Outback Bowl: 3 changes James Franklin, Mike Yurcich must make to beat Arkansas
By Andrew Adair
Bowl season is here and in order for Penn State Football to come out victorious in the Outback Bowl, the offense needs to make some changes.
The Outback Bowl will provide Penn State Football another chance to defeat an SEC team.
Arkansas will present a different challenge than Auburn did in September.
In September, the Nittany Lions‘ offense wasn’t a liability, like it was in November.
Head Coach James Franklin and Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich made it known that showing improvement at the Outback Bowl is a priority.
As the season progressed, the offense became more and more reliant on Jahan Dotson and the passing game. The running game was non-existent all season. A perceived strength at the offensive line proved to be a vulnerability.
There is much to work on with the offense and these are the three changes James Franklin must make for Penn State Football to beat Arkansas.
1. Make the Tight Ends a Focal Point
Penn State has a very talented Tight End group that underperformed all season.
Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, and Tyler Warren are all capable of breaking a game open.
The Lions’ tight end group combined for 42 catches and 500 yards. That is not enough in a pass-heavy offense.
The Tight Ends are facing single coverage regularly and haven’t taken advantage of this. They also haven’t helped in a running game that needs all the help it can get. It’s time for this group to step up as a whole to get the offense rolling again.