James Franklin returned to the spot where, just a week before, he’d shared a heated exchange with a disgruntled fan. This time, he was applauded and urged to ring the victory bell after Penn State’s dominating 35-6 win over Washington on Saturday. Franklin had turned boos into cheers in a matter of four quarters. He’s now 1-0 in a world where Ohio State sits in the rear view.
It was a game players hoped would make a statement. And after four drives, all of which resulted in touchdowns, that statement was made. Tyler Warren returned to his dominant ways in both the run and pass game, facilitating a well-called game by offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Meanwhile, Abdul Carter sure looked the part of a future NFL star.
The Nittany Lions may have been motivated by an eighth-straight loss to the Buckeyes, but Saturday was the first step in proving that they won’t let that metric define them. And why should they? A 12-team College Football Playoff awaits and Penn State is firmly in the mix, even with a loss. All it’ll take is three more wins.
“We value winning,” Franklin said. “And if you watch college football all over the country, it’s hard to win on a consistent basis. You see it every single week, upsets and things like that. So we value winning; we respect winning and what it takes.”
It appeared Franklin had what it took to finally get over his infamous Ohio State hump. But alas, two trips within the 5-yard line and the Nittany Lions still found themselves without a touchdown, thus continuing the skid. Kotelnicki was determined, after a game in which the spotlight was ever so bright, to regain his play-calling fastball against the Huskies.
Kotelnicki had a clear message for quarterback Drew Allar and the rest of the offense this week: “getting back to the basics.” That didn’t mean that Kotelnicki aimed to scrap his gimmicky system, which was evidently still active on Saturday. To Allar, the mentality simply came “down to execution.”
“I believe in our game plan every week. I think there hasn’t been a week this year where I’ve doubted the game plan going into the game,” Allar said. “But we just came out and really started fast and executed the plays that Coach K called, and took advantage of our opportunities when we got down into the red zone.”
The red zone, which was Penn State’s kryptonite against the Buckeyes, was one of the focal points of this week’s preparation. Some, like running back Kaytron Allen, who was stopped three times within the 5-yard line with a chance to tie against Ohio State, were emotionally invested in opportunities near the goal line.
Allen said he wanted a chance to make up for his late-game shortcomings “bad,” which translated to a laser-focused week of practice and a strong showing of 20 carries for 98 rushing yards and one emphatic touchdown in the fourth quarter.
His mentality through it all?
“I’m not going to be stopped,” Allen said. “I can’t be stopped.”
There was no part of the Ohio State game that felt good to any player. Many responded leading up to the game against Washington saying they never wanted to feel that way again. But there is a silver lining: the opportunity to feel defeated and learn from the mistakes that weren’t evident in the first seven games.
“I just sensed the urgency after something we didn’t expect, which was a loss last weekend,” linebacker Kobe King said. “We learned from that; we’ve grown from that. We got better from that.”
The Nittany Lions sure looked improved on Saturday. They ran the ball better, threw the ball better, blocked better, called plays better, defended better and played together better. It was likely the team’s most complete performance against a legitimate opponent this season, a promising start to the path that could lead to a light at the end of the tunnel.
No longer does a single loss define an oh-so-close Penn State team as in the past. Mistakes can be made, lessons can be learned and a season cannot completely be wasted. Playoff hopes remain as the Nittany Lions continue moving on from another loss to Ohio State, looking to gain strength along a rocky path to postseason glory.
“It’s just another form of adversity,” Allar said. “It’s about how we respond to that adversity is what defines us as a team.”
