CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – As James Franklin began his postgame press conference on Saturday afternoon he reminded everyone — and perhaps even himself — that winning shouldn’t be taken for granted, and in the chaotic world of college football winning is all that really matters.
“You know, we never lost control of the game,” Franklin said. “We didn’t take control, but we never lost control of the game and we just kind of kept chipping away at it. So I was proud — that’s kind of how the season is gonna go. You’re gonna have some big wins. You’re gonna have some challenging wins. Yzou’re gonna have to find ways to win on the road. You have to find ways to win at home and continue to build momentum.”
But on the heels of a meandering 30-13 victory over Illinois, there was a lingering feeling that the Nittany Lions’ weaknesses and potential pitfalls were no less present than before and, in a reasonable but pessimistic eye, act as foreshadowing in regards to Penn State’s biggest games. Forget Illinois’ steady defense, veteran coaching staff and growing institutional competency — this was a game that entered the minds of most as an easy victory. Anything less than that was a red flag.
In some respects it was easy even, if the sex appeal lacked. Save for a few plays here or there, Illinois spent more time on offense throwing the ball to Penn State’s defense than it did posing a consistent threat. The Illini had just two real drives of note during the thrust of the game, and while Penn State’s defense continues to seem prone to giving up yards again competent running, Illinois never looked the better team. And even while Penn State’s offense lacked the consistent potency it had the first two weeks of the year, the Nittany Lions were ultimately the more talented, and more persistent, team. It may have taken longer than some hoped, but by the day’s end Penn State’s quality shone through.
But in 2023 there are certain realities which plague Penn State as a program. Entering James Franklin’s 10th year, it has long been established that, pandemics or season-altering quarterback injuries aside, his program should beat just about everyone and hold competitive serve against Ohio State and Michigan. In turn, that success has created the perception (with no shortage of truth in this fact) all the other regular season games are in preparation for the two biggest ones of the year.
So yes, Penn State’s victory on Saturday was a good win, a quality grind-it-out victory that comes with conference play — but it was also a showcase of the things that could go wrong in the games that “really matter.” Everything is pushed through the lens of Ohio State and Michigan. A good win is a good win, but is it good enough against those two teams? The evaluation of Penn State’s problems is less about Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan State, UMass, Maryland and Indiana than it is that of two recent and current national title contenders.
How reasonable this viewpoint is — to somewhat flippantly disregard other wins — is a different conversation, but is only exacerbated by the fact Penn State boasts the best quarterback prospect the program has had in the modern era. Additionally, the brevity of collegiate careers only accentuates the pressure to perform as Drew Allar is perpetually marching toward whatever is next.
Some quick math: If Allar completes this season and the next having undergone positive development and an injury-free career, he will almost certainly declare (although he has never indicated as such) for the NFL Draft. As a result, if we assume Allar has already been available at Penn State’s disposal for 16 games, he will reach the midway point of a three-year career (if we assume 13 games this season and next) heading into Penn State’s clash with Ohio State this season while having only actually started in just six games. Basically, by the time Allar plays in the first truly meaningful game of his career in which his talent is supposed to be the x-factor, his playing career at Penn State very well may have already passed the midway point.
In essence, the time is already running out.
Which is why the rest of Penn State’s imperfections felt more glaring on Saturday. The Nittany Lions struggling to run the ball with any explosive outcomes and a receiver room seemingly outfitted with talent but less so elite-level playmaking consistency both fail to fully utilize Allar’s abilities. In total, Penn State is racing to find the talent and consistency that makes having a player like Allar worth the while as much as it is the equation to get over the hump. As Penn State dropped passes, struggled to run and committed penalties, Allar found himself struggling for answers too, and certainly not without his own miscues along the way.
“Not everything is going to go our way,” Allar, who was 16-33 for 208 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns, said after the game. “As a team we learned that there is a lot of room to grow and a lot we can get better at.”
The good news for Penn State is that the Nittany Lions didn’t need to be a finished product on Saturday. Penn State has 34 days until it faces Ohio State and 55 until it faces Michigan. A clash with Iowa this upcoming weekend stands to be interesting, but the Hawkeyes’ perpetual inability to put up points on a consistent basis makes it hard to pick Iowa to actually win that game, no matter how challenging that defense might makes things on Allar and company.
“Obviously we’re going to enjoy tonight and wake up tomorrow morning and and get to work and be very critical on this film,” Franklin added. “Because we’ve got to make another step next week.”
And if Penn State wants to make something of a 3-0 start – the week after that, and the week after that, and the week after that, and the wee…
