Wisconsin preparing for Penn State offense with new coordinator

MADISON, WIS. -- Add one more task to the list of preparing for No. 19 Penn State this week.

First games of the year already present challenges for teams trying to scout their opponents. Roster addition and attrition change the dynamic of each program annually, but for the No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers, they also needs to contend with preparing its defense for the Nittany Lions with a new offensive coordinator.

Penn State head coach James Franklin hired Kirk Yurcich to that position earlier this year, replacing Kirk Ciarrocca. Yurcich came to Happy Valley from Texas, where he worked as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach position in 2020. Prior to that, he held the same duties at Oklahoma State (2013-18) before heading to Ohio State as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2019 season.

Just what film is Wisconsin looking at, and how is the team attempting to dissect the schemes and plays run and reconcile that with key personnel returning? As inside linebacker Jack Sanborn explained, "a lot of times it's not watching what Penn State did last year."

"A lot of that kind of doesn't really matter," Sanborn said on Monday. "It’s speaking about tendencies and stuff like that. So you know, it's watching Texas from last year, and then even watching Ohio State from the year before where he was.

“It presents its own challenges, but with the coaching staff we have and coach [Jim] Leonhard and all of them, I'm confident that we're putting in a good game plan. Then it's up to us players as well, just watching the film, understanding different tendencies, things like that. Week 1 is fun just for that reason."

Last year, Penn State averaged 29.8 points per game while accumulating 430.3 yards per contest (174.3 rushing, 256 passing) under Ciarrocca. Yurcich guided quarterback Sam Ehlinger and Texas's offense to 42 points and 475 yards per outing (195.3 rushing, 280.1 passing) in 10 games during the 2020 season.

The Nittany Lions scored over 30 points just three times last season during their 4-5 campaign. Texas tallied over 40 points in six games.

In terms of plays run between the two programs, they were similar (Texas 715, Penn State 709), but the Longhorns averaged 6.6 yards per snap compared to the Nittany Lions's 5.5. For that matter, Ehlinger compiled 34 touchdowns (26 passing, eight rushing) in 2020.

Yurcich also helped mentor Justin Fields during a Big Ten championship season in 2019 where the the current Chicago Bears quarterback threw 41 touchdown passes to only three interceptions.

The assistant's ability to work with Fields, Ehlinger and Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph could serve well in seeing further growth from Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. The Nittany Lions' QB1 completed just 60.6% of his throws for 1,883 yards with 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions last season.

Wisconsin cornerback Faion Hicks expects an up-tempo offense.

“RPOs is something that a lot of teams do, and definitely taking shots, too," Hicks said on Monday. "I think our group is going to be tested. They're going to test us, but we'll be ready for it. Like I said, it's a lot of unknown. Just kind of looking at OK, the best things that they did at Texas, and the best things I did at Penn State, and kind of put them all together for what we could possibly get."

Hicks and the secondary will need to contain wide receivers Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington. Dotson caught 52 receptions, for 884 yards and eight touchdowns on way to consensus third-team All-Big Ten accolades. Washington, now entering his second year as a Nittany Lion, hauled in 36 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns of his own.

They form a duo that Wisconsin's secondary will need to contain to start the 2021 season off with a win.

"They attack the ball really well," Hicks said. "That's the No. 1 thing that's stands out to me, especially No. 5 [Dotson]. The quarterback, even when he was covered, he just threw the ball up to him, so like I said, we got to make him pay for that when that does happen.

“But we look forward to the matchups, man. Whenever you got a group like that, it's exciting. You kind of look forward to this type of moment, so we'll be ready."

Leonhard, heading into his fifth season as defensive coordinator, acknowledged the challenge heading into a new season with annual change that then is added upon with a new coordinator. That being said, he also believes in the proposed preparation leading up to the contest.

"You got to look a lot of different places and really overexpose your players to what could happen," Leonhard said on Monday. "You’re playing the guessing game a little bit."

"Feel confident in the plan we have going into the week and putting it into the players’ hands. We have a talented group, an experienced group, and Week 1 is all about letting them play fast and play physical, be aggressive and trying to get them a plan that can handle the issues that might come about, but really allow them to play fast.”

Head coach Paul Chryst revealed on Tuesday afternoon that true freshman running back Loyal Crawford, "has been dismissed from the Wisconsin football team," according to a release. The program also suspended fellow first-year running back Antwan Roberts.

Both Crawford and Roberts signed with Wisconsin as part of the 2021 class as three-star prospects.

[Update, Sept. 1: Correctly clarifying Ehlinger's touchdown total to 34 last year (26 passing, eight rushing), along with the number of Fields' touchdown passes in 2019 (41 instead of 40). Yurcich also held passing game coordinator duties at Ohio State, not the official role of offensive coordinator.]