It was a day to forget for the Nittany Lions, who came to Atlanta looking for a statement win, but it turned into a statement 38-25 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. It was a struggle in all phases for Penn State, who couldn’t stop the run, the pass, and even had a fourth-quarter field goal attempt blocked.
Despite starting the game with a positive field goal drive and a few good runs, the offense never got into a rhythm. Drew Allar and the passing game struggled mightily, only hitting on a big play on a fluke-tipped pass to Tyler Warren for 75 yards, which ironically ended up being Penn State’s longest play of the season.
The defense, missing its top two corners and best edge defender, was no match for the up-tempo explosive offensive that is the Rebels. Ole Miss had its way running and throwing the football, dicing up the Penn State secondary every which way.
It will be interesting to see how the Nittany Lions rebound from a now 3 loss season. All three losses will have happened against top-11 opponents where the Penn State offense looked absolutely anemic. No matter the fallout, Drew Allar and new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will have an enormous amount of pressure on themselves to improve the offense going into next year.
After an all-around pathetic performance, here are five takeaways from Penn State’s Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.
An unprepared defense
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into the game, James Franklin and the Penn State coaching staff knew they’d be without their top two corners, Johnny Dixon and Kalen King. Despite that, the Nittany Lions secondary, albeit inexperienced, seemed unprepared for the talent and playmaking of Ole Miss receivers. Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris had their way against the Penn State secondary. Dart finished with 379 yards passing and three TDs to go along with a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/5-takeaways-penn-state-brutal-215230903.html
Author : Nittany Lions Wire
Publish date : 2023-12-30 21:52:30
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