📅 Published on: 2024-12-22 01:46:58
⏱ Duration: 00:43:45 (2625 seconds)
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Penn State used two defensive touchdowns and a strong rushing attack to jump on SMU during a 38-10 win in the College Football Playoff. We break down top takeaways from an impressive performance in Beaver Stadium.
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🕵️♂️ Transcript:
[Music] welcome back into the lions 247 podcast I am Tyler donu he is Daniel gallon if you’re watching us on YouTube you can see we are still inside Beaver Stadium the beautiful lights shining bright behind us it was the final chance to get in here for Beaver Stadium 2024 and Penn State made the most of it 38 to victory over SMU to open this playoff Journey for the nany Lions one win down three more to go to win a National Championship it will be the program’s first since 1986 a few steps along the way to get there but Daniel we wondered what it might look like against the ACC runner-ups the 11 win Mustangs of SMU they hadn’t really been on this stage before but of course Penn State hadn’t quite been on this stage before wobbly start offensively h of a start defensively ends up being a 28 to nothing lead at halftime 38-10 Victory as we said we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of this thing as we move forward but coming out of it initially Daniel what do you make we both had a 10-point victory predicted for Penn State they blew it out of the park yeah I I think a lot of it comes back to the Penn State Defense and what they were able to do you know I think that we heard a lot about this SMU offense we’d seen a lot from them uh we heard a lot about Kevin Jennings their quarterback during the week and I think that we came in with with high expectations you know we’ve seen the Penn State as a team especially defensively get off to slow starts at times this year and you talk about a a noon game playoff cold weather Etc we didn’t really know what the environment would be like um yeah I think it wasn’t like the the worst assumption to think that okay maybe it’ll take a little bit to for this defense to find its gear and for a little while it looked like that I mean that opening drive that SMU had they were moving the ball pen State looked disjointed disconnected uh and they get the the fourth down stop when they needed it uh and I think that that really set the tone from from then on of of what this defense was going to do you know two pick sixes some good complimentary football on the third interception of the first half for Kevin Jennings second by Dom Duca and it just put Penn State in a really really good spot I mean I think that when we think back to this game uh I think we’re really going to remember this defensive performance and how it just felt like SMU you know had the clamps put on it for most of the afternoon at Beaver Stadium we spent a lot of time during game week and and so did the people around Penn State’s facilities really you know hyping up gassing up as you might say Kevin Jennings the quarterback for SMU um you know really talking about his traits as a dual threat quarterback as someone you’ve got to respect the second play capabilities on the extension of that it turned into a house of horrors for him uh you know we heard James Franklin in postgame here on Saturday double down on his comparison to Lamar Jackson a Super Bowl MVP a Heisman Trophy winner I think the young kids got a long way to go to get to that point but he emphasized that’s the kind of respect They Carried for him as a dual threat throughout this preparation for SMU but he had three interceptions in the first half all three by linebackers probably the best day for the linebacker position we’ve seen from Penn State through 14 games now Dom Duca comes up with two of them takes one to the house and then has a a moment that really seizes momentum back for Penn State and they never really relinquish push it when he bats the ball down while he’s charging into the back field he’s able to pull that one down for a second interception of course Tony roas had the other pick six for Penn State that helped establish the 14 nothing lead but it started with that for me because we said if SMU is going to come here and make it a four quarter contest or pull off an upset victory over Penn State it’s because Kevin Jennings is gonna be at this tip of the spearhead and R Lashley at the end of this thing their head coach for the Mustangs and and we could acknowledge this too it was the defense that really showed up for SMU today and it was their offense and and particularly that quarterback play he was a negative total for yardage uh for rushing he had those three interceptions he also had a really rough decision on that on that first fourth down try I thought on their first long possession where he could have rolled out probably picked up that first down on fourth down instead he throws the ball downfield he had a wide open tight end but he put it in the wrong side of him Zaki wedley is able to make a play on the ball on the body and ends up being a turnover on down so you really you look at it this way Kevin Jennings felt like he had almost four turnovers in the first half because of his decision on that early fourth down and as I said it was a nightmarish scenario for a quarterback that a lot of people coming into this matchup viewed as an ascending playmaker in the grand scheme of things for college football and then you’ve got to tip your cap to Tom Allen because Tom Allen was effusive in his praise before this game about what they thought of Jennings and he shut him down early and through out until this game was out of hand you didn’t see SMU reach the end zone yeah I I think when you look at this game and you mentioned what Rhett Lashley said about his defense at SMU I think it got to the point where you know you wanted to see which offense was going to pick up their defense obviously the circumstances were a little different when you factor in two pick sixes uh from the