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Miami Lakes, FL – In a battle to the end with typical mistakes and turnovers for both teams, Notre Dame overcame a second quarter deficit of 10-0. Late in the fourth, they finished strong with an interception and FG winning drive to win, 27-24. The Fighting Irish (14-1) move on to Atlanta to take on Ohio State (13-2) for the 2024 College Football Playoff Championship. In front of a bipartisan crowd to 66,681 fans, the two teams tied three times.

Pundits like Paul Finebaum second guess late play calling by PSU HC James Franklin a reason for downfall. Since 2015, State fans have ample awareness of this during Franklin’s 1-16 record against Top 20 teams. PSU’s offensive problems start even before the games begin. We at collegefootballfan.com saw signs before and during the game that contributed to the loss. Finebaum wouldn’t understand. We made observations he can’t while talking from his media perch.

Ever watch pre-game warm-ups?

Penn State took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on Ryan Barker’s 20-yard FG. However, it came at a cost of a touchdown when a weak pass by Drew Allar to wide-open RB Nick Singleton fell through his hands incomplete. Probably could have caught it, but Allar should have been more accurate. Penn State fans despaired.

In Hard Rock Stadium 90 minutes prior to kick-off, Allar warmed up in front of us. The only passes he practiced were touch passes thrown for 25 yards away to receivers on the sideline and on the endline of the end zone. That’s the only way he warmed up before the game. On every pass practiced, he rolled left then circled back to his right and methodically, not strongly, lofted each pass. Over and over and over again. It looked like the only passing play the Lions figured they could score on this evening. Against Boise State in the quarterfinal the week before, he successfully threw two such touchdown passes. Every pass in warm-ups simulated a “touch,” or maybe even more accurately, a lob. He never “fired” a single, straight pass in any direction to any receiver before or early in the game. Seemed strange from this perspective.

Choosing targets

One could surmise that maybe he had suffered an unreported injury. Maybe Penn State hid that. Perhaps, he’s not injured, but maybe late in the season, he could be suffering from what major league pitchers consider a “tired arm.” Another thought he has a very weak and inaccurate arm. Maybe this isa hard as he can throw. If Notre Dame watched this in warm-ups, it indicated how the Lions would approach the end zone today. Allar would only be looking to loft a pass within scoring range. Maybe this was why Singleton got so wide open on the right flat. The secondary covered the deep and sideline routes.

On this play Allar didn’t have to loft his pass, and the outcome indicated what Penn State covered up. He couldn’t throw the football with any kind of authority. The pass to Singleton was weak and inaccurate. Other passes, especially to TE Tyler Warren, always floated out in the air for an over-the-should catch. His only pass to a wide-out, Harrison Wallace, went for -3 yards. No other passes targeted wide receivers. No word came out regarding an injury to Allar after the game. For that reason, his arm strength has to be questioned. Beyond that, despite his arm strength, we still come away, as in the past, with questions pertinent to the overall effectiveness of the Penn State passing strategy.

Notre Dame avoids shut out in first half

Late in the second period, the Nittany Lions finally crossed the goal line with Singleton’s five-yard TD run (15 for 84, three TDs) to lead,10-0. Until now, the defense demonstrated domination against the Irish. The score capped a 90-yard drive. The Lions looked in control with 2:18 left in the half. However, with 0:02 left, Notre Dame PK Mitch Jeter put up a 41-yard FG to close out the first half. Notre Dame now trailed,10-3. They would get the ball to start the second half.

Irish on the move

Notre Dame came out revitalized with mixed a running attack with Jeremiyah Love, Aneyas Williams and QB Riley Leonard. They drove 75 yards. Riley scored from the two to make it a new ballgame tied, 10-10. Neither team scored again in the third period, but ND mounted a drive heading into the final period. For the third time on this drive, they converted a third down into a first. Jayden Thomas’s 18-yard run to the PSU 16 put them in the red zone for a first down. Both teams heated up for action.

Fighting for the Fourth

Next, a pass interference called against the Nittany Lions put the Fighting Irish on the two. From there, RB Jerimyah Love broke tackles, got pushed back, refused to go down. Fighting for every inch, he crossed the goal line for a 17-10 ND lead. Good, hard, tough run by Love. Seven plays and 75 yards later, Nick Singleton ran for seven yards to tie the game once again, 17-17. The Irish looked to come back.

However, a fantastic “snag” by Lion DE Dani Dennis-Sutton with a leaping-diving two-hand pick gave PSU possession at the Notre Dame 39. At the 24, Allar attempted another “floater” to Warren in the middle of several Irish defenders on the left side of the end zone. Fighting Irishman LB Jack Kiser came down with it, but pass interference on the play gave the Nittany Lions a first down at the nine. Singleton scored his third TD on a run from the seven. With 7:55 to play, the Nittany Lions led, 24-17.

On the next Irish possession, Leonard connected with Jayden Greathouse on a third and three for a six-yard gain to their 38. On a second and eight from their 46, the quarterback connected again with Greathouse on a crossing pattern. On a sharp cut up field, he caused S Jaylen Reed to fall and finished in the end zone to tie State once again, 24-24.

