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Neil Rudel's Commentary

Coordinating Penn State defense from above

The most significant development to come out of last week’s 56-0 win over Kent State was the shift of defensive coordinator Tom Allen from the field to the press box. Allen clearly preferred to work the game from the sidelines. He started the season that way and had not coached from the press box for 15 years. That includes stints as Indiana’s head coach where, of course, he was on the sidelines (2017-23) and prior as DC at South Florida along with stops at Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Drake. If my math is correct — which is not a given — not since coaching at Division II ...

Point-counter: Upside: Kotelnicki; Downside: Too many flags

What was perceived to be the easiest three-game portion of the schedule is complete but has still provided a sample size to assess. In the words of the late Dennis Green, Kent State “was what we thought they were,” while Bowling Green was better than expected and a Mid-American Conference title contender, at least in the first half, and West Virginia wilted in the Morgantown weather delay (the Mountaineers had to endure another such inconvenience this past Saturday vs. Kansas). But to the topic at hand: I’m most impressed — so far — with Andy Kotelnicki’s work as offensive ...

Point-counter: PSU needs to come out swinging

It’s been the biggest problem of James Franklin’s 10-year tenure, something he’s been consistently unable to solve. Penn State’s offense rarely comes out firing on all cylinders, opting instead to feel out the opponent and play rather lackadaisically for the first quarter and sometimes the entire first half. It’s no surprise, therefore, that’s what I’ve been least impressed with so far. The Lions didn’t score in the first quarter of the opener at West Virginia. It didn’t matter since they put a 20 spot on the board in the second quarter and won easily. Penn State ...

PSU ‘D’ falls short of its ‘standard’

UNIVERSITY PARK ­— Shortly after arriving at Penn State in 2014, James Franklin said he would not be “one of those coaches” who didn’t enjoy victories, no matter how ugly. His personal credo was put to the test Saturday. The Nittany Lions defeated Bowling Green, 34-27, before 103,861 at Beaver Stadium, but the only thing they really won was the final score. The Lions were not ready to play defensively, did not lead for the game’s first 38 minutes and were booed after the Falcons went up 24-17 late in the second quarter. “Obviously,” Franklin said, “we have some ...

Franklin’s non-con posture is curious

PSU kickoff Saturday: Bowling Green at Penn State, Noon Records: Both clubs are 1-0 TV: Big Ten Network The line: PSU is 34.5-point favorite By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com James Franklin’s feelings on non-conference scheduling are well known. When he’s had to go on the road early in the season for matchups at Auburn (2022) and this past Saturday in Morgantown, in each case Franklin has made it clear afterward he’s not in favor of such opponents. Even though his team has won decisively in both places. “We’ve seen it every year around the country,” he ...

West Virginia seemed capable of a better effort

PSU point/counterpoint: Did anything happen in the opener that surprised you? By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Penn State, on both sides of the ball, played better than I expected. I picked the Nittany Lions to win but close (28-27) as it appeared, at least to me, that because it was on the road and because it was the season opener, this was one of the more challenging games on the schedule — behind Ohio State and now apparently USC. Plus the last time we saw PSU, it was getting routed in the Peach Bowl. And I wasn’t alone as the majority of Fox’s pre-game panel — ...