Penn State Defense to give you that 14-point cushion um but when you look at what was going on over the course of the game after Duca got that third interception you it’s 14 nothing game Penn State just had because just got stuffed on fourth and one uh at their own 19 yard line and you’ve really felt like that you need to do something now because you’re on the verge of letting SMU back into this game I think that we’ve seen it a lot over the past couple years with the Penn State Defense where you know they get asked to get one more stop than they’re capable of you think about these Michigan and Ohio State Games the past couple of years where there always seems to be a moment where the Dam breaks a little bit um and you know early on I felt like that Penn State was teetering on the edge of that happening because it just felt like you you’re going to you’re going to go back to the well one too many times you’re GNA ask one too many times and you you’re not going to get what you’re looking for and so you know the offense was able to pick up the defense after that last interception and you know once once they got up three scores it was kind of like you know this is over and that had to do with the way that both defenses were playing you know you you felt like the way that Penn State’s defense was playing that you know SMU wasn’t going to score 21 points and you felt like that the way that smu’s defense was playing that it was kind of like okay we got our one score uh to put this one Out Of Reach so I I don’t think a lot of people typ cast this as a defensive battle coming in given how these teams have played recently what the reputations are uh but that was you know a little unexpected today at Beaver Stadium SMU had scored at least 28 points in 12 of its 13 games coming into this matchup they scored at least 33 points in each of the last five games including 31 in the ACC title game against Clemson Clemson by the way battles out of the college football playoff on Saturday losing to Texas so uh the ACC Bid Farewell to them but uh when we look at Penn State’s defense James Franklin said it may have been the most impressive half of defensive football he’s seen he’s seen a lot of good defensive football to respond like that after giving up 45 points to the Oregon Ducks understanding that you were dealing with a threat not dealing G Gabriel but a threat a quarterback and an uptempo attack which gave you a lot of fits in Indianapolis you know just a couple weeks ago this was a really really big win for Tom Allen I think I don’t think that people internally are surprised that the defense responded this way and that Tom Allen dialed up this kind of an afternoon but I think this fan base has been largely waiting to say okay he’s replaced Manny Diaz and we can wrap our arms around him and call him our own and say he could be the guy here long term if you don’t come out of that this game feeling a little bit better about that situation you weren’t paying attention I understand there are bigger tests out weight and they’re gonna take on a Heisman trophy finalist Ashton Genty next round and he’s going to be trying to become the all-time single season record holder for rushing yards but on this particular Saturday against an SMU team as I just rehashed they put up a lot of points they did not today yeah this Penn State Defense rebounded really well from that Oregon performance two weeks ago um and even when you think about that performance like the defense did find its footing a little bit because Penn State you’re down by 18 early and then in the second half you have the chance to tie the game multiple times um so I’ll say this it was it was 28 points in the first 20 minutes it was 17 points in the next 40 minutes yeah so and I think that that’s what we’ve just seen from Tom Allen and this defense over the course of the year that you know maybe it takes them a little bit to find their footing um we’ve talked about that might hurt you at some point it hurt him in the Big 10 championship game it looked like it might hurt them uh today when when things really got going for SMU early but know you have the adjustments uh the talent on this defense when you watch Abdul Carter and Deni Dennis Sutton and Zane Durant uh you watch them Rush the quarterback you watch what Duca Kobe King Tony roas are doing at the second level and obviously we’ve talked so much about the defensive backs over the course of the year is that you have the talent that in a game like this and looking ahead against Boise State might be a similar situation like you have talent that can win out uh o over the course of a game and so I think that if you’re Penn State you navigate those Rough Waters early and then you find your footing mixing metaphors right here but then you’re you’re good to go from there so I I think this defense has really been impressive um obviously Tom Allen had big shoes to fill coming in for Manny Diaz after last year um I still think this is a really good defense it’s just different and that’s how it goes on a year-to-year basis in college football but yeah I think that given what we expected from SMU what SMU had done really impressive performance today overall this year not quite the the lbu Legacy year that a lot of people would like to see I think Kobe King has been really consistent as a middle linebacker as a leader he’s playing at a high level probably the level that we expected him to be Tony roas has not been at the level I think a lot of us thought he might have a sophomore breakout there’s been time there’s been a learning curve I think there’s been some physical things he’s been working through through as well but he played his best game of football today I think you can make the case for at least in some time uh he had a 59 yard interception return that was one of the better interception returns you’ll find across the college football I’d imagine this year really showcased and remind everybody that he was a big time running back at the high school level one of the real top most productive talents when you look at just just film off of High School seniors you could imagine him playing at this level at that position but he was a linebacker all the way from the nney Lions what did you make of ros’ emergence here because we’ve been kind of waiting for him to be a Difference Maker and and granted there were some gifts here from Kevin Jennings at times but Don Duca his second interception in particular that was all hustle uh and and that’s what this guy’s all about when he ask everybody former walk-on special teams Captain starting linebacker now a playoff hero he had a part of a sack two interceptions took one back to the house to give Penn State a seven nothing lead and considering how the offense started this game that really let off some of the pressure from everybody in the stadium having those defensive touchdowns 14 nothing those two guys get it on the board I mean what what do you say about seeing that delivered in in a moment like this yeah I I think when you talk about getting gifts from Kevin Jennings I think that you it’s something that you have to take advantage of them because it’s it’s not gifts if if you don’t do that and we saw Jaylen Reed do it in that Wisconsin game where these pen St State Defenders have had a couple times this year where they’re just in the right place and the ball comes right to them and then they can make something happen uh but you know it’s a old cliche old joke but like you know there’s a reason some of these guys play defense and so you know when when a ball is thrown right to someone like it’s no guarantee that that they’re going to catch it so when you have those opportunities you have to take advantage um you know duca’s interception return was you know he he beat Kevin Jennings uh to to the spot along the sideline on the run back CU I is did a nice job of uh you know putting his hands up and shielding Kevin Jennings with his body to you know to let delca get around the corner uh and you really felt an exhale exhale in Beaver Stadium when that happen and then on the other side I mean the Tony Roos thing I mean that was crazy when you know 59 yards you know there’s multiple times where he just stopped on a dime uh you you’ve got these you knowu offensive lineman flying Every Which Way he’s picking up Blocks he’s using his blockers um you I think that that’s probably like the the craziest I’ve heard Beaver Stadium in a while just because of how long that play lasted the type of Play It Was and I think that it took a little bit to realize kind of what was happening as Tony roas made his way down the field and it was just a a very you know very fun play to see know you mentioned Tony ras’ uh High School career I mean I I looked at the stats while we were in there 2,239 rushing yards 35 rushing touchdowns as a senior at Fairfax High in Northern Virginia I mean he was a you know the all metet offensive player of the year for the Washington Post you know Malik Washington was their offensive player the Year this year I mean that’s like the the err that you’re in and so you know Roos you know he kind of chuckled about it you know seems a little bashful after the game when he was asked if he felt like a running back again and you know he said he did a little bit but I mean that’s what you need to do this time of year if someone has an opportunity to make a big play make it uh and you know for roas maybe you think okay like you’ve had all these rough moments over the course of the year uh you’ve been working through you know maybe some physical stuff you get this moment you know maybe this is a weight that gets lifted or something like that maybe this is the springboard you know out of the sophomore slump a little bit and into something new you got to back it up and this I’m sure we’re going to be talking a lot about this linebacker group uh when you think about Ashton jenty coming up uh in 10 days but I think for Penn State to have you know have the linebackers show up um I thought was appropriate when you talk about last game of the year in Beaver Stadium and it was just you know much needed who’s going to step up who’s going to make the play today it the linebackers and D Duca you know it’s it’s just he seems to be we we said it we said it last year like this is just a it’s already an alltime story last year we’re saying and he just keeps adding these new layers to it these new chapters he’s got more eligibility we expect him to probably be back next year as a third-year captain and you just wonder what’s next because he does seem to show up in these special moments and James Franklin had a lot of strong words for him and you reminded me by the way with Tony roas that that we had these guys in kind of a different format with the playoff um it’s something you maybe see after championship games when you’re watching press conferences on Sports Center and postgame whatever where they’re all up there together and and so that was a little bit different we we actually got both coordinators together before the players and I we should have mentioned this when talking about the defense and before we put a button on it Andy codel Nikki comes into the room as usual he’s got something to say from us before we got something to say to him uh and he he says he starts clapping and says Tom Allen ladies and gentlemen something to that effect and basically takes a bow which I thought was appropriate because things were weird for the offense early let’s just talk about smu’s Drive chart I want to list it because I just think it’s really powerful to just go drive by drive here in the first half this is what SMU accomplished offensively before halftime while falling behind 28 to nothing turnover on Downs interception punt intercept ception punt interception turn over on Downs punt that was their first half of work you know Take a Bow Tom Allen good good call there andy codal Nikki and and meanwhile cotal Nikki is gonna appreciate that because Penn State had a punt on their first two possessions their first drive