lot of time looking at the fly sweep, how we're going to defend the fly sweep," Franklin said. "Not only from Jordan Whitehead but also what their offensive coordinator did while he was at N.C. State and Wisconsin."

The Panthers are known more for their power running game led by 235-pound junior James Conner, who is back after missing the entire 2015 season with Hodgkin lymphoma. Conner, who scored two touchdowns last week, runs behind an offensive line that features seniors Dorian Johnson, a former Penn State oral commitment who flipped to Pitt, and Adam Bisnowaty, each of whom has more than 30 career starts.

Franklin doesn't want his team to be surprised by the trick play.

"We're spending a lot of time preparing on fakes, things like that," he said. "We want to make sure we're prepared for those things."

The Penn State offense, meanwhile, did not show a lot of up-tempo play last week in its win over Kent State although it did line up for every snap without a huddle. That could change Saturday in an attempt to keep Pitt's defense off-balance.

Another big factor will be the ability of each team to keep its quarterback protected. The Nittany Lions got seven sacks last week, the Panthers had six.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq