It’s 11/11. How appropriate then that we are going to be previewing a pair of teams that seem to keep rolling snake-eyes this year. I sat down with Brian Bennett from Black Shoe Diaries to discuss this year’s
Nittany Lions team. Let’s see what he had to say.
1. Based on how last season finished for PSU, I had predicted you guys to make it to this year’s championship game (where I had you losing to Texas). What were your expectations coming into this season?
BB: I just glanced back at our staff roundtable to open the season where we all predicted our record – not one of us had Penn State worse than 11-1. That’s the exact record I picked. I thought the Lions would go 11-1, play a rematch with Ohio State in Indianapolis, and make their way into the college football bracket. This team had the highest expectations of any Penn State team dating back to 1999. But, it was all with good reason when taking into account what the Lions returned and what they had added. Never in my wildest nightmares did I see this season playing out like this.
2. Obviously, the story of this year for Penn State is the firing of James Franklin. What were your thoughts on him as a coach before the wheels fell off this season? Did you agree with the firing, including the timing of it? How do you feel interim coach Terry Smith is handling the situation? Is he keeping the locker room together?
BB: I was a Franklin supporter. I do think that he deserves so much credit for pushing an outdated program to the fringe edges of absolutely elite. Penn State’s record showed a level of consistency that it hadn’t since back in the 1980s and 1990s. I honestly thought he would win a national title at Penn State. At the same time, I have zero issue with the firing. Things blew up and things blew up in spectacular fashion. There’s a part of me that thinks Franklin could have mended things – after all, he did after the 2020/2021 disappointing seasons. But, it was also hard to escape the reality that he constantly came up short in the biggest situations – and now recruiting was slipping a little and he wasn’t keen on using the transfer portal to its fullest advantages.
Terry Smith is doing his best. It seems as though the locker room is still mostly intact. I thought Indiana was the litmus test for that, but maybe this weekend actually will be. After all, the Lions are on the road again – third time in four games under Smith – and there’s truly nothing to play for but pride at this point (or I guess the lowest of bowl games).
3. The other big story for Penn State was the injury to quarterback Drew Allar. Ethan Grunkemeyer has come in since the injury. How would you grade his performance in his 3 starts since Allar went down? How has the offense been forced to change with Grunkemeyer under center? What is the number one thing he needs to improve on?
BB: He’s made steady progress and he’s done it in three terribly difficult and two hostile situations: night at Kinnick, Big Noon at Ohio State, Big Noon vs. No. 2 Indiana. The big talking point from this past Saturday is that Penn State finally threw the ball down the field. They’ve been reluctant to do that all year even when Allar was healthy. When they’ve done it – late against Oregon, Saturday against IU – it’s opened up a lot of what they want to do with the run game. It’s no shock that Nicholas Singleton finally made some plays and it came after Grunk took some shots down the field.
He’ll need to be aggressive, but not wreckless, again on Saturday. As for what he needs to work on: accuracy. The interception against Indiana was on a ball that was behind his receiver. He also missed an opportunity to put Penn State in game-tying field goal range in the closing seconds with a wayward throw.
4. Tell us about your defense. What is your base formation? What level is the best? Who is the one player we need to be aware of at all times?
BB: Knowles will play four down linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs. Apparently, however, you need to have a graduate degree to play well in it – at least that was the complaint over the first half of the season back when Franklin was coaching. The defense looked good against the cream puffs and for much of the Oregon game. But, from the overtime sessions all the way until this past weekend, the group hasn’t played well. In four of its six losses, Penn State had a lead and was a fourth quarter/overtime stop away from having a win. They haven’t gotten the job done.
No one level has played consistently, but there are guys who are still playing hard at each level. I’ll give you one at each. Dani Dennis-Sutton is a former five-star defensive end who has had a disappointing season. But, he played well on Saturday. At linebacker, North Carolina transfer Amare Campbell has been a nice fit, especially since star starter Tony Rojas is out for the season with a knee injury. Lastly, Zakee Wheatley is a good safety who is still playing hard.
5. Fill in the blank. Penn State will win the game if _______________.
BB: They continue to play as hard as they did at Iowa and against Indiana (and really even Ohio State for that matter). The effort looked different in those games compared to the inexplicable losses to UCLA and Northwestern. Smith claims this team is going to play hard all the way through the finish line. I still have my doubts about that, but the version of Penn State that lost coin flip games to Iowa and Indiana is still a top third conference outfit.
6. Predict the final score.
BB: Michigan State 24, Penn State 20
I still don’t think the defense is “fixed” and playing away from Happy Valley will cool down some of the good vibes that have appeared following a moral victory.
TOC thanks Brian for his help with this article. Let’s hope his prediction is correct.
