It’s the Penn State bye week: How will the Lions balance recruiting, Ohio State prep, and more?

Penn State is ready for a week off. The Nittany Lions start their second bye week of the season today. And, it is undoubtedly a welcome break for everyone inside of the program after a whirlwind week that saw the athletic department fire James Franklin on Sunday before the team traveled to Iowa and lost 25-24 in its first game with longtime assistant and Lions letterman Terry Smith as the interim head coach. 

“Offense, we continue to not be able to throw the ball down the field or even throw the ball in the intermediate zone,” Smith said. “We got to get that fixed. Defense. We can’t get stops when we need stops. It’s glaring, and I have to get it fixed. We’re going to take the bye week to try to get those three areas cleaned up and better for when we go to Ohio State.”

What do we know about the Penn State bye week plan?

In most years, Penn State would balance self-scouting, prepping for its next game, which is at Ohio State Nov. 1, rest and recovery for the players, and recruiting travel for the staff. With a coaching search underway, the work they do on the Classes of 2026, 2027, and beyond will be far different than usual. That’s because none of the current staff can tell high school players that they will be there by the time they come to campus. So they’ll do the best they can to share whatever the determined message is to recruits while trying to guide the team through its final five games of the regular season.

Beyond whatever recruiting work is done, Penn State must try to improve its passing attack and run defense. Neither will be an easy task at this point in the season. But, both must be a focus this week. From there, getting rest and recovery and extra film work will be a priority for the players as they try to end a previously unfathomable four-game losing streak.

“I wouldn’t say [we] need [it], but you know, that’s what the schedule is about,” safety Zakee Wheatley said. “So, we’re going to go about it the right way.”

We expect to hear Smith talk at some point this week. We may hear from the coordinators, although that feels unlikely. And no players will talk until Ohio State week. Stay tune to BWI for the latest developments throughout the week.