Kirk Ciarrocca accepts responsibility for Penn State's offensive issues

Penn State’s offensive numbers can tell two stories.

First the yards. Penn State is third in the the 14-team Big Ten with 417.8 yards per game this season.

But points carry more weight. And Penn State is ninth in the conference at 25 points per contest.

That leads to the most important stat: their record of 1-5.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kirk Ciarrocca accepts blame for the shortcomings under his watch.

“Ultimately, I’m the offensive coordinator, so I own it all,” Ciarrocca said during a video conference with media . “We’re doing what we think gives us the best chance to win the game on Saturday, period. You owe that to the players, to the program and the fan base. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to do.”

Part of Penn State’s issues have been related to turnovers. It is fourth in the Big Ten at 2.2 turnovers per contest.

“There’s usually more than one thing leading to that problem, that issue with it,” Ciarrocca said. “But the turnovers have definitely hurt us. A costly mistake here and there has hurt us in that area. We haven’t been as good in the low red (zone) that you’d like to be as far as being able to punch it in, whether it’s running or passing.

“So there’s usually a number of reasons that have put us where we’re at from a points standpoint. We’ve just to continue to work, and the guys continue to get better. And continue to look at, as coaches, what our guys do best and put them in that situation.”

That appeared to be the case Saturday during a 27-17 road victory against Michigan when Penn State collected 417 yards of total offense and committed only one turnover.

A lot of that was vested in the play of quarterback Sean Clifford, who largely had struggled in the previous five weeks.

“There’s probably multiple things that are affecting him,” Ciarrocca said. “One is definitely trying to be too perfect with things. That’s probably biggest issue. Last week (against Michigan), he really didn’t try to be perfect. He trusted what he saw. What probably contributes to it, too, is he’s learning an offense, a new way to think about things. That’s part of it. It’s not effort. I can tell you that. It’s not work ethic with him. We’ve just got to get him to be a little bit more comfortable and trust what he sees out there and know when not to force the ball in there. He did a great job last week with his decision making and trusting what he saw. When the play wasn’t there, he threw the ball away and moved on. I love the kid. I love the way he works and his potential that he has at the position. It’s my job to get him to play better, and he has.”

Another part of Ciarrocca’s job, by his definition, is to acknowledge but ignore criticism directed his way.

“I understand what comes with the position. We’re going to be judged on those results each Saturday. I get that. I’ve been in the business a long time. … And one of the things that I’ve learned in my time in this profession is that I don’t listen to the noise when it’s going bad or when it’s going good,” said Ciarrocca, who previously held the same positions at Minnesota. “Either way, this job hard enough as it is.

“And you need to focus all your energy on doing your job to the best of your capabilities. I don’t worry about. I’ve been at places before where the ride from the outhouse to the penthouse is very short in the profession. And vice versa. I’ve been in both places. Spent a little bit more time in the penthouse than the outhouse, thank goodness, or I wouldn’t be here. But (I’m) very confident in my ability to build a successful top-flight offense. Been able to do it at a number of places, and I certainly have the resources to be able to that here and very excited about it. I don’t worry about that stuff. I love the passion and how much the alumni and the fans care about this program. That’s one of the reasons why I’m here. I love that. And I love the program, too. I’m very passionate about it. I wouldn’t’ expect them to feel any other way to be honest.

“Am I happy with the results? Absolutely not. But I do trust the process and I’ve been in a lot worse situations than this from a standpoint of (productivity), and we’ve always managed to come out the other side and be really, really good. I’m very confident that I see the pieces here that we can be really good. We’ve just got to continue to trust the process and continue to grind along, and the results will become the results that we want at some point. That’s the way I feel. … The resume and the track record bears out that I will work out.”