3 & Out Rapid Reaction: Penn State football falls short against Michigan losing 24-15

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. – The Penn State football team was a 4.5-point underdog entering today’s matchup. But the biggest story of the game was Jim Harbaugh’s suspension was upheld just hours before kickoff. The Michigan football team had to deal with some adversity entering today’s matchup. But the Penn State football team gave it their best shot. Unfortunately, James Franklin and Drew Allar were unable to find a way to knock off Michigan.

Offensive struggles continue for Penn State

Nothing comes easy against good teams. But for Penn State football it has felt like most games this season the offense has struggled. One of the major storylines of the first half was the first successful drive for the Nittany Lions. They got all the way down to the 2-yard line but were forced to settle for 3 points. Mike Yurcich’s playcalling continues to be a weakness for the offense. In the first half, Penn State only produced 35 passing yards and 142 total yards of offense.

The lone silver lining in the first half was multiple 3rd down conversions that led to an 11-yard touchdown run from Drew Allar that cut the lead to 14-9 at the half. Kaytron Allen continued to show his strength by rushing for 48 yards in the first half against Michigan.

The Nittany Lions finished the game with 238 total yards of offense. But once again the entire unit looked out of sync, unprepared, and overwhelmed for most of today’s game.

James Franklin with questionable decisions in a big game

There’s this narrative that James Franklin is a bad head coach. I’m not here to tell you if that is true or not, but one thing is for certain he made some questionable decisions today. Both two-point conversion attempts for the Nittany Lions felt forced and desperate.

Timeouts are wasted or called at the wrong time. Early in the first half on Michigan’s first touchdown drive of the game, the Nittany Lions had personnel issues. Instead of calling a timeout, the Nittany Lions were flagged with a penalty. Then, on a few decisions to go for it on 4th down, it felt that Franklin was unsure of himself and wasted timeouts in those scenarios.

The offense had problems, and the defense collapsed at the wrong time but going 10-2 once again and looking unprepared in two big games this season is concerning.

Drew Allar struggles again in the big game

I’m trying to be fair to Drew Allar but at the same time, we all expect more from him. He has a better feel for the game than he did a few weeks ago against Ohio State but he only had 35 passing yards in the first half. He used his legs to his advantage but he struggled to get into a rhythm passing the football all afternoon. The excuse that he’s young, or that this is one of his first big tests cannot continue. He needs to be the difference maker and sadly today he was not.

Allar finished the game completing 10 of 22 passes for a season low 70 yards and 1 touchdown pass. Allar had a crucial fumble early in the 3rd quarter but overall he looked uncertain and lost today. The playcalling didn’t help, but the young quarterback needs to be able to handle the pressure on the big stage.

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