As 2023 closes, Penn State faces some big questions (again) in 2024
We spent months reading about, listening to, and buying into some of the hype for Penn State’s big hopes for the 2023 college football season. But in the end, as the books close on the 2023 season in Happy Valley, we are once again faced with some familiar questions about the status of the program heading into the 2024 season, and there may be more questions than originally anticipated for this program going into the offseason and the landscape changing season for the entire college football world in 2024.
Penn State’s 2023 season was always expected to come down to what Penn State managed to do against Ohio State and Michigan. A split between the two opponents could have led to a possible shot at a Big Ten championship and perhaps a spot in the College Football Playoff. Instead, Penn State played its two worst games offensively against the top two teams on its schedule and Penn State’s Big Ten hopes were once again far enough out of reach to make simply playing in a New Years Six bowl game the ceiling for the Nittany Lions.
And systematic failures with the offense were impossible to ignore once they got there. Penn State’s offense was a messy operation against the third-best team Penn State saw all season, Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. While much of the attention goes to the defense missing three starters due to opting out and without its defensive coordinator for the first time since being hired to be a head coach getting gassed by an efficient offense with receivers who can make big plays happen, the failures of the offense were more to blame than anything else in a 38-25 loss to the Rebels in Atlanta. Despite making a change at offensive coordinator in the final month of the season, the inconsistency of the offense and the inability to get receivers into space to make things happen was as disappointing to see in the bowl game with weeks to prepare than it ever could have been. And it showed just why Penn State absolutely must make a big push to improve the receiver position this offseason through the transfer portal and in spring football.
Is hope on the horizon? It would seem so.
Penn State hired Tom Allen to continue leading the defense following the departure of Manny Diaz to Duke, and that seems to be as good a replacement as possible. The offense will be in the spotlight this spring though as Andy Kotelnicki comes to take over the offensive coordinator role after his success with Kansas. But Kotelnicki will need better tools in his tool chest to work with in order for him to be the saving grace for Penn State in 2024.
Penn State is still expected to land a transfer commitment from former Ohio State wide receiver Julian Fleming, and that would be an immediate boost in talent for the position. And the hope still is there for some of the younger options on the team to improve in Kotelnicki’s offense, which will focus on designing opportunities for receivers to make some plays. But even the additions of a bright new offensive coordinator and possible no. 1 wide receiver are not enough to put it all together.
The most pressure may be put on Drew Allar, who completed his first full season as Penn State’s starting quarterback with an impressive 25 touchdowns to 2 interceptions ratio but clearly struggled in the biggest games of the year. Perhaps there are legitimate reasons behind this with playcalling and lack of talent at the receiver position, but Allar showed plenty of room for personal improvement, which he has acknowledged throughout the year and following the Peach Bowl loss. With one year of starting experience under his belt, Allar will be challenged to truly elevate his game to the next level. If he doesn’t, then Penn State’s offense will continue to be stuck in the mud against the top competition the Nittany Lions will face in 2024.
Speaking of which, the 2024 season is about to look a lot different for the entire sport, and that means Penn State has to find a way to improve in these areas to take advantage of the new landscape.
The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams next season. Under the 12-team format, Penn State would have been in playoff position this season and a handful of times in previous seasons, but just getting to the playoff is merely just prolonging the eventual disappointing end to the season if Penn State can’t fix the offense. If Ole Miss could dismantle Penn State in the Peach Bowl, imagine what would have happened against Georgia or any of the teams in this year’s College Football Playoff. Of course, being in the playoff may have prevented some of the opt-outs and moving pieces James Franklin was concerned about after the Peach Bowl defeat.
And, of course, the Big Ten is about to get a bit more challenging. The conference is adding Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington next season, and Penn State will play three of those new members (Oregon won’t be on Penn State’s schedule until 2025). Washington is a playoff team this season and Oregon was one win shy of the playoff. And a road trip to USC surely will not be a walk in the park. Penn State also has to open the 2024 season on the road at West Virginia, a team Penn State took care of in the 2023 season opener but went on to have a good year ending with a bowl victory. Penn State won’t have to play Michigan in the regular season but will still have to face their Ohio State demons, along with Washington and USC.
Will Penn State improve in 2024? Will it be enough? We’ll find out, but it is safe to say Penn State will be one of the programs under a good amount of pressure in 2024.
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