Tom Allen May Be Penn State’s New Defensive Coordinator, but He Still Thinks Michael Penix Jr. Scored in 2020

I messed up on Thursday. At his introductory press conference Thursday afternoon in Beaver Stadium, I asked new Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen about then-Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s overtime dive to the left goal line pylon vs. Penn State back in 2020.

I mistakenly called it a “touchdown.” (Of course, the referees that day also made an error. They called it a score.)

It was actually a two-point conversion try that was ruled as good, not a touchdown, that gave Indiana a controversial 36-35 victory in the covid-delayed season-opener in Bloomington, Ind. But on Thursday, Allen (likely caught up in the moment) knew what I meant. Here’s how the conversation about the conversion went:

Me: “Michael Penix Jr., 2020…”

Allen, as he took a swig of water, smiled and shook his head a little: “I knew this was coming…”

Me: “…Was that a touchdown or not?”

Allen: “Oh, it was a touchdown. But I get it. It depended on what glasses you’re wearing; I guarantee it depends on who you cheer for and which sideline you’re on. Obviously, it was contested on both sides, and reviewed and talked about ad nauseam.

“But I have a big ol’ picture in my office that shows that he scored,” he added. “It was a touchdown back then and probably still a touchdown today and will be a touchdown 20 years from now. In my mind is that it was a great game and a great win for the Indiana Hoosiers.”

Allen, obviously, was the head coach at the time for Indiana, which went on to finish 6-2 and earn Allen coach of the year honors.

Now, it’s 1,148 days later and Allen — fired Nov. 26 by Indiana after seven seasons, departing with a hefty settlement of $15.5 million — was back in Beaver Stadium as the Nittany Lions’ new defensive coordinator. It was 53 days after he left on Oct. 28, after Indiana lost 33-24 to Penn State. And Penix, who transferred to the University of Washington in 2022, is now the starting quarterback for the undefeated Huskies, who are in the CFP playoffs.

WATCHING FILM WITH FRANKLIN

Later in the presser, Allen shared more about his most recent game against the Nittany Lions, one of his last at Indiana after arriving there in 2016 as the defensive coordinator following stops at Lambuth, Drake, Ole Miss — Penn State’s Peach Bowl opponent on Dec. 30 — and South Florida.

(Allen was at Ole Miss in 2012-14, and twice faced James Franklin when CJF was the head coach at Vanderbilt. Franklin’s Vandy squad won 27-26 in 2012, and Ole Miss won 39-35 in 2013.)

“Even in the interview process, we were watching film and actually watching film of the game we played several weeks ago,” Allen said. “You usually don’t have a chance to talk about, ‘Hey this was the call and this was what happened on this play.’ We kind of went through it and explained what we were doing and talking about what they were doing and watching their offense.

“There are a lot of unique things about the dynamic of it all, to not only move to a team you played, but to a whole conference you played against,” Allen noted. “There’s a tremendous advantage to be able to know your opponents and the coaches, and how they do things — from a program perspective, from a schematics perspective and from a recruiting perspective as well. …I think it will give us some unique advantages for sure.”

Despite the size of his buyout at Indiana, Allen wanted to get back into coaching, without the added responsibilities of being a head coach. Quickly. So he was happy to pick up the phone when Franklin called. That it was Penn State, home of Linebacker U, that was on the line made a difference. So did the geography. A linebacker in college and an LB coach at a couple of his stops along the way, Allen will coach the Nittany Lion linebackers. And he’ll work and live in the home state of his wife, Tracy, a native of Pottstown.

“I think for me, I’m a football coach,” said Allen, 53. “I just love what I do, and this opportunity to present itself in this timeframe is one that I immediately had an interest in. For me, I really expected to get back into it once things happened as they did — probably a little quicker than expected. I have so much respect for this program and for Coach Franklin and what he’s built here.”

Franklin has long been a fan of Allen. So when Manny Diaz left to become the head coach at Duke on Dec. 7, Allen was top of the PSU coach’s mind. It didn’t hurt that less than six weeks ago, Allen’s Indiana squad played Penn State in a nail-biter at Beaver Stadium where until the final drive the Hoosier defense pretty much stymied the Nittany Lions in a game that was tied 24-24 with less than three minutes to play. Though Penn State won, Allen also continued to win over Franklin.

WHAT JAMES SAYS

On Thursday, Franklin had this to say about Allen: “This is a football guy who is still heavily involved in what’s going on from a scheme and fundamental perspective. That was obvious. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about Tom Allen. I’m looking for a leader of the defense. That leadership is not only the staff and the players and the fundamentals and the schemes. It’s all those things that are going to allow us to play really good defense, which we’ve done for a really long time.

“I wanted Tom very comfortable with what he was signing up for. I wanted him to be comfortable for what he was signing up for. And a lot of times, it has to go so fast because of your situation, because of recruiting, but then also if the guy has a current job. That plays a part in it as well. This was kind of unusual, too, because he was out of a job. It allowed us to really 

take our time on both ends.”

ALLEN BY THE NUMBERS

Unfortunately for Allen, Indiana was in one of the best divisions in college football, the Big Ten East. He was 33-49 overall at Indiana, and 18-43 in the Big Ten, winning just three conference games in the past three seasons.

He was 1-6 as Indiana’s head coach against Penn State since 2017, and also was DC at Indiana in 2016 when the Hoosiers lost to Penn State, 46-31. The Nittany Lion offense scored 295 points and averaged 36.9 points per game in those eight contests against Allen.

At Indiana, Allen did beat Michigan once (38-21 in 2020), but the Hoosiers were 1-6 overall and surrendered an average of 31.4 points per game vs. the Wolverines. Against Ohio State, Allen was 0-7 and his defense yielded an average of 46.3 ppg. He didn’t fare well against scoring-challenged Iowa, either, losing twice, 34-6 and 42-16.