www.nytimes.com
Wasn’t it a couple years ago that one of the Villanova or some other one AA type School said they knew every play that was coming because of the way the offensive line set up?Why are Penn State and Texas disappointing? What we’re hearing in college football’s Week 7
Plus: Memphis' makeover into a CFP contender and the Big 12's most underrated player.
This is an interesting little article where you get observations from other coaches. Apparently per other unnamed coaches we’re very predictable on offense and it’s obvious we don’t trust Allar.
I do vaguely remember that. I think somebody had a “tell” on the line and they figured it out.
PAYWALL.
I don't think I'm alone in that I trust Allar more than the coaches at this point. I'd rather see 45 attempts, 2 int's, and 4 TD's than what we're currently being served.Why are Penn State and Texas disappointing? What we’re hearing in college football’s Week 7
Plus: Memphis' makeover into a CFP contender and the Big 12's most underrated player.
This is an interesting little article where you get observations from other coaches. Apparently per other unnamed coaches we’re very predictable on offense and it’s obvious we don’t trust Allar.
That’s not happening with Franklin. Drew’s been brainwashed to be terrified of turnovers and the only time he can play free and without fear is when they’re losing. 175 yds, 1 td, and 0 int is a great day in Franklin’s weak little mind.
I agree, 25-40 375 yards, even with an INT or two, is better than the crap that we’re putting out now. I’m still curious why he didn’t have the same limits on Clifford or Trace, though.
Does anything surprise you considering that the entire staff appears to have missed the time-consuming intentional safety in the last game?
I think James has never made the adjustment from underdog Vandy/PSU first 3 years coach that was always short on talent to the nearly equal amount of talent that’s he’s had the last few years. He still coaches like he’s scared of letting the players show off
Sounds familiar to most. But Lando will tell you differently.Why are Penn State and Texas disappointing? What we’re hearing in college football’s Week 7
James Franklin's Penn State entered the season ranked No. 2, but dropped out of the AP poll for the first time since 2022 this week. Luke Hales / Getty Images
Bruce Feldmanand Ralph D. Russo
Oct. 10, 2025Updated 10:52 am EDT
What’s wrong with Penn State?
Start with a lack of explosive plays on offense. The Nittany Lions thought they fixed this issue with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki coming in last year. While it lacked big-play wide receivers, the Penn State offense still was tops in the Big Ten in plays of 20-plus yards last year.
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This season, the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) are 12th after following up a disappointing loss to Oregon with a stunning one last week at UCLA. The Bruins went into the game winless, having already fired their head coach and both coordinators.
The loss sent Penn State out of the rankings after beginning the season ranked No. 2. The Nittany Lions haven’t been unranked since early in the 2022 season.
Penn State, which led the Big Ten in rushing in 2024, ranks No. 8 this year. The Nittany Lions had 11 rushes of 30-plus yards last year, but in five games have just one. Nick Singleton has especially struggled, averaging 3.8 yards per carry after being over 6.0 last season.
Rival coaches think the Nittany Lions’ offense has gotten predictable.
“I was very curious about all their shifts and motions,” said one defensive line coach. “I don’t know the system, but it has to be somewhat easy if they’re able to do all that stuff. We started noticing some tendencies. They do a bunch of shifts and trades, but they always end up running to No. 16 (tight end Khalil Dinkins). He’s kind of their blocking tight end. He takes you to the play.”
A second defensive coach echoed that point: “They’re gimmicky in what they do formationally, with motions and shifts, and if you can get a bead on that, it’s not as much of an issue as what they make it out to be. There’s a lot of prediction there.”
Penn State has tried to get its wide receivers more involved with tight end Tyler Warren now in the NFL, but Drew Allar is averaging 1.5 yards fewer per attempt.
“I think the quarterback is overrated from what you hear about him so much,” one of the coaches said. “He’s got a big arm, but it’s inconsistent ball placement down the field. I don’t think they really want to put the ball in his hands if you look at how they call it.”
Penn State hopes to get right at home against Northwestern on Saturday.
We have no wideouts. Singleton seems headed for “his life’s work” and Drew is very overrated (along w/Oline).
Yes, both Villanova and Temple claimed PSU had a “tell” on offense that let them know what play was coming.
I remember it being Idaho with one of our recievers and his alignment on the LOS.
And an onside kick by UCLA where there was hardly a PSU player in sight.
