The Penn State Nittany Lions are as soon as once more going through questions after failing to beat a top-tier Large Ten opponent.
Penn State suffered a 20-13 loss at residence to the Buckeyes on Saturday, the most recent in an extended line of failures towards prime opposition below coach James Franklin. Saturday’s loss dropped Franklin to 1-13 towards top-five groups in response to the AP ballot, and it was marked by repeated failures within the purple zone. In 4 red-zone journeys, the Nittany Lion offense got here away with two area targets and two empty drives.
For Penn State, the largest failure was arguably the staff’s incapability to attain a landing from the Ohio State 2-yard line whereas trailing by seven within the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions have been stuffed on three runs, then had a go try damaged up on fourth down. After the sport, Fox Sports activities analyst Brady Quinn went off on Penn State’s offensive play-calling throughout that sequence, calling out Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki for not doing extra to contain star tight finish Tyler Warren.
“That play-calling, to me, was atrocious,” Quinn mentioned on the Fox postgame present. “Tyler Warren had 88 scrimmage yards within the second half and isn’t focused as soon as in 4 performs? He obtained you down there with a 33-yard rush and also you don’t have one contact for him? I’m beside myself for Penn State followers for that cause.”
Warren had 4 catches for 47 yards in Saturday’s loss to go together with three carries for 47 yards. Penn State’s choice to not deploy him in an important goal-line spot is unusual, to say the least.
Franklin’s popularity for shedding video games like that is solely getting stronger. It hardly helps that these kinds of in-game points usually are not new both, which solely reinforces the damaging popularity.