Allar pass gets away

The two powers each punted once before the clock wound down with 1:47 left in the game. The Penn State faithful cheered on their Lions for a scoring drive. On first and ten from the 28, Allar attempted to “fire” a pass to his receiver on a curl pattern. Low and in front of his target who stretched as he dove, Irish cornerback Christian Gray made a diving catch on the overthrow. In reports later, Allar claimed he tried to throw the ball away because of the coverage. Evidently, the risk where he threw far and to a receiver tightly covered, outdid the reward. Notre Dame took over on the Penn State 42.

Fighting Irish finish off Lions

On third and three at the 25, Riley Leonard connected with WR Jaden Greathouse (7 catches, 105 yards, one TD) for first down at the 25. Both teams used two timeouts as the Irish maneuvered for field position for a chip shot. At the 0:07 mark, Mitch Jeter split the uprights to clinch the win for Notre Dame, 27-24. They will advance to Atlanta on January 20 to clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU knocked off Texas in the AT&T Cotton Bowl, 28-14, to gain the opposing bid.

For a postgame comparison after our Capital One Orange Bowl, losing HC James Franklin stands at 1-16 against Top 5 opponents. Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman, in his third season, defeated two Top 5 opponents in the past two weeks, Penn State and Georgia. Overall, Marcus Freeman boasts a 9-0 record against ranked competition.

Collegefootballfan.com analysis

We’ve seen the issue before and we’ll point it out again. We watched James Franklin play QB at the D2 level at East Stroudsburg University back in the 90s. He evidently didn’t graduate with a clear vision of how a QB succeeds at the next level. His 1-16 mark against Top 5 teams and his 15-29 mark in games against Top 25 teams comes under several different offensive coordinators and quarterbacks from Christian Hackenberg to Drew Allar. In the past two season alone, these are our impressions as to why the PSU passing attack is inefficient. Yet, we suggest adjustments on how to improve it:

1. Allar rarely looks off his primary receiver. He telegraphs who he throws the ball to often. If he’s coached to do otherwise, he’s not listening. Maybe they need to turn to somebody else.
2. PSU currently has two great running backs. Rarely do coaches call for play-action to freeze the defense to get receivers open. One time against ND in the CFP, he actually faked hand-offs to Singleton and to Allen on the same play and because of it, he hit wide-open Tyler Warren. Looked like a great change in strategy unfolding. However, never saw play action initiated again. Watch how often QB Will Howard of Ohio State fakes a handoff to his backs to cause hesitation in the secondary when they play Notre Dame in the championship next Monday.
3. When PSU comes to line of scrimmage, it’s generally a one-back set or no RBs in the backfield. The latter presents a dead give-away. They did it often against the Irish. He’s throwing the ball. We see it, and so does the opposing defense. Indicates why he finished 12 for 13 for 126 yards and one TD. The defense easily keys on what is coming. Maybe some Run-Pass Option (RPO) scheme would be effective in their one-back formation.
4. We attended the 2022 Liberty Bowl between Kansas and Arkansas in a classic game the Razorbacks won in shootout, 55-53. Current PSU offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki called the plays for Lance Leipold’s Jayhawks. KU had several tall, quick wide receivers catching many passes from QB Jaylon Daniels. They were athletic and stood 6’3, 6’4″ and 6’5″. The current Lion wide receiving corps does not match the type of talent or size (two max at 6’2″ and most under 6′) utilized by Kansas. Andy Kotelnicki should be making some kind of adjustments to his passing game plan. Lob passes work with 6’6″ TE Tyler Warren primarily. In the future, Franklin should recruit some similar WR size and talent. Recruiting is supposed to be his forte’.
5. PSU proudly wears the monicker “Linebacker U.” “Quarterback U’s” exist elsewhere. No newsworthy QB in the transfer portal names Penn State as his primary target. Pennsylvania native Will Howard went to Ohio State from Kansas State. Cam Ward went from Washington State to Miami. He just left The U, and Carson Beck aptly replaces him. Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard both found their way from the ACC to graduate school at Notre Dame. Quin Ewers went to Texas from OSU. Now where? Dillon Gabriel transferred from UCF to Oklahoma to Oregon for “greener” pastures. Ohio native Joe Burrow transferred after four seasons at Ohio State to LSU. Even former OSU QB Kyle McCord skipped right past State College and headed up to Syracuse who improved from 6-7 this year to 9-4. We are not big proponents of multiple transfers. However, the point here reasons that no QB of value enters the transfer portal and decides on Penn State. They prefer to select a program to continue a college career to gain favor for professional consideration. And James Franklin played QB in college. What does that say?
6. Again, the Lions have struggled against top competition since 2015 and James Franklin is the common factor. He oversees the program and should take control of the issues or move aside. Records with 11 wins are great and fans accept it. However, when the going gets tough against the major programs in college football, Franklin’s teams don’t come out on top. PSU fans and alumni desire more. They always prided their program as “Beast of the East.” They want that reputation back. Franklin or the administration has to decide what needs to be done to get this team winning games at the highest level if it intends to consistently challenge to the CFP. That’s what fans of the “Dear Ole White and Blue” want. James Franklin may have already worn out his welcome. As the old saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” That time seems to be emerging in State College, Pennsylvania.

Edited by Steve Koreivo – Member of Football Writers Association of America and Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Click on the title to order your copy today!