Michael Cohen
College football and basketball writer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s hard to say what, exactly, former Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich would have done if he’d been calling the play with 0:32 left in the second quarter, the Nittany Lions on their own 27-yard line and a seven-point lead on the scoreboard. Perhaps Yurcich, who was fired by coach James Franklin last November after three consecutive disappointing seasons, would have trusted the judgment and dexterity of now-multiyear starter quarterback Drew Aller and insisted on a relentless approach of shoving the ball downfield with one timeout remaining and a chance for West Virginia to score twice in a row. The result would probably have been the same, a last-minute touchdown to wide receiver Harrison Wallace III that sealed the game and left Mountaineers fans demoralized.
It’s impossible to rule out that scenario, but any frequent follower and fan of the Penn State program knows it’s wiser to resign yourself to the idea that Yurcich, whose 2023 offense is tied for 110th nationally in passes of 30-plus yards, could muster that kind of fighting spirit from a disadvantageous field position than to question its possibility. The three-play, 73-yard lightning-quick drive, which saw him complete passes of 55 and 18 yards and ended with a beautiful back-shoulder touchdown from Allar to Wallace, was undoubtedly the work of former Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, now the Nittany Lions’ czar of creativity and guile. The play in which he rushed the offense to the line of scrimmage and appeared to catch West Virginia off guard for what turned into the game’s longest gain was Kotelnicki’s finest work.
“I think that’s Coach K’s fault,” Aller said. “I think he’s aggressive. [and] I don’t mean that in a bad way, obviously. He’s very aggressive, but he’s not reckless. Any play that he sets up for a shot like that is going to be a play that we call every week. [of the season]Maybe just dressing a little differently. Being aggressive, and being aggressive with intent, is exactly the attitude we want to take.”
In what was Franklin’s sixth offensive coordinator’s formal debut in 11 seasons, Kotelnicki designed and directed a much more dangerous attack than Penn State typically deployed when Yurcich was behind the headset. For the first time in a long time, maybe even since Franklin’s time at Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions found a way to contain an explosive gain and distribute it consistently from the rushing attack to the passing game for all four quarters of a 34-12 win over West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium. Not even a lengthy two-hour, 19-minute weather delay could slow a unit that churned out 457 yards of offense, averaged nearly eight yards per play and produced three touchdowns of 20 yards or more.
That force, if strengthened, would give Penn State some much-needed weight to a defense that has been great the past few seasons and, even with a new coordinator, started the 2024 season with the necessary intensity. The high-scoring Mountaineers didn’t reach the end zone until 12:49 into the fourth quarter, at which point Coach Franklin was ready to make some changes to his starters on both offense and defense.
“I think we have an opportunity to play better both offensively and defensively,” Franklin said. “I think we have an opportunity to play more balanced both offensively and defensively. When I talk about balance, I’m talking about both being able to win defensively and being able to win offensively, and I think we had an example of that today.”
“We were the more explosive team” – Penn State head coach James Franklin’s thoughts on the offensive performance.
An example of the offense, and the Kotelnicki creativity that sparked it, began on Penn State’s opening possession. Backup quarterback Beau Pribula jogged onto the field on a crucial third down and beautifully completed an option pass to tailback Nicholas Singleton (13 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD) for a seven-yard gain and moved the chains. Pribula began appearing regularly on planned quarterback runs (three carries for 25 yards) and in multiple quarterback configurations sprinkled throughout the game. He provided a change of pace for the bigger, more sluggish Aller and, according to Coach Franklin, is expected to be used weekly, with the head coach even describing Pribula as “a big part of what we’re going to do going forward.”
There were other twists that reflected the more dynamic approach Kotelnicki is looking to take after his impressive run at Kansas, where the Jayhawks ranked fifth nationally in yards per play (7.1) over the past two seasons. The pre-snap motion had the Nittany Lions line up in a diamond on one side of the formation, then Singleton, drifting toward the sideline, cut across the formation to create space for a thumping 14-yard pass to Wallace. On a 50-yard touchdown pass from Aller (11-of-17 for 216 yards, three touchdowns) to Wallace (five catches, 117 yards, two touchdowns), the former five-star quarterback, who often struggled to get vertical passes in 2023, unleashed a nice, promising pass before the wide receivers came out of the break. In the wildcat alignment, the tailback prepares to take the snap and the quarterback lines up in space to the right. Aller’s brave conversion to tight end Tyler Warren on fourth down ended with a touchdown pass to running back Kaytron Allen. Penn State’s first drive of the second half featured two crucial scrambles by Aller for 10 yards each, sucking away the last of the hope remaining for the 62,084 fans who had remained after the torrential rain and lightning had passed.
Kotelnicki oversaw touchdowns on Penn State’s final possession of the second quarter and its first of the third quarter, delivering the knockout hit with two scores just five minutes into the game to extend the visitors’ lead to 21 points, more than enough to put the Mountaineers away.
“I think our team handled it well. [the delay] “It went really well. I thought our guys handled it really well, and that’s reflected in us scoring a touchdown at the start of the second half,” Franklin said. “So the score in the middle eight. [in the last four minutes of the second quarter and first four minutes of the third quarter] Probably the two most important events in the game were the end of the first half and the start of the second half.”
Kotelnicki’s offense was so crisp and efficient that Aller spent most of the fourth quarter on the sideline watching and cheering on Pribula and the rest of Penn State’s reserves. When sophomore defensive back Elliott Washington II got an interception to seal the win with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left, Aller ran onto the field to cheer him on. The post-game celebration included a special handshake with Wallace and a recorded social media message thanking the visiting Nittany Lions fans. Aller then began jogging toward the visitor’s tunnel to head to the bus that would take Penn State back to Happy Valley.
But before leaving the field, the man in uniform made one final request.
“Great game, Drew,” a West Virginia police officer said, taking a break from his security duties. “Can we take a picture?”
That’s exactly what Aller and the offense did, playing superbly.
Michael Cohen I cover college football and basketball, primarily the Big Ten, for FOX Sports. Michael Cohen.
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