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Seth
Engle | The Daily Collegian
Aug 27, 2021
If you were to ask any diehard Penn State football fan who the
program’s last great offensive coordinator was, the answer would likely be Joe
Moorhead.
In just two seasons with the blue and white’s program, Moorhead
was able to accomplish feats no other Penn State coordinator had come close to
in recent memory, leading the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship win, two
New Year's Six bowl games and two top-10 finishes.
After such high accomplishments, Moorhead’s time as a
coordinator was short-lived, and he became the head coach of Mississippi State
in 2018.
Penn State’s offense hasn’t been the same since.
After two seasons under Ricky Rahne, the Nittany Lions decided
to bring in former Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to lead the
offense in 2020.
With Ciarrocca pulling the strings, the Golden Gophers lit up
Penn State’s defense in 2019 in their 31-26 defeat over the undefeated Nittany
Lions.
Many expected Ciarrocca would do to opponents what he did to the
blue and white in 2019. However, that wasn’t the case.
Penn State went 4-5 in 2020, suffering its first losing season
in nearly two decades.
In January, Ciarrocca was fired, and the Nittany Lions brought
in their third offensive coordinator in three years in Mike Yurcich.
A “football guy” in nature, Yurcich has bounced around the
country in different coaching roles for the past 22 years — 15 of which have
been spent as an offensive coordinator.
Yurcich began to make
headlines as the offensive coordinator of Oklahoma State. The Cowboy offense
ranked fifth nationally in passing yards per game, seventh in total offense and
sixth in scoring in his six years with the program.
Following his stint in
Stillwater, Oklahoma, Yurcich made his way to Ohio State to serve as the
passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach — developing a quarterback
named Justin Fields.
In his lone season with
the Buckeyes, Yurcich led them to a 13-1 record and a spot in the College
Football Playoff, while Fields finished as a Heisman finalist.
However, Yurcich’s gig in Columbus was eventful but brief.
Yurcich moved on once
again to become the offensive coordinator at Texas — where he led the Longhorns
to a No. 8 rank in scoring offense (42.7 ppg) in 2020, good for second-best in
program history.
The following January, Yurcich found his next destination: Happy
Valley.
When looking at stats alone, there’s plenty to be excited about
for Yurcich’s start with Penn State.
Since 2013, Yurcich ranks
first among Power Five offensive coordinators with 6.49 yards per play and
14.03 yards per completion.
In the same timeframe,
Yurich’s teams have scored 40 or more points in 50% of the games he’s led as
offensive coordinator.
Stats don’t lie, and that’s something James Franklin has made
clear over the years.
When looking at Penn State’s offensive statistics from last
season, a few things stand out.
The Nittany Lions maintained a higher average yards and passing
yards per game in 2020 than in 2019.
However, points per game dropped by a full touchdown, from 35.8
in 2019 to 29.8 in 2020. The yardage may have been higher, but the blue and
white played from behind in many games and racked up garbage-time stats.
In 2021, the scoring will rise.
Despite a disappointing season from Sean Clifford, Penn State
still managed to finish second in passing yards per game, displaying that
there’s talent in the passing game entering the 2021 season.
If Yurcich has done anything in his 22-year career, it’s score —
and that’s what Penn State needs most.
Clifford may have regressed this past season, but if there’s one
man to get him back to his 2019 ways — when the Cincinnati native led Penn
State to an 11-2 record — it’s Yurcich.
In Yurcich’s offense, Clifford will be more likely to throw the
ball rather than settle for a quarterback sneak up the middle, as Penn State
did constantly under Ciarrocca.
Yurcich’s faster-paced
style of play will bring excitement to Nittany Lion fans, as his quick snaps
will be used to fool defenses in order to create more explosive plays.
With a receiving core led by two-headed monster Jahan Dotson and
Parker Washington, along with a running back room backed by five guys who are
good enough to start on FBS rosters, Clifford holds the keys to Penn State
getting back to stardom next season.
In 2016, Moorhead unveiled a playbook more creative than any
Penn State fans had seen in years. Expect the same to unfold with Yurcich in 2021, as he leads the Nittany
Lions to one of their best offensive seasons in recent memory.
