Penn St. offense isn’t producing

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

Slow starts. Bad finishes in the red zone. Outmuscled in the trenches.

Whatever the reason, Penn State’s offense is a mess.

Coach Joe Paterno’s squad is last in the Big Ten in scoring at 19.2 points and red zone efficiency (12 of 18, including just six touchdowns, and second to last in rushing (138 yards per game) and total offense (355 per game). And now, the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-1) are out of the AP Top 25, too, for the first time since 2007 after last week’s disheartening 24-3 loss to Iowa.

Prodding along a choppy unit led by freshman quarterback Rob Bolden and touched by inexperience (three first-time starters on the offensive line), JoePa must also cope with a mounting injury list. The latest is tight end Garry Gilliam, out for the year with a left knee injury — and he was a freshman, too.

This might be one of JoePa’s more challenging coaching jobs in recent seasons, just as he gets within three wins of his milestone 400th career victory.

“Yeah, it’s a challenge,” Paterno said. “But hey, nobody said it was going to be easy all the time.”

Certainly not for the Nittany Lions offense, which is in “one step forward, two steps back” mode after a third straight loss to the Hawkeyes, Penn State’s new conference arch-nemesis.

Against Iowa’s stout defense — the fourth best in the country — one drive at the end of the first half stalled at the 2 following a delay of game penalty. Penn State was forced to kick a field goal.

The Nittany Lions were turned back on third and fourth downs on the Iowa 1 in the first drive of the second half, with Bolden stopped on a keeper just short of the goal line.

Paterno points to a number of reasons, but seems to have honed in on particular factor.

“I think down [at] the goal line and in the red zone, we know what the problem is … we can’t just take it and knock some people back and get it in there yet, particularly against a couple teams,” Paterno said.