Penn State is driving fans crazy with a disastrous first half at USC

James Franklin has his best chance to make the College Football Playoff with the expansion to 12  teams. Really, all his Nittany Lions have to do is take care of business against lesser Big Ten competition and beat USC and Ohio State. Well, in Week 7 No. 4 Penn State traveled out to LA for a matchup with 3-2 USC, and in the first half, it couldn’t have gone worse. 

Penn State started the game with a defensive stop and a long drive down into the red zone before an offensive pass interference call on a fourth-down Tyler Warren touchdown catch wiped points off the board and forced Franklin to settle for a field goal. Though, it wasn’t just the penalty that frustrated fans, it was offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s refusal to run the ball with Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton around the goal line. 

Coming in, Penn State had a clear advantage on the line of scrimmage, yet Allen has just 26 yards, Singleton has only 21, and USC has run for 147 yards behind Quinten Joyner and Woody Marks. Tom Allen’s defense hasn’t had any answers for Lincoln Riley’s offense at the LA Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. 

Both of Penn State’s new coordinators, Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Tom Allen, have fans furious about the way the team has looked in the first half. 

It isn’t just Kotelnicki’s refusal to run the ball in the red zone. Multiple times in the first half, Kotelnicki took the ball out of Drew Allar’s hands with Tyler Warren and Beau Pribula both running a wildcat offense at quarterback. That gimmick was fun against Bowling Green and Kent State but has knocked the offense off schedule and doesn’t let Allar get into any sort of rhythm. 

The good news for the fed-up fanbase is that Penn State has been much better in the second half this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Hopefully, that’s the case in LA or Franklin’s CFP hopes are going to start fading away. 

There’s still a half to play, and maybe, a season on the line.