Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1486024
6 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W hen James Franklin walked off the Beaver Stadium turf on Oct. 29 after another one had just got- ten away from Penn State against Ohio State, the vision was once again cloudy for the Nittany Lions' coach and his team. Some evergreen goals for the sea- son, namely a Big Ten title and a shot at competing in the 2022 College Football Playoff, were up in smoke. But amidst the shock and frustration after the Buckeyes had used a 28-point fourth-quarter scoring binge to vault back into their familiar position of power over the Nittany Lions, a fact remained. Penn State still had a month's worth of games remaining on the schedule. It's misleading to fall into the cliché that the Nittany Lions still had plenty to play for. The 10-win season that was still on the table would obviously be an accomplishment, but a close loss to Ohio State, on the heels of an embar- rassment against Michigan two weeks earlier, wasn't going to be much of a consolation. Penn State had put itself in position for another good season, yes, but also for one that lacked a signature win. It's hard to win football games on a regu- lar basis, especially in the Big Ten, and there's always a teachable moment in instances when those victories don't come. It could have easily gotten away from the Nittany Lions at that point. How- ever, the schedule couldn't have set up much better for a closing act. There were four weeks remaining against opponents with four separate stories, all destined to finish well below Penn State in the Big Ten East stand- ings. Wins over Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State wouldn't move the needle on a national level, but there would be value in finding pieces that could help vault the program for- ward. A prime example came up front on the offensive line, where the Nittany Lions were absolutely battered heading into November. Third-year sophomore left tackle Olu Fashanu left the Ohio State game in the fourth quarter with an injury, and that would be the last any- one would see of him in pads during the regular season. The Nittany Lions were forced to plug and play across the front for the rest of the schedule, a nightmare further mag- nified on the first play from scrimmage on Nov. 5 at Indiana when sixth-year senior quarterback Sean Clifford rolled up on redshirt senior left guard Hunter Nourzad, himself a replacement for red- shirt freshman Landon Tengwall. Tengwall missed the rest of the sea- son after undergoing surgery for an in- jury that happened, of all places, during warmups against Michigan in October. But somehow Penn State made it work. The Nittany Lions burnt the red- shirt of true freshman offensive tackle Drew Shelton to replace Fashanu in the lineup, and he was able to hold up down the stretch. Nourzad did return and gutted out the last month on a hobbled ankle that will require attention in the offseason before he returns for another year in 2023. Despite razor-thin margins, the Nit- tany Lions were also able to preserve redshirts for junior college transfer guard JB Nelson and true freshman Vega Ioane when it looked like one or both would need to forgo that opportunity. Now, the 2023 offensive line looks like it could be a formidable group if a few pieces fall the right way. Defensively, Penn State discovered its formula for dominance over the last month under first-year coordinator Manny Diaz. The Nittany Lions al- lowed just 10 points per game during the stretch and bullied their conference counterparts to the tune of 20 sacks and 47 tackles for loss over the final four games. Despite obvious offensive deficien- cies on the other side, Penn State es- tablished a tone on defense and played four games that never really seemed in doubt. Franklin also let his young talent emerge organically, and that's impor- tant heading into an offseason that will be dominated by talk of name, image and likeness issues and the transfer por- tal like never before. Penn State went with the hot hand at running back, dividing carries be- tween freshmen Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen based on matchups and game flow. The pair easily cleared over 150 yards per game over the stretch, and each had a 100-yard individual effort. Freshman linebacker Abdul Carter continued his rise to stardom. He ended up second on the team in tackles and was a dominant figure in the season fi- nale against Michigan State. Wins over the bottom four teams in the division won't make it all better. The Nittany Lions will be in search of a marquee victory in their bowl game, but it's worth commending the players and staff for the way that they were able to finish off the schedule on a high note with an eye on taking an even bigger leap in 2023. ■ True freshman Drew Shelton stepped in at left tackle, helping the Lions persevere after injuries began chipping away at the offensive line. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE Season's Final Month Sets Stage For A Bigger Leap JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM