Penn State football’s offense scored one touchdown against Wisconsin last Saturday; the defense scored the same amount.

After 17 points in the first half, the Nittany Lions scored only three in the second. With 16 red zone scores this season, 10 of which were touchdowns, offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser isn’t satisfied with the team’s performance.

“I’m frustrated with [the red zone offense], and it’s an ongoing message and the first thing that came up on Saturday,” Mouser said during media availability on Tuesday. “We have to get better at that. For us, it’s establishing our identity with the run game, inside the three; what are we going to do where we can hand the ball and be able to score?

“It’s our job as coaches to figure that out, but it’s certainly a frustrating element of our offense for me and us.”

One frustrating element of the Wisconsin loss was quarterback Rocco Becht’s inability to find a receiver outside of Chase Sowell.

Sowell finished with six catches for 70 yards, making up for around 60% of Penn State’s receiving yards. Only two other players had receptions on Saturday: Ben Brahmer and running back Quinton Martin Jr., who combined for 41 yards.

With Koby Howard out, Penn State struggled to find a rhythm in the wide receiver room.

“We wanted to get the ball to Chase [Sowell] more, even the tight ends more, and the coverage dictated where the ball was going to and took some of that away,” Mouser said. “Zay [Robinson] is one of our most explosive guys, similar to Rapp, and I felt like we could have got those guys the ball more.

“All those guys will have roles in the passing game going forward, and us being able to put those guys in the spots to be successful is an emphasis for us going forward.”

With the wide receiver room unable to find flow, the same could be said about Becht.

The Nittany Lion quarterback went 12-for-29, threw for 114 yards, and threw an interception. Becht did find the end zone against the Badgers, but not through the air.

After three straight games with a passing touchdown, Becht’s streak ended in his first conference game.

“I know what Rocco Becht is: he’s a 10,000-yard passer; he’s one of them, and I’ve been with him for two years,” Mouser said. “I know how good he is, so if it’s not working, I’m going to always put it on myself because I know how on top he is in the way that he prepares.”

While Penn State’s passing game looked sluggish, the run game found more success than in recent games.

Outside of Becht, the run game totaled 26 carries for 96 yards on the ground. James Peoples led the group with 14 carries for 67 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Despite improvement, the coaching staff is still using four running backs in the rotation and hasn’t decided who takes the lead. The first quarter included runs from Peoples, Martin, Carson Hansen, and Cam Wallace.

“Everything after games like that is always being evaluated. Are we playing the right people? Are we putting the right people in response to be successful through the first four games?” Mouser said. “You hope to find rhythm with one of the guys.

“That’s something that for us in our media, we talk about: either we have to make sure that we get a second series to not rotate it, be able to create a rhythm there with a guy that can go and get better and lead us forward and not throw them on the road either.”

While Mouser has a key role in the offense’s decisions, his game communication includes many back-and-forth conversations with head coach Matt Campbell.

Mouser feels that his dialogue with Campbell is strong. However, he said Campbell is always the one calling the shots, especially during the fourth quarter last Saturday.

“We talked about it; it’s always going to be Coach Campbell calling our stick out there … If he does what he wants to, we have a call.” Mouser said.

Mouser also took accountability for the offense’s struggles. But after a rough offensive day, Mouser aims to lead the offense forward as it moves into its conference schedule.

“You got to go out there and execute, and it wasn’t good enough,” he said. “It’s my fault as an offensive coordinator, so from that standpoint, there’s a lot of coachable things. Then, going forward, it’s about what we need to change to be able to create explosive plays.

“We’re not getting those right now, whether that’s in the air or on the ground, and maybe it is changing what we’re doing too.”