Scout the
Nittany Lions

Penn State is a run-heavy, ball-control offense that generates above-average efficiency at 0.27 PPA per play while staying disciplined with script. Their defense is stingy but not impenetrable, allowing a 42.3% success rate and 11% explosive play rate that gives opponents a window to attack.

Every scrimmage snap split by down and distance. Run rate and pass rate are heat-shaded on a Maryland-red scale so the strong tendencies jump off the page. The top row is all downs combined.

The same run/pass tendency, re-cut by where the ball sits, the score on the board, and which half it is. Counts are real charted snaps; thin splits are flagged honestly. Run % and pass % are heat-shaded on the same Maryland-red scale.

Drive for drive: what Penn State does with the ball, next to what their defense gives up. Points per drive are estimated from the drive result (touchdown counts as seven, field goal as three). Everything here is computed from real CFBD drive data.

How the man calling it for Penn State thinks on fourth down, drawn from every fourth-down snap his offense has taken this season. "Went" means they ran a play (rush or pass); "kicked" means a field goal or a punt. The split is then cut by field zone so you know where he gets aggressive.

• ★If Maryland can win first and second down as an offense, Penn State's defense has shown it can be moved on. Their 42.3% success rate allowed means roughly 4 in 10 plays go against them. Sustained drives are possible.
• ★Penn State's offense is predictable in structure: run on first down, run in the red zone, pass on third and long. Maryland's defensive staff can build a week-long call sheet around those tendencies and put the front seven in the right looks before the snap.
• ★Penn State's 48.8% run rate when trailing by 7 or more means they do not fully panic and abandon the run. However, Maryland forcing them behind schedule early could drain their time-of-possession advantage and expose their 44.1% third-down conversion rate.
• ★Penn State gives up the explosive play at an 11% rate, which is the clearest place Maryland can hurt them. Targeting one-on-one matchups downfield and using shot plays off run action should be a priority in the game plan.

This is the charting layer. CFBD play-by-play does not carry coverage shells, blitz, or pressure, so the rates below stay blank until a game is broken down on film or pulled from Telemetry. The sample row shows the shape only, not real numbers.

This is the charting layer. Personnel groupings and formation families are not in CFBD play-by-play; they are tagged off the film or pulled from Telemetry, then drop straight into these tables. The sample row is illustrative shape only.

The numbers above come from charted play-by-play. The detail a coordinator wants next, special-teams maps, opponent media quotes, and player grades, comes off the film and the Telemetry feed. Each item below drops straight into this report once charted.

• Coverage and blitz tendencies by down and distance (Telemetry / PFF charting).
• Special-teams punt and kickoff location maps.
• Opponent media quotes from the weekly press conferences.
• Player grades, pressures, and coverage data from Telemetry.