Very telling comments. Not much different than many of us have said, lots of wasted motion before the snap that fools no one with a credible DC and defensive players. The comment on running Dinkins way was interesting. Offensive scheme is predictable and not varied enough.Why are Penn State and Texas disappointing? What we’re hearing in college football’s Week 7
James Franklin's Penn State entered the season ranked No. 2, but dropped out of the AP poll for the first time since 2022 this week. Luke Hales / Getty Images
Bruce Feldmanand Ralph D. Russo
Oct. 10, 2025Updated 10:52 am EDT
What’s wrong with Penn State?
Start with a lack of explosive plays on offense. The Nittany Lions thought they fixed this issue with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki coming in last year. While it lacked big-play wide receivers, the Penn State offense still was tops in the Big Ten in plays of 20-plus yards last year.
ADVERTISEMENT
This season, the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) are 12th after following up a disappointing loss to Oregon with a stunning one last week at UCLA. The Bruins went into the game winless, having already fired their head coach and both coordinators.
The loss sent Penn State out of the rankings after beginning the season ranked No. 2. The Nittany Lions haven’t been unranked since early in the 2022 season.
Penn State, which led the Big Ten in rushing in 2024, ranks No. 8 this year. The Nittany Lions had 11 rushes of 30-plus yards last year, but in five games have just one. Nick Singleton has especially struggled, averaging 3.8 yards per carry after being over 6.0 last season.
Rival coaches think the Nittany Lions’ offense has gotten predictable.
“I was very curious about all their shifts and motions,” said one defensive line coach. “I don’t know the system, but it has to be somewhat easy if they’re able to do all that stuff. We started noticing some tendencies. They do a bunch of shifts and trades, but they always end up running to No. 16 (tight end Khalil Dinkins). He’s kind of their blocking tight end. He takes you to the play.”
A second defensive coach echoed that point: “They’re gimmicky in what they do formationally, with motions and shifts, and if you can get a bead on that, it’s not as much of an issue as what they make it out to be. There’s a lot of prediction there.”
Penn State has tried to get its wide receivers more involved with tight end Tyler Warren now in the NFL, but Drew Allar is averaging 1.5 yards fewer per attempt.
“I think the quarterback is overrated from what you hear about him so much,” one of the coaches said. “He’s got a big arm, but it’s inconsistent ball placement down the field. I don’t think they really want to put the ball in his hands if you look at how they call it.”
Penn State hopes to get right at home against Northwestern on Saturday.
As did those that already responded about Drew. This says a lot of what I was about the scheme
It doesn't help when the fan base acts like he's throws a ton of picks whenever he does make a mistake. Drew has to be mentally tougher than that but between Franklin acting as any risk is fatal and our base demanding perfection he has no chance in this scheme. Kid should have transferred. Loyalty is big time flaw in athletics.
So, the main takeaway is that multiple teams have picked up on it and admitted it, so ALL the teams have picked up on it.
Agree. Also, add in a coach who can’t be fired and stubbornly stays. Now, recruits are noticing and looking elsewhere. We’ve seen this movie before.
Yeah, that was unforgivable. UCLA had just scored (and rather easily as I recall), which made it clear they were "loaded for Bruin" (as it were). Why nobody (especially the HC) didn't pick up on that and have somebody ready for trickery is beyond me. Could've changed the game with a short field for Penn State.
30 years ago, there was software you could buy where you put in your formations/plays/results and it could show you your tendencies, amongst other things. For all the money being spent on the program, I am sure the relative cost of this type of software is minimal.
being too conservative has been one of the hits on Allar since he's been here. Franklin wants to establish the run and everybody knows it. You need some holes on the LOS to be able to do that, and so far this year we haven't been able to do that. In the passing game, the Oline is not giving Allar time to go through his reads. It seems as if he anticipates the rush and locks his mind on where he's going to throw the ball right at the snap. There's a lot of problems with this offense right now.
Sadly you are probably right....Franklin in a coaching staff meeting this week: “They’re saying on social media that we run behind Dinkins. Everyone therefore is expecting us to change, so let’s run behind Dinkins this week. They’ll never see it coming.”
Sound football makes me think of disciplined and accountability…if this is what you are thinking, I fully agree
I’m not sure I believe the opinion that Franklin is a great CEO. It feels like he is running a very disjointed operation in which each component of the program is in a silo. It’s ridiculous that we are this predictable just about every year. I’m not sure Michigan had to put any effort into stealing our signs. What’s even more frustrating is watching Pribula carve up Alabama's D early in this game. James put all his eggs in the Allar headcase basket when he had a great qb on the bench who would have us undefeated at this point.
