When Gabe Nwosu’s cleat first made contact with the football on Saturday, Penn State sat as a 35.5-point favorite over visiting Bowling Green.
But drive after drive, the Falcons found success offensively, moving down the field with confidence and holding a 24-20 lead going into halftime. The Nittany Lions managed to pull out a 34-27 victory, but the defensive performance was puzzling, at best.
“After tackling really well in Week 1, I didn't think we tackled as well in Week 2. I think that was pretty obvious,” James Franklin said on Tuesday. “And then on top of that, (we) made some mistakes, made some things more difficult than they needed to be, especially early in the game.”
In addition to the poor tackling, bad gap security, players out of position and overall undisciplined play, Franklin said new technology added additional challenges.
“There's some things that we've had to clean up with this technology, about what is best for Penn State and using the technology on the defensive side of the ball at home,” Franklin said. “Especially at home with the noise, I think that factored in.”
Beaver Stadium hosted an announced attendance of 103,861, lower than any home game from the 2023 season but significantly more than the 62,084 at Milan Puskar Stadium. While the crowd tends to be quieter with the home team on defense, the in-helmet communication still proved to be an issue.
Additionally, the Nittany Lions were without several depth pieces like Ta’Mere Robinson, Zuriah Fisher and Keon Wylie, and safety Kevin Winston Jr. left with an injury in the second quarter.
“We had a couple bumps and bruises. So we had some moving parts that caused us some issues on defense and on special teams,” Franklin said.
Part of the issues included failing to get to the quarterback, which was a strength of the team under Manny Diaz last season. The Nittany Lions recorded no sacks and were held to just three tackles for loss, which Franklin credited to the Falcons’ strategy of getting the ball out quick.
Additionally, Bowling Green opted not to substitute personnel on third downs, meaning Penn State was also unable to substitute. Typically, this is when the team would bring in its “prowler” package, which specializes in pass rush in third-and-long situations.
“Their whole game plan was not to allow us to get sacks. It was quick game, it was run game, it was move the pocket,” Franklin said. “They weren't holding on to the ball. So, in a lot of ways, that's going to factor in a great deal with your production.”
Regardless of all the excuses, Penn State’s defensive showing was undoubtedly an underperformance. Heading into a bye week, Franklin said the team has “some things” to clean up.
Though he’d always prefer to win in blowout fashion, Franklin said there was “some value” to playing in a close game and being able to challenge his team to come back from a deficit.
“There's going to be games where you blow people out, there's going to be games where you're on the road, scratching and clawing for every point you can get. There's going to be games where you're on the road, you're dealing with weather,” Franklin said. “There's a ton of different ways, and we're going to have to find multiple ways to win games. That was one of them this Saturday.”
Following the off week, Franklin’s main priority against Kent State remains simple: “We got to win.”
Beyond that goal, he’s hoping to get some reps for the second- and third-string players, who were unable to get in against Bowling Green in what was a one-score contest for a majority of the game.
“We would love to play really well, get the rep count and the ball distribution the way we'd like it to be, and then get other guys on the field and get our guys out,” Franklin said. “We were not able to do that this past Saturday.”
First Published: September 11, 2024, 7:06 p.m.
