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Ultimately who is responsible for being outcoached, unprepared and outplayed?
Yes, coaches coach and players play, but who is ultimately responsible for two-thirds of this equation?
I went to the Rose Bowl in 2016 and to the Outback Bowl (vs. Kentucky) two years later and decided, no more bowl games and no more away games.
James Franklin's coaching inabilities taught me that even if all talent and circumstances are equal, he will not position his team to have a fair chance at victory.
This time, indeed, the opponent man-for-man was the superior team on the field.
Drew Allar has regressed, and I feel for him as the offensive line continues, as always, to be very poor, and this year was compounded by the worst wide receiving corps in any college game I've seen this year.
Franklin will destroy Allar just as he destroyed Christian Hackenberg.
The university and administration now are committed to mediocrity. The season-ticket holders, students, alumni and PSU fans have the excitement of looking forward to the 2024 season with possible home wins vs. Bowling Green and Kent State and underachievement vs. Ohio State, at USC, vs. UCLA and vs. Washington.
Ed Hill
Altoona
Three good teams and three losses
James Franklin suggested there were too many "moving" parts with the Nits' coaches and players to have success against Ole Miss.
Even with all the parts stationary and working smoothly, I don't believe the result would have been much different in the Peach Bowl.
Penn State played three good teams this year and lost to all three. We will see what the new parts bring in 2024.
Mike Rendos
Lock Haven
Staff should have turned to Pribula
Many are hesitant to blame coaches and quarterbacks.
However, when the run is serving you well, why go to the pass? That is the fault of the coaching staff.
When an assistant coach leaves, that means the head coach has to step up. But if the head coach isn't as much of a coach as he is a recruiter, then he's not going to be much help.
Drew Allar hasn't played well in big games. Beau Pribula seems to be a completely different model. Pribula has not been the biggest guy on the field his entire life. He has developed other skills his entire life.
The majority of throws by Allar were not close enough to be caught. It's been his problem all year because he isn't familiar with having to look for receivers. When he rolls out, he is more successful.
I saw it in the first game, but coaches have not recognized it. Otherwise, they would have made blocking adjustments to accommodate that type of play.
On the other hand, maybe they should just compare the meager number of attempts by Pribula and just play him more.
Jim Devore
Durham, N.C.
'Outcoached and outplayed'
I told friends that if Ole Miss scored more than 24, they would win. And maybe they'd win with 17.
It was hard to follow the details of the game from my vantage point -- last (highest) row in the corner of the Ole Miss end zone.
This was my seventh bowl game and first with James Franklin as coach. My record is 4-2-1, including being at the two national championships, Sugar Bowls, losing the first to Alabama and winning the second beating Georgia.
This game? Where was the defense? Were they still in State College? No pressure on the QB, no good coverage in the secondary. Did they hold Ole Miss to any three-and-outs? It would be easy to say they missed Manny Diaz, but they missed Manny Diaz.
Allar was pretty bad. Hopefully he'll improve a lot in the next several months or he'll be a backup and will transfer out.
The running game was pretty good, but the passing game was so bad. So bad -- even with the two lucky runs after catch. WRs? They're still trying to run a route and get open. Maybe they can get open if running routes against stationary cones.
The bottom line: Penn State was outcoached, outstrategized and outplayed.
The only reason we won 10 games was because of the weakness of our competition.
Lu Dorfman
Houston
College game has become a turnoff
I have been a collegiate football fan for many years, but after the last couple of years, that is changing.
I think the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) is ruining the game.
I remember when they played for all the right reasons.
The transfer rule is crazy. Look what happened to Ohio State with their quarterback, and I am not a Buckeye fan by any means, but having to go to third-string QB changed the Cotton Bowl game.
And Kirby Smart is right with all the transfers and kids opting out. Just look at Georgia-Florida State game -- 63-3. They need to fix this.
Leo Finney
Freeland, Michigan
Franklin not living up to contract
Saturday was perfect until the PSU vs. Ole Miss game.
The Nittany Lions were doing OK until James Franklin started beating himself when he tried to outsmart Lane Kiffin.
Franklin will never be Joe Paterno. But one prior athletic director, Dave Joyner, decided to hire Franklin, and Franklin has proven he's not worth $70 million.
Penn State and the athletic department will pay deeply when the day comes when Pat Kraft fires Franklin -- and hopefully that's sooner than later.
Les Hart
Duncansville
Peach Bowl loss will help in long run
Now that my immediate emotions have subsided, I feel like the Peach Bowl result is more valuable than a win.
This team's sky-high expectations coming into this season provided a false sense of security and misjudgment (denial) of the talent on offense.
The lack of execution started at the Blue-White game and continued throughout Saturday's drubbing.
I'm hopeful that this results in some thoughtful and honest reflection. And that the reflection/evaluation extends beyond individual talent to include some reflection on the coaching staff as well.
Allar looked lost and, worse, yet uncomfortable again. He had batted/tipped balls, mistimed routes and hurried feet. Is this solely an individual talent issue or is it masking development issues at quarterback and wide receivers?
Further, the abandonment of Beau Pribula's contributions from the first half to the second is perplexing but follows a pattern of questionable decisions that defined the playcalling all year.
Let's hope there's an organizational effort to figure it out.
So this hard dose of reality is much better than the disillusions a win would have provided.
Based on the growth (or lack of) we witnessed in 13 games, Allar is not a Heisman Trophy candidate, and this staff still is not ready to contend.
Michael McCullen, Muncy
'It's going to get worse'
PSU at the Peach Bowl:
Embarrassing? Embarrassed.
Humiliating? Humiliated.
The future of Penn State football under "Coach" Franklin? It's going to get worse before it gets worse.
John Raymond
Marshfield, Mass.