NOTEBOOK: Allen Talks Handling Adversity; Moving Forward with Sorsby
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sometimes, a coach has to forget Xs and Os and become, in so many ways, a psychologist.
Sometimes, if you’re Tom Allen and you believe in your team, know that it’s better than its 2-5 record, you inspire and build as well as demand and push.
So here was Allen on Sunday, a day after a disappointing 31-14 Homecoming loss to Rutgers, Indiana’s third-straight defeat, driven to get the Hoosiers to rise above the adversity.
The mood was somber and the next opportunity -- a Saturday trip to Happy Valley and No. 10 Penn State (6-1) -- was great. Allen had to drive that point home.
He did that right after players finished lifting weights.
“They're obviously down, which they should be,” he said. “I get that. Everybody is down and you're frustrated, you're disappointed.
“So you talk to them just open and honest about where we are, how we're here, how we got here, how we get out of here, and how you handle adversities in life.”
Allen said he talked to his team for about 20 minutes, mixing football and life.
“It was really more about your mind and how you approach challenges, how you approach hard things, how you persevere through difficulties,” he said. “Sometimes, they're self-inflicted like they were on game day for us, sometimes they're not.
“How do you respond to those things? You try to say it in different ways and using different methods.
“We all want to win. They want to win. You're close to doing it, but then you don't finish it out and you make mistakes that really make it hard.”
Allen addressed all of that, broke it down with examples, not to punish or demean but to encourage, to let players know they are close, very close.
“We’re right here if we just keep doing this,” he said. “You get into the nuts and bolts of the scheme and the issues you had in all three phases of the game, but it’s really the psychology of coaching is what you’re doing.”
Penn State is coming off its first loss of the season, a 20-12 defeat at Ohio State.
Quarterback Drew Allar was sacked four times against the Buckeyes. He completes 61.0 percent of his passes for 1,445 yards, 13 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The Nittany Lions, who average 39.7 points, have three main running backs in Nicholas Singleton (410), Kaytron Allen (401), and Beau Pribula (225).
KeAndre Lambert-Smith is the leading receiver with 37 catches for 454 yards and three touchdowns.
Penn State had scored at least 30 points in every game until Ohio State.
“They are explosive,” co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri said. “They have a quarterback who has talent, running backs that have shown talent, good receivers and tight ends. They have every piece.
“They’ve been able to score a bunch of points against a number of teams. I have a lot of respect for them.”
Penn State has one of the nation’s best defenses, allowing 9.7 points with two shutouts. It hasn’t allowed more than 20 points all season. It has intercepted seven passes and forced eight fumbles.
“We’ve got to have a great week of preparation,” Allen said. “That’s very critical. We’re playing a very good team on the road that has a lot of talent at all positions, all three phases.
“It’s a tough environment to play in. This is a great opportunity for our program to continue to grow and develop.”
The plan hasn’t changed -- Brendan Sorsby remains the starting quarterback.
After beating out Tayven Jackson to start against Rutgers, Sorsby was 15-for-31 for 126 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t throw an interception. He also ran 11 times for 49 yards.
“I thought he played tough,” Allen said. “I thought he played gritty. I thought he competed.
“He has to continue to grow and develop. He's got to continue to speed up some of his reads, but that's part of the process of growing and developing as a player.
“He did some really good things in terms of helping us move the football. He’s got to grow and develop as a decision maker in both throwing and running. In the throw game, we've got to do a better job of making some of those contested catches. I think that will be a huge plus for him.
“I think he'll get the ball out a little quicker as he continues to grow and develop. We feel good about moving forward with him.”
Husky Noah Pierre is out indefinitely after suffering an injury in the first quarter against Rutgers.
Pierre is in his sixth season. He has 22 tackles with a sack and two passes defended.
"He's been such a great player for us, a great leader for us," Allen said.
"Other guys have got to step up. We have some depth at that spot, but losing a guy like Noah for an extended period of time is a tough, tough blow. He’s going to continue to be a great leader for us and continue to get himself back as soon as possible.”
Added Guerrieri: “He’s the heart and soul of what we do.”
Jordan Grier will replace Pierre. Bryson Bonds also will help fill in.
Pierre was one of three secondary losses against Rutgers. Phillip Dunnam was sidelined with an injury. Louis Moore was ejected for targeting.
Moore is set to play against Penn State. Allen hopes Dunnam will also be back.
As far as replacing all those safeties in the same game, Guerrieri said it’s “Next man up.”
He should know. Guerrieri is also the safeties coach.
“That’s why we train,” he said. “That’s why you don’t just give the starters more reps. You have to balance it with the other guys.
“Injuries happen in college football. Those guys come in and are expected to do just as well as the (starter). As a play caller, you know (the replacement). You put him in position to be successful. It’s that simple. These guys are held to that same standard.”
Special teams will get plenty of attention this week. It cost IU 10 points against Rutgers -- seven on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, three after a fumbled a punt return just before halftime.
“Protection hasn't been an issue, but was in this game,” Allen said. “We’re making some adjustments on that, how we can help our guys out, be able to be effective in that regard because you can't get a punt blocked.
“We work so hard on catching punts and we’ll continue to do that. We’ve got to secure the football. There was less than a minute to go in the half, I think 28 seconds exactly, and just can't put our team in that position.
“It's just continued reps. If you've got to make adjustments personnel-wise, you make adjustments. In our punt unit, we're going to do that. We’ve got to make sure the right guys are out there that can get the job done at critical times.”
The lack of explosive, big plays has been a season-long problem. Allen and offensive coordinator Rod Carey continue to try to fix it.
“We’ve been trying to create those with some of those (deep-pass) shots,” Allen said. “We’ve got some receivers that can do that. It's ball placement on the throws. It's coming down with them. It's being able to continue to work on those in practice, because there's no doubt, the more chances we have to create a chunk play, the higher percentage you have of scoring points. That's why explosive plays are a big stat in winning games.”
Allen said execution and offensive strategy are key components.
“We have some guys that can do that. I want to see us do more of that. That is going to be a continued emphasis to be able to take some pressure off your offense so you don't have to drive the ball 13, 14 plays and go 80-something yards. That's what we want to be able to do.”
Allen stressed getting third-and-fourth-down stops after Rutgers converted 5-of-13 attempts, mostly by the run.
“We’re trying to stay out of those third-and-short situations. You can create a negative play every now and then and get those knocked back. Statistically, we've done well in those situations during the season, but you don't want to put yourself in that spot, especially if that's what they do really well.
“When you get in them, you've got to fight, claw, and scratch, try a find a way to create a negative play or get a stalemate. That's hard to do with big strong Big Ten opponents.”
When deciding who plays and who doesn’t, it’s often a group decision, Carey said.
There is a chain of command (head coach, coordinators, position coaches), but it’s not military rigid, he added.
“If the head coach tells me he wants to do something,” Carey said, “we’ll do that, but most of the time, they are all done as a staff. We present Coach Allen with solutions, and he’ll agree or disagree. There’s a heavy hand on what we’re seeing day to day.”
Consider the decision to play running back Trent Howland more in recent weeks. He has impressed Carey and running backs coach Craig Johnson in recent weeks.
“That was an easy discussion,” Carey said. “I said, ‘Hey Craig, Trent’s running really well right now. Let’s see if we can keep him in there.’ He said, ‘Rod, I’m way ahead of you.’”