is a three and out that ends within about a minute and a half and then they have two very different turnover on Downs that that we got to analyze here and it’s going to get in kind of the mindset that James Franklin said they they wanted to bring into this game they were looking at uh being at at smu’s 29 yard line uh with a fourth down situation fourth and 13 they opted to go for it and now we weren’t down in the field we we didn’t quite have a full feel for where the wind was but we were watching you know the flags at the top of of of the uprights and and on the you the post and they weren’t all that you know they weren’t going crazy up there but clearly the wind was affecting it and when it’s 20 de the ball just comes off the grass ly and the grass lets you do things differently as a kicker and as a holder and Penn State elected to go for a fourth and13 situation versus a 46 yard field goal which is a range that we’ve seen Ryan Barker handle in the past and that fourth and 13 play was ugly Drew Aller had to get away from a couple different Defenders he ended up working across the field trying to connect to to KRON Allen it was not a well-placed pass if it was it wasn’t going to get the first down and then you’re Wonder okay that’s three drives now the fourth drive wow fourth and one from Penn State’s own 19 yard line now mind you Penn State’s established a lead at this stage 14 to nothing they’ve got some cushion it feels like SMU is starting to just tread water and trying to keep their mouth above the surface without drowning early and you give them a Lifeline if you don’t convert it’s a fumbled snap what James Franklin pointed out after this game Drew Aller isn’t able to collect it and move forward with enough momentum to get a first down all of a sudden SMU has the ball in the Red Zone Daniel and 14 nothing doesn’t look so bad for them anymore we know what happens next Don Deluga interception number two and case closed for SMU that was really all she wrote for the Mustangs but how do you feel about the way James Franklin described it obviously it’s a lot better for James Franklin to be describing these things after a 28-point win then a two-point loss where we’re looking back and analyzing but it said a lot about Penn State and the approach they plan to take in this first round of the playoff yeah I I think to hear from James Franklin afterwards and get a little bit more of a look at his process I I think that that was Illuminating um that’s the thing with with any of these decisions and we we had this talk after the two-point conversion attempt uh against Oregon where you know a lot of these things are you have to look at the process that goes into making the decision as opposed to the end result because if you reverse engineer everything from that it’s always going to look you know kind of how you want it to um and so the fourth and 133 that one wasn’t asked about after the game uh I would have been curious to get James Franklin’s answer on that um you know some confirmation from the field just that like yeah like it wasn’t going to work in terms of a field goal I have to imagine it’s it’s something tied to what they tried in pregame and what they figured out in pregame and what they figured okay this is the we’re not going to try this in the game no matter what if they’re going forward on Fourth and 13 Ryan Barker’s been pre- reliable yeah and we saw the the punters have have a little bit of issue on some kicks you think about last night in that Indiana Notre Dame game you know that was not a good punting exhibition there by you know a couple good punters and so you know I think that that one you know probably makes a little sense I think that that play was just a disaster um you know I think we we’ll talk about Drew Aller a little bit later but it’s Fourth and 13 and at the it’s kind of a you know a free play as well because if you throw it up and it gets intercepted most likely they’re going to end up with worse field position than if you you know just throwing incompletion and so you know to see him he’s under pressure gets blown up early and then he ends up just trying to check it down in the left flat to KRON and air mails it like that was just not like I it didn’t feel like a good sequence where you know maybe if it’s Fourth and 13 he comes out you know decisively throws it down the field takes a shot to the end zone and and it’s incomplete maybe it feels a little different maybe it looks a little different um but that moment I was it kind of made me think like oh like where’s where’s James Franklin’s head at like where where exactly is this team going you I’ll admit that I probably wasn’t thinking too much about the weather um at at one point um you know I tried to you know move that variable off to the side and not get too caught up in it over the course of the day the second fourth and one you know I think I you know I kind of like that call I mean Drew Aller 65 235 you put Cooper cousins CLE dinkin whoever else behind him to to push him behind venga Yan you know I’ll take that match up um I think getting the explanation that there’s a trouble on the exchange between Dawkins and Aller uh I think that that explains it a little bit more um and I think that when it comes down to just execution in that you understand it uh but what Franklin said is that all week he’s been preaching be aggressive be aggressive be aggressive you know to Tom Allen Andy codal Nikki Justin lustig and Franklin basically said that you know if I’m preaching that all week and we get to that situation and we punt it what kind of message does that send like what I’m not living what I’m preaching um and I thought that was a good explanation you know from James Franklin and I think that you know Andy cot Nikki talked about it where he said playing to win and playing not to lose are two very different things uh which is something I wholeheartedly agree with and you know I pointed this this out on our message board that I think in these past couple of years I think that’s especially this year that’s where we’ve seen like the biggest change in how Penn State approaches some of these big games where you know for the mo like that Oregon game they were playing the win uh that Ohio State game it felt like they were trying to play to win I think play calling you we’re not going to relitigate that down down inside the five um but it it just feels like that this Penn State team has a level of determination a level of confidence and James Franklin is really trying to Foster that confidence um and so you know that play didn’t work I it felt like it could have been a huge swing uh but you get Dom Deluga to make a play and then from there that was kind of it it never felt like SMU was going to threaten again never felt like they were going to get themselves back into this game uh and I think that that decision I think says a lot about where Penn State is right now as they’re moving forward I’m thinking back to that fake punt fourth quarter Minneapolis like is did the the flip switch and it’s like we’re we’re going for it like we are going in we’re all in we’re pushing our chips in we’re not playing cautious we’re not going to have any regrets if you know that is that what James Franklin just determined coming out of the Ohio State game and moving forward you have this extra Breath of Life and they played that way against Oregon even after falling behind 28 to 10 I think you came out of that and saying this team’s ready to fight this team’s ready to get you know go toe-to-toe with the best in the country and then try to prove they might be the best in the country and uh 38 to10 win was a nice opening statement but I thought what really sealed the deal today and what just convinced yok Penn State’s not gonna have much trouble getting to the next round of these playoffs is on that ensuing drive after you get to you know after you get uh that that kind of debacle with with failing to pick that up and giving the Red Zone opportunity you know the Mustangs get inside your 10 yard line they had the ball at the six-yard line two plays later Dominic Duca makes that great play able to deflect the football able to to get that interception and then two incomplete passes and it’s third and 10 you’re you’re deep in your own territory you’re thinking man this Penn State offense can’t generate anything they’re up 14 nothing but but it’s in spite of their offense it’s despite their offense and then a 25 yard pass completion to Harrison Wallace this ends up being capped off by a 25 yard run for KRON Allen who continues to look the best we’ve seen him in 2024 over the past eight quarters and from that point forward they were able to effectively run the football Drew all was a part of that he had a 13 yard run on that possession on a third and six I believe he had a couple other 10 plus yard runs to to move the chains he’s been important in that way for a while but once they found some offense and it wasn’t the passing game today just that not was the story you know Tyler Warren probably had one of his quieter performances of the entire season and and you didn’t see a receiver light it up but once they had that possession and kind of got something underneath their feet on offense it just felt like you know SMU you’re toast we started to see the body language change on the sideline before halftime Daniel I pointed out to you the guys were really trying to you know generate their own energy generate their own hype on the sideline you know the players who weren’t dressed in uniform they were trying to be a hype Squad after every player early in the matchup and all of a sudden late in the second quarter it’s 21 nothing after that Penn State possession those guys have their hands in their pockets their hoods are up they’re they’re looking at the ground they look like maybe they’re ready to go home and and that’s the way it kind of felt not to say that SMU on the field didn’t fight to the best of their ability but it just felt like it took their heart out and you didn’t give it back and the Beaver Stadium crowd brought it too and they stayed for four quarters on a day that lingered in the 20s it was very cold I was I felt fortunate to be in a press box today in the heat uh and this crowd brought the energy SMU seemed to be affected by that they had three pre-nap penalties in the Red Zone later in the game when they had chances to put points on the board and overall I felt like James Franklin kind of saw the culmination of something he’s tried to speak into existence for a while a white out a few days before Christmas with a trip to the National quarterfinals on the line Your Atmosphere delivers your team delivers and the opponent was not ready to handle you bringing that to the field when you talk about the body language uh the one thing that stood out to me was the first time that Beaver Stadium PA played Mo bomba you you look at the SMU sideline and they’re hyping up the crowd they’re jumping up and down uh and then you fast forward into the second quarter there’s another big third down moamba comes on the speakers you look down at the SMU guys and there’s just no reaction to it um and we knew that down in Dallas that they were blasting that at practice um it kind of reminded me the amount of times that we were that I was seeing on social media that they were playing it at practice reminded me a little bit of that Oregon video uh after the Wisconsin game that they put out where you know they played Jump Around over and over and over again and were like every time you hear the song this is how you react to it um felt a little bit like maybe SMU was trying to you know use that kind of psychology and you know it it didn’t work but this environment you know there’s it you know it was kind of like the I mentioned it earlier it’s kind of like the Washington game where like it’s we’re all like oh like they just lost there’s no juice during the week uh our board was dead like it’s on peacock 8:00 like it was kind of like what what’s the point like and then you get there and there’s 110,000 people and like it’s the Penn State white out like it’s the environment you expected um and I think that again this week was kind of a reminder that all of these conversations that we see the conversations that we have our message board it’s a very small slice of what the greater like Penn State fandom the greater Penn State Universe uh is is is going through and I think that that’s something that you should that I feel like people ourselves included always have to remember a little bit you know 106,000 people were in Beaver Stadium today uh the student section was packed uh the sections that are normally for the student section that they opened up for ga uh you know those were packed you know some empty seats in the upper decks but you know the Capac official capacity is in is in the 106 range I believe and so know you had essentially a full stadium and yeah I think that you know people talking about oh like there’s cheap ticket prices Etc I mean I think that you need to divorce yourself from that a little bit and hey maybe the fact they were cheap ticket prices meant that some people who were on the fence you know you know weren’t sure maybe then they decided oh yeah I’m going to go to this this is going to be fun um I think that there’s a larger access ability conversation that should probably be have at some point and I think that’s another thing that we get too caught up in but this is a classic Beaver St Beaver Stadium environment game production was a little bit different uh because it was the college football playoff but it delivered I mean it’s it’s what you want it’s what you want to see when you come to Beaver Stadium and this should incentivize this is all you need that it’s very clear why you would want to host the home playoff game and isn’t this a lot more fun than than being in in a dome uh somewhere random where where no one has ties to the Community this is why you should want to win every game this is why you don’t want to lose to that 500 team in October and pick up a second loss because then all of a sudden you’re getting on a plane you’re leaving your community you don’t get to bring this to your town and we know what an economic boost this can be one extra weekend in State College so you and I are are not alumni this is not our alma mater that’s the case for like 90% of the people we share the Press Box with and that’s just the way it is but I can tell you this is season eight for me and it’s I what season four for you uh yeah this place is different and and James Franklin says it a lot they don’t take it for granted sometimes we got to remind ourselves too this is just different and he said it it’s the fourth largest stadium in the world sometimes we forget that too um and we won’t be back in here with with folks until the spring game next year which was announced today as April 26 so put that on your calendars but what a way to finish out the home schedule in 2024 uh for Penn State and and again let’s let’s get to the final stretch of this episode Daniel by jumping on the KRON Allen and Nick sangl bandwagon because uh it’s looking beautiful again it said it last week I wasn’t sure that we would see them operate like this together with this effect Effectiveness again in their careers I I thought maybe they’d go their separate ways one way or the other after this season and and you kind of view 2024 as as maybe a missed opportunity to have them both peing together they’re peeking together right now I mean you can really say that after after both going for 100 plus rushing yards in in the match up against Oregon they’re over six and a half yards per carry for the second straight week combined 29 offensive touches 195 yards three touchdowns not only did we see the physicality from KRON Allen on a few occasions he was he was like you know in the weight room bench pressing guys with the football in his hand at times today but Nick Singleton on his touchdown run uh James Franklin provided a very great anecdote for us after the matchup and and he described their performance today as violent but he said as Nick Singleton came to the sideline he told him he was violent Nick Singleton let out a big screen and then said let out a big scream and then said I a violent and then fill in your choice of curse words that you think Nick Singleton may have taken from from from his bag of tricks and apply to that but uh James Franklin said he loved that response too and I’ll just say this we’ve talked about Drew Aller becoming a different guy different demeanor so is Nick Singleton in the way he carries himself he’s still the same dude in front of a microphone that he’s always been and I I’d say drew Aller largely is that too maybe they’re more sharp and a little more polished but on the field the way they’re carrying themselves and I think the way that teammates follow their lead Nick Singleton’s taking on a different demeanor and if these two guys keep this up this is just a different Penn State offensive attack than the one that we were watching in October the one that we were watching for most in November and we have to adjust our expectations for this unit accordingly yeah the the Singleton anecdote was was really good and I think that you talked about the different press conference setting that we have and so Singleton is up there at a microphone and it’s you know Tony Roos Drew Aller Devon Thomas Abdul Carter I think that was was that I think that was everyone uh y y yeah and you know Mark wogen Rich asks you know Nick about it and says you know James said this like quote and the rest of the guys up there just burst out laughing like and I think that that kind of shows that you know they’re loose they’re supporting one another they’re they’re all really in tune and with it and I just thought that that was a you know a neat moment and you know Singleton has you know he has never been the most talkative person and so you know and that was pretty set up for him so you were kind of like all right he might run with this a little bit because every once in a while he’ll be honest really really honest with us and you know really open about things but he kind of you know took it back and talks about you know that’s how I want to play jaywan cider teaches us this Etc um but you know I think that Singleton this year the way that he’s playing you think back to that Illinois game and the one play that he had where he he chips the guy catches the pass trucks a guy gets a first down um I think that’s really been the player that we’ve seen him be and this running game it took a little bit to get going but Andy codal Nikki made the point after the game where you know the idea that you have is that in the first quarter you’ve got those two and three yard runs then they turn into four to six yard runs and then by the second half you’re getting your you know 12 yard runs 14 yard runs and you look at k Allen’s uh you know rushing log and it really Bears it out where it’s two minus one minus one one and that’s through the halfway point of the second quarter and then boom 25 yard touchdown run and then the rest of the game it’s six six 17 654 for another touchdown like it just shows that when this running game you know finds something that works or it makes it so that you don’t want to be there anymore as a defense or you’re tired as a defense they’re poised to really jump on you and take advantage of that Nick Singleton six straight games where he’s at at least five yards per carry he’s putting that in the rearview mirror what we saw and even when he scored that game time touchdown late against USC you remember it was it was almost tough he had to put in extra effort to to reach the End Zone on that run and it doesn’t look tough anymore it looks very natural for Nick Singleton again and that’s that’s big news for this team as they move on to face Boise State um Daniel as we wrap up um I mean grun Myer got in we saw a little bit of him late he’s your new qb2 it wasn’t pretty you know he he ripped off the Band-Aid fast when it comes to throwing an interception Drew Allard took what about a full regular season to throw one of those picks drun Meer said first possession let’s get out of the way let’s move on at that point obviously you’ve got some backups on the field they did let drun Meer play with essentially the first team offensive unit you pointed that out to me maybe getting some acclamation there not just throwing him to the wolves with some other backups defensively they went to some backups late they had a lot of freshman on the field guys getting some playoff opportunities which is pretty cool um you did see SMU put up a touchdown late to make it a 38-1 game um but but overall uh Daniel when you kind of look at how this one came together for Penn State uh by the way Nolan Rie finished with a club on his hand I’m trying to get all the little little little pieces here that we’ll need to track he did come back in the game but just something there he continues to play well this offensive line continues to play well but I thought it was interesting the kind of emotional commentary that we got from Franklin when he was asked about winning 100 games uh he he he got to that Mark he’s 100 100 wins 40 losses now in his Penn State Career and I think that kind of looks even more impressive when you remember through 30 games he was 16 and 14 here people were kind of calling for his job uh and so he deflected and I think he he’s done a good job of that lately um when we want to talk about him and and maybe some of his things he he talks about his staff he talks about the players he talks about the seniors he talked about this being one of the remaining true college football programs and obviously that’s a bit of a biased opinion from the head coach of that college football program but we’re seeing just a game of musical chairs when it comes to rosters when it comes to coaches it’s so hard to figure out what A team’s going to look like one week later at this time of year versus one year later both perula uh you know kind of made his way to the transfer portal this week and that was tough for the team but but Frank L got pretty emotional in pointing that out and he’s saying it’s not about him he’s not at this point in his career we know how much he’s been able to probably put in the bank and what continue to do uh we he’s he’s got a trophy mantle he’s got a coaching tree he’s got a hell of a network across the college football Universe where if heever wanted to leave Happy Valley he wouldn’t have to walk too far to find his next gig but he says it’s about his players and when you’re shelling this vision and saying you’re going to be a father figure for these guys um I think that message really on the back end hits home for a lot of them and I think in turn they reciprocate that kind of passion and maybe that pays off for Penn State in a college football world where even across the playoffs you just wonder how much of your roster how much of your coaching staff is fully bought in in this moment and doesn’t have eyes peering toward what awaits in the offseason or in the portal yeah I mean you know James Franklin you know he the way that he frames it is you know like you said he might have a little biased opinion because you know you know that P State works the transfer portal we know that uh you know he talks about the tough conversations that they’ll have with with players that you know during different junctures of the Season like you know they it’s a it’s a modern college football program and that’s what James Franklin has done in terms of really updating it when you talk about facilities staff sizes staff roles um all of that stuff but you know I think that Penn State and Franklin have taken like a really I think long-term vision and part of that you know the fact that he has been here for 11 years now uh he signed a 10-year contract extension uh a couple years ago I think that gives you the security a little bit to you know weather that 11 and 11 stretch over 2020 and 2021 uh and then you know operate in a way where you don’t need to hit the transfer portal hard you know you don’t need to you know take risks and of upsetting your your locker room and things like that you know you can continue to you develop players you know recruit high schoolers develop them for you know three four five years you know however long and turn them into contributors um you know I think the way that they’re building the program uh you know is sustainable which I think you’ve seen in terms of you know 11 wins in 2022 10 wins last year and now 12 wins obviously you’re working with a little bit of a different framework uh for but it’s 12 wins for the the fourth time in program history and the roster retention that bridged those Seasons together the roster ret attention everyone points to where’s the Splashy moves but isn’t it also you’re avoiding the Splashy exits yeah like you kept your five-star quarterback when he didn’t start for his freshman year I think that you know a lot of that probably has to do with who drew Aller is but I think that that just shows you know where how they’ve been able to retain keep these guys together who might be appealing options for other schools and and things like that so it was interesting to hear Franklin talk about it um really seems like he’s stressing the the family element um of things right now uh and it’s I think it’s showing through and how these guys are talking about each other how they’re reacting to different things um I just think that you I wrote about it late on Friday but I think the reaction to Bo fora leaving is pretty Illuminating into you know how these guys balance understanding that this is a business understanding and knowing how things work uh with their own emotional feelings and I think that that’s something that goes back to Franklin and how he talks to these guys how he outlines things for them um and how they respond to him so you know I think that they’re in a you a good spot I think that there will still be people out there that want to see James Franklin win the big game uh Drew Aller was asked after the game uh you know do you do you see this do you count this basically as a big win for Penn State for James Franklin and Drew Aller said that you know he doesn’t care what we’re saying the only thing that he cares about is what they’re saying inside of the Lash building and I think that that mindset that James Franklin has has fostered through there you can have a lot of success with that yeah it was it was a big statement from Drew and he he he just put it out there I’ll just give you the quote he said quote I don’t care what anybody says about me or my team or my coach at the end of the day our processes our process the only opinions that matter are the ones in the Lash building and as we’ve heard that lfi lock the again fill in the blank in mode and and that’s the vibe we’re getting from this team today is December 21st they are 12-2 they move forward and if they continue to win January 20th is the national championship Le than a month away I brought it up to you Daniel I we we’re to the point now it’s it’s late December we usually always have our mind wrapped around a team we know this team this year we still are learning about them and we may have another month to learn about them and it’s really unique and that’s individually we’re learning about who these guys are what makes them tick what they can do and collectively what this program is becoming it’s it’s kind of an evolving circumstance to be covering we’ll continue to do it at lines 247.com we’ll start to get ready for a New Year’s Eve match up against Boise State but between now and then we’ll come to you with a few different episodes we’ll get back to you when our next episode is we’ve got the holiday week coming we promise we’ll provide more episodes but you can catch all of our content over at Lin 247.com one of Penn State’s top commits was in the building today a lot of recruiting updates over there and transfer portal continues to loom over everything as we have get to watch some real football the roster stuff ain’t G to ain’t going to slow down anytime soon so that’s all available Daniel anything else to close out with and and one final note this is our goodbye to the Press Box as we know at a Bieber Stadium we said it might be after the Maryland matchup in late November they’re not getting another playoff home game here so this is it uh this Press Box probably the moment we walk out this door I don’t know if there’s any stragglers left they’ll start taking sledgehammers to this thing so goodbye to the Stadium Press Box many have spent longer nights and and and and many more years in it than us but it’s been a good home to us it’s our home for one more podcast so I wanted to put that on the record anything else you want to add before we say good night no I’m I’m interested to hear what uh what Mark Brennan uh H has to say on on Monday um I’m interested in in watching back a little bit I think that you know we can talk maybe a little bit more about the passing game uh as we move forward but you know I think that right now given what we’ve seen you know through three quarters of the the first round games uh Tennessee and Ohio State are playing right now um I think that you feel pretty good um if you’re Penn State so you know we’ll see uh it’s going to be fun it’s excited to get out to Phoenix and uh you know start learning about Boise State but it’s going to be good and uh also happy Birthday Dad I’ll see you in a couple days very nice and and we’re down to nine teams left and by the time you hear there might only be eight teams left you are a fan of one of those teams enjoy it savor it you still got a national championship that car at the end of the stick as we move our way past Christmas uh Daniel always a pleasure closing up shoing Beaver Stadium for 2024 um what a way to do it uh for now I’m Tyler donu he is Daniel gallon catch our coverage at lines 247.com this has been the lions247 podcast
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