James Franklin has a great opportunity to reach the College Football Playoff with the expansion to 12 teams. His Nittany Lions just need to handle their business against weaker Big Ten teams and secure victories over USC and Ohio State. In Week 7, No. 4 Penn State faced a struggling 3-2 USC in LA, but the first half couldn’t have gone worse.
The game began with a defensive stop and a promising drive into the red zone, but a fourth-down touchdown catch by Tyler Warren was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty, forcing Franklin to settle for a field goal. Fans were frustrated not just by the penalty, but also by offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s decision to avoid running the ball with Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton near the goal line.
What is Penn State thinking? Didn’t they see how Michigan and Minnesota succeeded against USC? Just run the ball!
Despite having a clear advantage at the line of scrimmage, Allen managed just 26 yards, Singleton only 21, while USC ran for 147 yards with Quinten Joyner and Woody Marks. Tom Allen’s defense struggled to contain Lincoln Riley’s offense on Saturday.
Is Tom Allen really this bad? Fans are questioning it.
Both of Penn State’s new coordinators, Kotelnicki and Tom Allen, have left fans frustrated with the team’s first-half performance.
I appreciate Kotelnicki; he’s improved the offense. But we’re getting too fancy with the playcalling. We should rely on our excellent running backs.
It’s not just Kotelnicki’s reluctance to run in the red zone. He frequently took the ball out of Drew Allar’s hands, using Tyler Warren and Beau Pribula in a wildcat offense. This gimmick worked against Bowling Green and Kent State, but it disrupted the rhythm of the offense.
I like Kotelnicki, but he needs to stop being clever and let Allar take control while driving. We’re missing out on points. The Beau package is just a gimmick that hurts the team.
The good news for frustrated fans is that Penn State has performed much better in the second half this season, especially defensively. They’ll need that trend to continue in LA, or Franklin’s playoff hopes might begin to fade.
We can’t rely on third-quarter Tom Allen. Fix this now!
There’s still a half to play, and possibly a season at stake.
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