After Ohio State in the fourth quarter, Penn State had first and goal from the Ohio State 3-yard line. But the Nittany Lions turned the ball over on downs, and Tyler Warren, who was touted by the program as the nation’s best tight end in a media package, didn’t get the ball during that sequence. Two days later, Penn State coach James Franklin reflected on the series and said it could have been called with Warren more in mind.
“There is a part where you can say that at critical moments you should think about players, not places,” Franklin said in his speech on Monday. weekly press conference. “Maybe on at least one of those three downs, you have to make sure that Tyler Warren touches the ball, regardless — whether that’s Wildcat, whether that’s a passing play or whether it’s a ball carrier.”
That series was a defining moment for Penn State 20-13 loss to Ohio Statein which it did not score an offensive touchdown in a game for the first time since 2014. Warren had moved the Nittany Lions (7-1) inside the 5-yard line with a pair of big plays: a 31-yard reception and a 33-yard run from the Wildcat. That led to the question about Warren asked after the game and repeated Monday.
Franklin said there was an “argument” to get the ball to Warren in that situation, as he has already taken Wildcat and scored in close-quarters situations this season. Instead, running back Kaytron Allen ran the gut on three straight downs, gaining a total of two yards.
On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard linePenn State quarterback Drew Allar dropped back to pass. There were only three receivers on the play: Warren, the primary reader, was covered in the left flat. Receiver Harrison Wallace couldn’t get separation, and Khalil Dinkins was surrounded by Buckeyes. Allar tried to zip it to Dinkins, who couldn’t make it into the play.
“Obviously, after you run the ball vertically twice and get stuffed, everyone tells you to be creative,” Franklin said. “If you’re creative in those moments and it doesn’t work, everyone tells you that you’ve become too cute and that you should have run the ball north and south. So hindsight is 20/20. I get it. Ultimately you can make many arguments. Could we have been more creative? Could we have gotten the ball in Tyler Warren’s hands at that moment? Could we have had more push from a technical and fundamental point of view? All those things.”
The goal line score was symbolic of a hard day on the ground for Penn State running backs Allen and Nicholas Singleton. Allen finished with 27 yards on 12 carries, while Singleton had 15 yards on six rushes, combining for 2.3 yards per carry. Warren was the team’s leading rusher with 47 yards on three runs. Allar was second with 31 yards on 10 carries, mostly scrambling out of the pocket.
As a result, Franklin said Penn State will need to get its “traditional running game” going again in the coming weeks.
“I think there are some things we need to do in terms of plans to get them to defend the field and get them to spread the box as much as possible, whether that’s outside the zone, whether that’s hole plans, whether that is now within the zone, whether that is personnel. ,” Franklin said.
Franklin also addressed the conflicting philosophies with short-range play calling. He said if Penn State had stayed in the middle, people would have criticized the lack of creativity. But if Penn State had been creative and it didn’t work. Fans reportedly criticized the staff for being ‘too cute’.
“So hindsight is obviously 20/20, but at the end of the day you have to create movement and score when you need one yard,” Franklin said. “Whether that’s a crucial fourth down or whether it’s the goal line. We need to do some things better schedule-wise, but we also need to do a little bit better work fundamentally and technically to make sure we get the movement we need.
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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State athletics for the past three years and is currently editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson