Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1511150
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M in which the Lions were still coping with the fallout from a range of debilitat- ing NCAA sanctions that Franklin had nothing to do with. Subtract those sea- sons, and his winning percentage rises to 74. Many programs would be pleased to routinely win 10 regular-season games — Franklin's teams have done that four times and will have a chance to do so again this year — but the struggles against Ohio State and Michigan have altered the perception of some observers. "Franklin is in his 10th year at Penn State and there is little doubt he can build a good team," Wetzel noted. "There's no question he's a good leader who can rep- resent the school well. "But can he do more? Or is building up to big national games like this only to wind up slinking out of town just the ceiling for the Nittany Lions. He is now 1-9 against Ohio State and 2-12 against top-25 teams on the road." The Lions did not struggle in every facet of the game against Ohio State. The Buckeyes' 20 points comprised their second-lowest total of the sea- son, and while Harrison finished with 11 catches for 162 yards, PSU kept the Buckeyes' other playmakers in check, holding the ground game to 79 yards and a meager average of 1.9 yards per attempt. But the Nittany Lions' offensive woes were too much to overcome. In addition to its unsightly third-down numbers, Penn State managed just 240 yards of total offense. Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar completed only 18 of 42 at- tempts for 191 yards, while sophomore running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined to rush for 74 yards on 18 carries. Paul Myerberg of USA Today noted that the Nittany Lions had been unable to capitalize on Ohio State's vulnerabil- ity this year. The Buckeyes are accus- tomed to having the Big Ten's best of- fense, but this year they were fourth in scoring at 32.5 points per game through eight games, and quarterback Kyle Mc- Cord had thrown a modest (for Ohio State) 14 touchdown passes. "This was an incredible opportunity to end a long losing streak against an Ohio State team that has clear flaws relative to the program's recent standard," My- erberg wrote. "With the loss, the Nit- tany Lions are once again no better than a New Year's Six participant with Michi- gan still to come in November. The dis- appointment is palpable." Penn State entered the season with concerns about its receivers. First-year position coach Marques Hagans was brought in to improve the group, but it has struggled so far. And the dispar- ity between the Lions' pass catchers and Harrison is stunning. Coming off a visit to Rutgers on Nov. 4, Harrison had 52 catches for 914 yards and 10 touch- downs. The Nittany Lions have only one receiver — junior KeAndre Lambert- Smith — who approaches that level of productivity. Lambert-Smith had 51 catches for 645 yards and 4 touch- downs heading into PSU's game against Michigan on Nov. 11. The Lions' second- leading wideout through nine games was redshirt senior Dante Cephas with 17 catches for 199 yards. PennLive columnist David Jones noted that the receivers were the most glaring difference between Penn State and Ohio State in this year's meeting. "Since 2017, five different wide re- ceiver assistants have worked for Frank- lin," Jones noted. "All that time, Brian Hartline has been on [Ryan] Day's staff at Ohio State, the last five years as the man organizing and teaching the Buckeyes' peerless receiving corps. "These are the battles and the wars that Franklin keeps losing. And though the scores might be close, he's not get- ting any closer." Penn State will get another chance next year. Even with the Big Ten revamp- ing its schedule, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes will still meet in Beaver Sta- dium on Nov. 2, 2024. PSU will be back in the Horseshoe the following year, but after that latter game, the series will go on hiatus for two years and will probably never again be an annual fixture on the schedule. ■ Penn State thought it had made a game-changing play when junior linebacker Curtis Jacobs returned a Kyle McCord fumble for a touchdown, but the score was negated by a defensive holding penalty. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL