Penn State Football: 3 glaring problems that need to be addressed

Penn State football must go back to the drawing board after getting dismantled by Michigan on Saturday.

Penn State football lost to Michigan 41-17 on Saturday in one of the uglier performances by the Nittany Lions in years.

The margin of defeat was the largest for Penn State since the last time the Nittany Lions played at the Big House with fans. That matchup resulted in a 42-7 loss for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been outscored 132-34 in their last three trips to Michigan in games that fans were in the stands.

It’s clear that Penn State struggles on the road against Michigan, but this loss in particular was quite concerning. It’s year nine for James Franklin at Penn State, the time for roster concerns is long gone. Penn State hasn’t been under scholarship restrictions since 2014.

While the roster construction may play a role in Penn State’s struggles against Michigan, it seems there are some issues with the X’s and O’s as well.

Some of those issues were certainly exposed on Saturday by Michigan. Penn State had been the more talented team in its first five games, that was not the case against Michigan. Playing a team with equal talent (at least according to recruiting rankings) the Nittany Lions’ issues came to light.

We’re going to look at three of the biggest problems that Penn State must address short term and long term.