DETROIT — It was late Friday night outside of Ford Field when several players on the victorious Nittany Lion football team were saying their final goodbyes to friends and family in the post-game giddiness of a dominating 42-0 victory over Michigan State as their teammates boarded a long row of buses destined for the Detroit airport and then home to State College.
Quietly standing in the darkness, in the background several feet from the front of the lead bus but in the shadows of the post-game revelry, were Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle. They were by themselves, chatting quietly. But — appropriately enough — together.
Over the previous dozen days, since the Sunday aftermath of Penn State’s desultory 24-15 loss to Michigan, the two assistant coaches assumed control of the Nittany Lion offense as co-coordinators after James Franklin fired third-year OC Mike Yurcich.
Seider, the running back coach, and Howle, the tight ends coach, planned and plotted and prepared as one, if you listen to their boss. Friday night was the culmination of their frenzied efforts to rein in and then unleash the Penn State offense, add balance and simplicity, and to right a ship that had floundered with just 27 points in 120 minutes of football against Ohio State and Michigan.
Their efforts were rewarded with the shutout victory over Michigan State, raising Penn State’s record to 10-2, thanks to an historically stifling PSU defense, and a balanced and exciting offense that produced a season-high 586 yards (303 passing, 283 running) with an average of 8.7 yards per offensive play.
Last Monday, two days after the Nittany Lions survived a scant 10-6 halftime lead and the early third-quarter departure of quarterback Drew Allar (with an apparent right shoulder injury) to defeat Rutgers 27-6, the two were praised presciently by Franklin:
“I was very pleased with how we operated from the Lasch Building and in the office, ” said the head coach, “and how we game-planned. How the scripts were done the night before. How the cards were done early for the scout team so we could look them over and work through in detail (for) the exact looks we’re anticipating getting in the game.
“The collaboration, the environment that was created where everybody spoke up and had opinions, I thought that was really good. Ja’Juan and Ty were really good complementary pieces of each other. I thought when they got up in front of the team they did a really good job of explaining how we are going to play offense this week and how that’s going to put our team in the best position to be successful.
“On game day I thought they did a really good job throughout the game of making them defend the whole field, putting people in conflict, and also when we had success with plays, going back to them and forcing the defense to adjust.”
Remember: Franklin said this after the Rutgers game and before the Michigan State. On Friday night, those words rang true. Even more so. And that’s where we begin our last All-22 of the regular season:
1. Drew Allar was knocked out of the Rutgers game and had not spoken with the media about the offense since Yurcich’s firing — until after the game on Friday night, after he had thrown for two touchdowns and 292 yards‚ his most as a starter since the 325 he had in the 2023 opener against West Virginia. Here’s what Allar had to say:
“The offense as a whole has handled everything. There’s been no flinch with us. Coach Seider and Coach Howle have done an unbelievable job of just getting us on the same page in their communication with us. I think we just did a great job allowing our guys to play fast, with simplicity. We talk that simplicity equals speed. We may not be running super-simple stuff, but we make really easy roles for all of us. I think that’s why we’ve been really clicking more in the passing game.”
2. RB Nick Singleton, who finally bust out on the 12th contest of the season, sang same chapter, same verse as Allar after the game: “It’s not trying to game plan too much — not trying to put too many plays, so everybody knows what they’re supposed to do. Everybody can play fast. That’s what it felt like. It felt different today.”
3. More from Allar, who said he knew he would play against Michigan State — which Franklin promised as well earlier in the week. “There was no doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to play this week,” Allar said post-game. “There wasn’t a thought in my mind where I wasn’t going to play. That’s what helped me get to this point. The training staff did a great job with me. The coaching staff did a great job with me. We just had open and honest communication about what we were thinking and what I was thinking. The offensive staff did a great job of getting the whole offense in rhythm tonight.”
3a. QB2 Beau Pribula played a key role in the Penn State offense vs. MSU. He completed 2 of 2 passes for 11 yards, including an 8-yard TD pass to TE Tyler Warren, and he ran for a 2-yard score. There were a few times both he and Allar were on the field at the same time.
5. Franklin on Allar’s performance vs. Michigan State — and Allar’s 23-to-1 TD pass-to-interception ratio: “I think he played well. I think he missed some throws on the run that he normally makes. But overall I thought he played well. It’s interesting; we talk about criticism. How many touchdown passes has he thrown this year? (23) And how many interceptions? (1) One interception. I think if you just took that statistic and told the 132 coaches in the country that their quarterback would have those stats when the season started, I think everybody would take it and run.
“As a first-year starter, I think he did some really good things. Obviously, I think we did some good things tonight in terms of emphasizing the tight ends and running backs. [Of 19 completions, 13 were to RBs and TEs.] I thought we did that the last two weeks. We were able to take some shots as well. We’ve been more explosive. I think he’s played really well. And I think he’s played really well all year long.
“Obviously, there are some areas where we need to get better as an offense. And there are areas where Drew needs to get better. There’s no doubt about it. But again — when you’re looking at the overall picture — I don’t think there’s a coach the country that if they could take those statistics at the beginning of the season, everyone would take ’em and run.”
