Sports

Penn State Got Embarrassed While Football Player Tipped Northwestern Off To Gameplan

#Penn State Nittany Lions
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iStockphoto / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State lineman Malachi Goodman has been tipping plays.


Penn State lost on Friday night to Big Ten foe Northwestern in embarrassing fashion. The Nittany Lions were manhandled 34-13. It probably could’ve been much worse.

The box score tells an ugly story. Matt Campbell’s offense had no answers for a swarming Northwestern defense, though it now appears the Wildcats had a little help.

Penn State only gained 291 yards. Just 48 came on the ground. It committed two turnovers, both coming in the form of Rocco Becht interceptions. Northwestern, meanwhile, imposed its will.

The Wildcats rushed for 413 yards. It needed just 10 completions and 93 passing yards to put up 34 points. Two of their running backs went for 160+. They wore down the Nittany Lions on both sides of the football.

Penn State’s offense has been bad.

The performance continued a downward trend for the group. Points have been hard to come by in conference play.

The unit was held to 13 points in the loss to Northwestern. That came after a 20-point outing in a loss to Wisconsin, though one of the team’s touchdowns came on a pick-six.

That means the Nittany Lions’ offense is scoring 13 points per game in Big Ten games. That won’t cut it. As a result, the team is 0-2 and in the cellar of the standings.

Scoring isn’t the only issue. The unit simply cannot move the football. It’s fallen short of 300 yards in each of the last two games. That included a putrid 233-yard performance against the Badgers.

Becht has thrown three picks over the last two games. He’s getting no help from a run game that’s averaging 83 yards a contest in league play. The offense has been an absolute disaster of late.

What’s the reason?

Thomas Frank Carr of Blue White Illustrated dove into the struggles. He believes he’s found a tell.

Malachi Goodman is tipping plays.

The Penn State offensive lineman has a subtle difference in alignment for runs and passes. He grabs his facemask in his squat when the offense calls a rushing play. His hand sits a little lower on drop backs.

Goodman was telling Northwestern the gameplan at the line of scrimmage. The Wildcats knew if Penn State was running or throwing.

Were they able to use the information to their benefit? I don’t know. I haven’t seen any Northwestern coaches and players publicly disclose any such advantage.

With that said, the issue appears to be very real. Former Penn State offensive lineman Landon Tengwall confirmed the tell, though he admitted that the offensive struggles go much deeper. It’s something that needs to get cleaned up.

Penn State will play USC in Week 6. The Nittany Lions look to end their two-game skid. Preventing their opponent from getting a leg up with tipped plays will help their chances.