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V S . K E N T U C K Y W hen pass-rusher extraordinaire Josh Allen was weighing whether to play against Penn State in the Citrus Bowl a few weeks ago, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin was there for him with some helpful advice, delivered via Twit- ter direct message: "You may want to save yourself for the dra?." "Obviously, that didn't work," Franklin said. It did not. Allen announced on Dec. 7 that he has no plans to sit out his ;nal game a?er racking up 14 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss and winning the Nagurski Trophy and Bednarik Award, which go to the top defensive player in college football. So now he'll likely be the Nittany Lions' biggest problem when they face the Wildcats on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla. At Penn State's bowl media day on Dec. 14, Franklin echoed the assessment of national college football pundits and Southeastern Conference watchers, de- scribing Allen as the kind of game- wrecker who needs to be accounted for on every snap of the ball. "I think the biggest thing is his length and athleticism and how twitchy he is," Franklin said. "Obviously [he's] consid- ered the best defensive player in college football, and the way he's been able to impact the game in so many di=erent ways – that's what has been so impres- sive. It's how twitchy he is, how produc- tive he is, his length. In terms of what those guys are looking for at the next level, he ;ts the model." So how do the Nittany Lions counter all that athleticism? "The chess match, like always, is that they're trying defensively to put him in situations to make plays, and we're try- ing to do the same thing formationally," Franklin said. "How can we do things formationally to limit his impact? And the same thing from a scheme stand- point. Obviously, we had better have an awareness of where he is on every single play. That's the chess match constantly. What can we do with formations? What can we do with motions and things like that to limit his impact?" JUNIORS MULL NFL DECISIONS In the run-up to the Fiesta Bowl last year, the biggest question facing the Nittany Lions was how much action Saquon Barkley would see in the game. He had not o>cially declared for the NFL Dra?, but it was assumed that he would forgo his senior year, throwing into question his availability for the game. As it turned out, he did end up play- ing and was a decisive factor in Penn State's 35-28 victory over Washington, rushing for 132 yards and two touch- downs. This year, the Lions have a number of potential dra?- worthy juniors, from defen- sive end Shareef Miller to running back Miles Sanders to o=ensive lineman Connor McGovern. Asked on Friday whether he expects to have all his players available for the Citrus Bowl, Franklin said it was "a

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