Mike Yurcich's struggles as Penn State OC hit troubling mark following loss to Michigan

Mike Yurcich joined James Franklin’s staff as an offensive coordinator last season. Things have not been going as planned for the position since 2017.

247Sports’ Tyler Donohue revealed a troubling stat on Monday. Since Yurcich has been at Penn State the offense has not been able to score 21 points or more in 7 of its 15 games against Power 5 schools.

How poor is that offensive streak for Yurcich? From 2017-2020 three different OCs only produced 21 points or less in 7 out of 38 Power 5 games. Sean Clifford was the starting quarterback during 17 of those games as well, a stat that helps illustrate the QB position has not been the major issue facing the Nittany Lions.

Since the 2021 arrival of offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, Penn State has failed to produce 21+ points in 7 of 15 games played against Power Five opponents.

In 2017-20, with three different OCs, that happened 7 times in 38 Power Five games. Clifford started 17 of those games.

— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) October 17, 2022

The Nittany Lions’ offense has failed to do this in two-straight games now. Penn State beat Northwestern 17-7 and got blown out by Michigan 41-17 on Saturday. Regardless of the offensive struggles, Penn State is still 5-1.

This is something that needs to get fixed before facing Ohio State or Penn State fans might see a similar outcome to what happened during the Michigan game. In order to beat the Buckeyes, you’ll need to put up more than 17 points in a game.