Opponent Q&A: Penn State

Ahead of Rutgers’ senior night game against Penn State, I had the opportunity to catch up with Brian Bennett of SB Nation’s Nittany Lions page, Black Shoe Diaries, to ask some questions about their team and gain some insight into where their team is at ahead of Saturday’s win-or-go-home scenario.

1 This year has been a letdown for Penn State across the board. Where do you think the Nittany Lions will go from here? What is the progress on the coaching search? And how long do you think it will take this team to return to where it was?

It’s simply been a nightmare. One year ago at this time, Penn State was preparing to play Maryland to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. They won that game, wound up in Indy where they lost a close game to Oregon, then advanced all the way to the semifinals before blowing a late lead against Notre Dame. It’s wild that James Franklin is now at Virginia Tech, and we are just twiddling our thumbs until the new coach is named. I don’t know where they go from here – Franklin’s firing seemed to get a whole mess of potential coaches’ extensions and raises.

So, I really don’t know where Penn State is with this whole search. Interim Terry Smith figures to get at least a courtesy interview – more on him later. Meanwhile, an up-and-comer like Bob Chesney at James Madison might also be in the mix. There are rumblings of surprise candidates, too. Penn State has only done this whole coaching search thing two other times in my lifetime, but I’ve learned it’s exhausting.

The bright spots are as follows, though: AD Pat Kraft seems hellbent on taking big swings, and the new coach will have plenty of money available for NIL/Portal/Assistants. Similarly, Penn State is still a destination program that in every decade going back to the 1960s, has had seasons where they’ve been in the mix for the national title. While this year is an utter failure, Penn State should have the resources to bounce back relatively quickly into the playoff discussion.

2 The offense seems to have found its footing in the past few weeks against Nebraska and Michigan State. Why do you think that is? What do you think they will try to do against Rutgers?

They’ve committed to running the ball with Kaytron Allen. He’s now the school’s all-time leading rusher despite spending much of his career in a split role with fellow senior Nicholas Singleton. Penn State has run the ball well, and it’s set up play-action passing in the past few games. That’s played to the skill set of Ethan Grunkemeyer, who took over for Drew Allar after Allar’s season-ending injury.

Rutgers will see a lot of Allen and Singleton as Penn State will continue to try to use its offensive line, which was supposed to be a major strength, to impose its will.

3. Penn State’s defense seems to be the strength of the team. Who are some players Rutgers will have to look out for? If you were the Knights’ offensive coordinator, what would you call to win this game?

Penn State’s defense was great up until the overtime sessions against Oregon, where a stop would have meant a win against the Ducks at Beaver Stadium. For the next few games after that, Penn State was awful. Part of that was because they lost star linebacker Tony Rojas, and it’s taken some time to get adjusted after that. Of course, that also came with Penn State going through the Franklin firing. They’ve attacked a lot more since the Indiana game, and they’ve looked like the group we thought they would be. Dani Dennis-Sutton is a big-name defensive end, while safety Zakee Wheatley has quietly had a great year. Mobile quarterbacks have been Penn State’s biggest Achilles heel – but protecting Kaliakmanis (who made his first career start against Penn State back in 2022) and taking shots down the field against a secondary that’s been inconsistent would be my plan.

4. How do you think this team has responded to Franklin’s firing? After the UCLA and Northwestern losses, there were questions about the mental toughness of this team. How do you think they have rallied under interim HC Terry Smith?

They’ve absolutely rallied. While Penn State is just 2-3 since Smith took over, those three losses were a night game at Kinnick, a game at the Shoe against No. 1, and a home game against No. 2 Indiana. Against Iowa, they had to settle for a field goal with a chance to go up two scores, and that led to the loss. Against Indiana, it took a miraculous fourth-down catch in the closing seconds for the Hoosiers to win. I credit Smith for keeping the group together, and those guys enjoyed last Saturday night with the dominant win against Nebraska, and those players openly campaigned for Smith to get the full-time job.

Smith is adamant that the team wants to get to six wins, and they will play in a bowl game. He’s been stumping all week for the job and saying that he knows the locker room and has control of it more than any other coach could or would. The results do back that up. I still don’t think Smith is getting the job, but he’s telling everyone that will listen that his interview is coming on a week-by-week basis with how his group plays. They’ve played relaxed and had some fun since the second half of the Indiana game. Though they still have flaws, they’ve looked like a top-tier Big Ten team the past few weeks.

5. What is your score prediction for this game?

There will be no shortage of motivation here for either side, which is fun in November. I laid out what Penn State is playing for in the previous answer, while Schiano has always coveted a win against his former employer. I like Penn State’s momentum and I have long been a believer in the “week after you play Ohio State” toll that takes on programs. I think Penn State runs the ball well and ultimately pulls away for its sixth win.

Penn State 27, Rutgers 17