The Penn State offensive line takes pride in making its opponent look like it isn’t trying, and it didn’t take long for that to happen New Year’s Eve night against Boise State.
If an offensive line makes it so that the opposing defensive front seems spent by, say, the fourth quarter, that’s an accomplishment.
To accomplish that in the first quarter? Well, that’s just a different level altogether.
‘IT FELT LIKE THE BOYS WERE ALREADY GIVING UP’
On Penn State’s first drive— which ended with an 11-yard TD pass from Drew Allar to Tyler Warren— Penn State ran the ball six times for 55 yards, good for more than nine yards per carry.
By the next drive, Penn State left guard Vega Ioane felt like Boise State was running out of gas.
“To be honest, that second drive that we had, it felt like the boys were already giving up,” Ioane told Nittany Sports Now exclusively after Penn State’s 31-14 win. “They knew what was going to be coming all game long, so we shut them down a little bit… we take a lot of pride in that. Just trying to dominate the D-line in front of us.”
By the end of the night, Kaytron Allen had run for 134 yards on 17 carries, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Nicholas Singleton gained 87 yards on 12 carries, with a game-clinching 58-yard touchdown run, which the line helped make possible.
As good as each back is, this wouldn’t be possible without the line.
So, what leads to their success?
“I’d say our preparation,” Ioane said. “It’s all about the confidence that we build in each other. We go out there, we’re not worried about the guy next to us. So, I guess that’s why we’re so dominant on the left side and all the way across the line. We have trust in each other, we have confidence in each other.”
Ioane acknowledged that Boise State made some plays but said PSU knew it was winning the battle.
“They made some plays just like we expected them to, because they’re a great team, too,” he said. “But just that feeling that we had, after a while, we knew we were dominating.”
‘RUN THE DANG BALL, BERT’
The greatest football movie about an offensive lineman is, of course, The Blind Side.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.In Michael Oher’s first game at Wingate, his mother, portrayed by Sandra Bullock, wanted coach Bert Cotton to “run the dang ball” so Oher could shine at left tackle
Perhaps Penn State could relate.
After going ahead 14-0, PSU didn’t give the ball to Singleton or Allen during the next two possessions.
The line was getting impatient.
“We kept asking “Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball,” left tackle Drew Shelton told NSN. “As an offensive line, that’s what we like to do. That’s who we are.”
It all worked out.
Singleton and Allen became the first pair of backs in Penn State history to crack 1,000 yards in a season.
For Ioane, this is that it’s all about.
“We’re trying to get them to the highest points possible,” he said. “We could care less about what we get, what we deserve, but them both going over 1,000 yards, I take a lot of pride in that, so does the entire o-line. We’re happy for them. We’re just excited that they both excelled.”
“We have some really good backs,” Shelton said, “really explosive. They are willing to pass block too. They’re complete backs. It’s fun to watch them, fun to block for them. As they’re running, when we can see them running far away from us, that’s what we like to see.”
No. 6 Penn State will take on the winner of No. 2 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Georgia and Notre Dame will play in the Sugar Bowl New Year’s Night at 7:45.