6. Season interception % (picks per 100 passes):
Rank QB/season Comp.-Att. TD pass Int. Int. % 1. ALLAR, 2023 214-350 23 1 0.28 2. Matt McGloin, 2012 270-446 24 5 1.12 3. Kerry Collins, 1994 176-264 21 7 1.46 4. Christian Hackenberg, 2015 192-356 16 6 1.67 5. Tony Sacca, 1991 169-292 21 5 1.71 6. Wally Richardson, 1995 193-335 18 6 1.79 7. Daryll Clark, 2008 192-321 19 6 1.86
7. Singleton and fellow RB Kaytron Allen have played 25 games together at Penn State. Friday night’s contest was the first time they both had 100 yards in the same game. And, it was Singleton’s first 100-yard effort in all of 2023 — after having four of them in 2022, including the Rose Bowl vs. Utah. It’s been quite a drought. Allen had two 100-yard games in 2022 and two in 2023.
7a. The two combined for 340 yards from the line of scrimmage vs. MSU:
Singleton (186) — run: 18-118-1 TD; rec.: 2-68
Allen (154) — run: 15-137; rec.: 3-17-1 TD
7b. Penn State had a season-high dozen explosive plays:
RUN — Allen (50, 40 yards), Singleton (24, 20, 14), Trey Potts (28).
PASS — Omari Evans (60), Singleton (53, 15), Theo Johnson (22, 21), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (22).
8. Post-game, Allar and Singleton — both high school five-stars completing their second season of eligibility at Penn State — pledged they would return to Penn State for Year 3.
8a. But…what about Manny Diaz?
9. The Diaz Defense was terrific. Again. Let’s begin with the three shutouts; that’s the most in over 45 seasons at Penn State, going all the way back to 1978, when PSU had three shutouts in four weeks on its way to the Nittany Lions’ first regular-season No. 1 ranking, at Ohio State (19-0), against TCU (58-0) and at Kentucky (20-0).
10. The Nittany Lions are shaping up to be one of the stingiest in Penn State’s 135 seasons of playing intercollegiate football. With one game to go, Penn State has yielded just 11.42 points per game. The best measure of Penn State’s improvement under Diaz? Ohio State (20) and Michigan (24) scored just 44 points vs. Penn State in 2023. In 2022, Diaz’s first season in Happy Valley, they combined for 85 points.
11. Penn State held Michigan State to 53 yards of total offense. Sparty had minus 33 yards rushing on 27 attempts, and 88 yards passing on 20 attempts. That 53 yards is the fourth-lowest total yards ever surrendered by Penn State in its 1,380 games. Wow.
11a. The Top 3, all in 1947: vs. Syracuse (minus 47), Temple (25), Pitt (43). Whenever there is a Penn State record like this, the answer is almost always “1947.”
12. Fourth down was a nightmare for Michigan State. From midway through the second quarter, Sparty suffered through this incredible stretch of fourth-and-letsgetouttaheres:
4th and 21 (2Q)
4th and 31 (2Q)
3rd and 12 (end of first half)
4th and 23 (3Q)
4th and 25 (3Q)
4th and 9 (3Q)
4th and 21 (4Q)
4th and 29 (4Q)
4th and 12 (4Q)
4th and 14 (4Q)
13. Penn State edge rusher Adonis…er, Adisa… Isaac is working his way into the first round of the NFL Draft — to be held, ironically, in Detroit in April 2024. Isaac led the Nittany Lions in tackles with seven vs. MSU, with a tackle for a loss and a sack.
13. On the season, Isaac has 35 tackles (22 of them solo), with a team-leading 15 TFLs for 74 yards and a team-leading 7.5 sacks for 58 yards, with four QB hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to boot.
14. Detroit guys repped Penn State for the coin toss — and throughout the game. Game captains were: Twins Kalen (4) and Kobe (41) King of Detroit; Theo Johnson (84) of Winston, Ontario (just across the river from Detroit); and Dom DeLuca (0), from West Pittston, Pa. (where they are Detroit tough). Safety Jayleen Reed, also of Detroit, recorded an interception. Johnson had four catches for 59 yards and a TD. And Kobe was the Nittany Lions’ second-leading tackler, with 5.
15. Franklin has now secured a 10-win season for the fifth time in his 10 years at Penn State — and, actually, his fifth in the past seven non-COVID seasons (the Big Ten played only nine games in 2020, when PSU was 4-5).
16. The Nittany Lions are likely headed to their fifth New Year’s Six bowl under CJF — the Cotton Bowl at 8 p.m., Dec. 29, in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas OR the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at noon, Dec. 30, in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta, Ga., OR the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at 1 p.m., Jan. 1, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
16a. They will also be among the Top 12 in the final College Football Playoff rankings for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. In 2024, the Top 12 in the final rankings will qualify for the CFP.
