Andy Kotelnicki on Penn State's offensive struggles: 'I don't really have a good explanation'

Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki gave a puzzling response when asked about why the offense has struggled this season. He said he didn’t really have a good explanation. His words, not ours.

Penn State saw QB Drew Allar play inconsistent football prior to his season-ending injury. Not only that, the offense as a whole, one featuring two star RBs in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, have struggled in the middle of this four-game losing streak.

“I don’t know, you know what I mean,” Kotelnicki said. “That answer could be so long and into stuff. But the reality is, it’s just, you know, it hasn’t gone like we’re hoping. And what do you do? You go to the next play, you go to the next game, you go to the next moment and opportunity, but I don’t really have a good explanation for where it is. You know what I’m saying? Or where it was I should say. I’m more focused on what it’s got to be by next week. Do you know what I mean? So … really not a lot to say.”

The stats and results speak for themselves. Even after James Franklin’s firing after a 3-3 start, Kotelnicki and the offense couldn’t outscore Iowa in a 25-24 loss last weekend. Penn State is now below .500 after coming in with national championship expectations.

“You can point out stats, you can talk about this or that, and those are all, you know, accurate,” Kotelnicki said. “They are what they are. So you got to just go out there and work on getting better. That’s probably not the profound answer that you’re looking for. But, you know, you watch tape, and those are things you think about all the time. You try not to make comparisons all the time, because that is the thief.

“I think one thing I’ve learned in this process is, no matter you know who you have coming back or what your identity or what you are is always going to evolve or change. It’s never going to be the same. And that’s week to week, and that’s year to year, regardless of amount of the people you have coming back. So it’s always like, I don’t want to say you start from scratch … but you kind of have to approach it that way a little bit. You got to say to yourself, it’s going to be different, anticipate that. Of course, there’s an art form to how much that actually is, or what it looks like, which it’s not an exact science.”

Penn State will have two weeks to prepare for Ohio State on November 1st. Going up against, arguably, the best defense in the country, Kotelnicki might need as much time as possible.

“And then, unfortunately, nobody knows those answers to all those things, until you start playing real games and you try to organize practice in a way that it’s as realistic possible, but those moments, it’s about going into the game, who you are, who you predicted that you were going to be,” Kotelnicki said.

“Was it right? Was it wrong? You know, what steps did you take, you know, in March and April and May and June, July, August, to help have an identity and be what you’re developing to be? But being able to course correct if you’re not.”