17. The 2023 college football season is the end of an era. Not only is it the final season with a four-team playoff, but with conference re-organization, the Big Ten will bloat to 18 teams with the addition of top-flight programs Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC.
17a. Here is how Penn State fared in the Big Ten the past 10 seasons under Franklin. PSU’s win over Wisconsin in the 2016 conference title game does not count as an “official” conference victory, but I am including it here:
Rutgers — 10-0
Indiana — 9-1
Maryland — 8-2
Iowa — 5-2
Michigan State — 5-5
Illinois — 4-2
Wisconsin — 3-0
Northwestern — 3-2
Michigan — 3-7
Minnesota — 2-1
Nebraska — 1-1
Ohio State — 1-9
17b. Now let’s divide it into two key categories. Franklin has had as many losses vs. the Buckeyes and Wolverines as he did against all the other Big Ten opponents combined:
Ohio State and Michigan — 4-16 (.200)
Everybody else — 53-16 (.768)
18. Penn State spent the past decade in the Big Ten East division, with Ohio State and Michigan, making it the toughest division in college football this side of the SEC West, which has produced three different national champions — Alabama, Auburn and LSU — since 2010. Where the Nittany Lions have placed in the East since 2014:
1st, tie (Big Ten champs) — 2016
2nd — 2017, 2019
3rd — 2020, 2022, 2023
4th — 2015, 2021
6th — 2014
19. In the middle of the 2021 season, Mel Tucker — the head coach of Michigan State at the time — signed a 10-year, $95 million contract extension. The Spartans went 11-2 and beat Penn State, 30-27, to cap the regular season. MSU was 5-7 in 2022 and two games into the 2023 season, Tucker was suspended and subsequently fired for cause with $79 million left on his contract. Hired in 2020, Tucker was 20-14 at Michigan State. MSU played the rest of 2023 under interim HC Harlon Barnett, who was 2-7 as Michigan State finished the year 4-8 overall.
19a. Contrast that with Franklin, who signed a new deal in November 2021 that will pay him $85 million over 10 years. In the two full seasons since then, Penn State was 11-2 in 2022 and is 10-2 in 2023, with a bowl game yet to play. And the Nittany Lions have beaten Sparty twice, by a combined 77-16.
20. Even though the regular season is over, the next several weeks will be busy ones for Franklin and his staff, especially when it comes to hiring a new offensive coordinator, as Franklin shared on Friday night: “In-house, we’ll watch a ton of recruiting film. And we’ll get organized for going on the road and how we’re going to balance the schedule. All of the bowl schedules are set; we already have all the calendars set for where we would go and who we would play.
“The obvious thing I’m going to be in Saturday and Sunday Zooming a ton with prospective offensive coordinator candidates. Then, we have three days scheduled to meet with every single player on the team, by position coach, and I’ll meet with some guys as well. Then we’ll start getting into some practices and kind of go from there. Meeting with our players is a priority. Getting organized and where we’re going and how we’re going to finish up this class the right way. Also the transfer portal — we’ve got to be all over those things. With technology now, I can sit in my office and get 90% of the work done on Zoom, which I think makes the most sense.”
21. Key upcoming dates for Penn State football:
2023
Sunday, Dec. 3 — CFP pairings, NY6 bowl match-ups announced
Monday, Dec. 4 to Tuesday, Jan. 2 — NCAA Transfer Portal is open
Friday, Dec. 8 — PSU’s final day of fall semester classes
Wednesday, Dec. 20 — National Signing Day
2024
Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 — final day to declare for NFL Draft
Feb. 27 to March 4, 2024 — NFL Combine, Indianapolis
Third week, March 2024 — Penn State Pro Day
April 25-27, 2024 — NFL Draft, Detroit
22. The 392 miles that I drove to Ford Field on Friday was (mostly) a breeze. I posted my route from Beaver Stadium, and my GPS originally had me headed to Detroit by way of Wayne, Ind. A few folks caught that it was an hour longer that way, and noted that — holy Toledo! — there was a faster way, which I took. Shoutout to @TimHabazin and @CoachHohenshelt. After writing this last All-22 of the 2023 regular season on Saturday morning, I headed back to State College.
22a. I did one-day road trips to Northwestern (via air) and Maryland (giving StateCollege.com colleague Ben Jones a ride back) in 2023. The 2024 road warrior slate in the New Big Ten looks a bit more challenging. Here is Penn State’s 2024 schedule (with road miles from Beaver Stadium to each opponent’s home stadium):
Aug. 31 — at West Virginia (181 miles)
Sept. 7 — Bowling Green
Sept. 14 — Bye
Sept. 21 — Kent State
Sept. 28 — Illinois
Oct. 5 — UCLA
Oct. 12 — at USC (2,573 miles)
Oct. 19 — Bye
Oct. 26 — at Wisconsin (714 miles)
Nov. 2 — Ohio State
Nov. 9 — Washington
Nov. 16 — at Purdue (538 miles)
Nov. 23 — at Minnesota (973 miles)
Nov. 30 — Maryland
